You’ve heard of Women in STEM, Women in SPAM and Women in GLAM. It’s Time to introduce Women in WISH
You WISH you would’ve heard about them sooner, but no problem. We got you.
By Crystal Quintero.
Badass women are killing the game in every single industry. You’ve probably heard of women in STEM (science, technology, engineering, and mathematics). You might’ve also heard of women in GLAM (galleries, libraries, archives, and museums), and women in SPAM (social media, PR, advertising, and marketing).
However, when it comes to women (and baddies) in WISH (wellness, inclusion, somatics, and healing), most people either imagine it’s a white people’s thing, or they don’t take it seriously as a profession.
In reality, WISH is a category of study and practice that has been the pillar of communities throughout history. Inside our Latino culture, intuitive healers have protected and guided our people for centuries.
And this practice didn’t die with our ancestors.
Nowadays, women are at the helm of wellness spaces. In WISH in particular, it might be perceived as a way of preserving ancestral practices. In reality, it is much more. Many of us honor that lineage in new ways.
For my part, I have been hosting wellness events and workshops for over five years now. In that time, I’ve seen more Latinas pursue WISH careers, especially in LA, where the wellness industry is overrepresented as a white woman’s profession.
So, what is WISH, exactly?
Think of it this way:
Wellness: Aromatherapy, aesthetics, sound healing, creating wellness spaces, returning to ancestral practices, acupuncture, skincare.
Inclusion: DEI, Latina-focused events, Queer-focused events, Afro Latina spaces to push back against ICE raids and this administration. Yes, our voices have only gotten louder.
Somatics: Somatic therapy, yoga, pilates, Lagree, fitness, movement, massage therapy, sobadoras.
Healing: Holistic practices like spirituality, herbalism, limpias, brujeria, reiki, botanicas, tarot/oracle reading.
The wide range of professions makes it clear that wellness work is not a fun hobby. Beyond that, it’s a fundamental industry, especially for a community that makes up the global majority.
We deserve to have our work seen and understood.
Healing practices such as somatics take training, education, and practice just like any other profession. If that’s you, your work is valid and so needed.
What’s more, the core of WISH is inclusion. You can also think of it as intercultural liberation. After all, while white women center themselves in this conversation, adding “inclusion” to this acronym leaves no room for that. Wellness spaces have one purpose for women of color: collective healing that spans generations and restores what colonization has attempted to take from us. When we take part in healing as a community, we can better understand one another, even if we don’t share the same culture.
And music is a huge part of that.
One thing that transcends cultures is music, and if you’ve ever attended a good Pilates or yoga class, you know the right soundtrack is essential to getting into your zone. There are plenty of neurological studies supporting the idea that sound and somatics help support our mental health, and that magical combo ultimately feeds our spiritual health.
If you think about it, spirituality is understanding that our spirits are our inner child, one that vibrates with that spark when we are inspired. So, if you are a spiritual baddie in WISH, just know your magic isn’t just a fun hobby. It has, in fact, a lasting impact.
I’m Crystal, a Queer, Black Chicana, community healer and wellness advocate who cultivates restorative spaces with a decolonized lens. I partner with the DOPEST healers in LA to create accessible spaces for my communities: those who are queer, Black, Latinx, and any other community that needs a space to land in these wild times.
Studio Luna (2003 1st St, Los Angeles, 90033) in Boyle Heights is the home base for my wellness organization, Spirit Well—the only Aura Photo studio in East LA, with movement classes Sunday-Wednesday. Interested in getting an aura photo taken or signing up for a movement class? Secure your spot at spiritwell.xyz!