Condé Nast recently listed “Women’s Needs Becoming a Priority” as a top wellness trend, and honestly… it’s about time. I loved that it recognised something women have known for years: we don’t need more scented candles, we need actual support. Real rest. Real community. Real solutions.

For years, women have been carrying the mental load, the emotional load, the physical load, the invisible load… all while being told to “just get on with it.”
From burnout to body image, sleep to stress, hormones to postnatal recovery, boundaries, exhaustion, and the general overwhelm that so many women live with daily. We’ve just cracked on, because that’s what women do.

And now?
Finally, women’s wellbeing is being talked about in the open, not whispered, not minimised, not brushed aside - celebrated and promoted! UK practitioners, coaches, therapists, and wellness professionals are leading conversations on everything from stress regulation and recovery to cycle health, gut health, rest, movement, and the reality of being a woman in 2025.

That shift matters. A lot.

Women are sharing their lived experiences more openly than ever. Women are comparing stories, finding community, and realising they weren’t “just tired” they were overloaded.
Women are no longer accepting that feeling depleted is the norm.

And that’s something worth celebrating: women’s needs being recognised as actual needs not indulgences, not luxuries, not “nice extras.”

But, here comes the part that always winds me up - as soon as you put the word “women” in front of something, the price seems to creep up. Women’s health. Women’s wellness. Women’s retreats. Women’s anything. It’s like the industry goes, “Ooooh, it’s for women? Lovely, let’s add 30%.” And that’s where it all feels a bit off. Because yes, there’s progress. Yes, the awareness is brilliant. Yes, it’s great that women’s experiences aren’t being brushed aside anymore. But if the support becomes something only a handful of women can afford… what’s actually changed?

This is where we try to be different. At Retreat Yourself, we’re very consciously not jumping on the “women’s wellness = premium price tag” bandwagon. We could. It would probably be easier.
But that’s not who we are, and it’s not what women need.

We also know that even talking about retreats at all comes with a level of privilege. Not every woman has disposable income, childcare, time off work, supportive partners, or the freedom to disappear for a few days and I’m not blind to that. That’s exactly why we work so hard to keep our retreats fair, transparent, and genuinely reachable. We want them to feel accessible, not exclusive. Supportive, not aspirational. Actually useful, not “aspirational wellness with a side of debt.”

And in my clinic work, I’m painfully aware of the same issue. That’s why I set up a non-profit to offer free community women’s health support. It’s not perfect, and it doesn’t solve everything, but it’s one way of balancing the scales so support isn’t only available to the people who can pay for it.

Here’s the heart of it: I love that women’s health and wellness is finally being seen. I love that it’s being talked about. And I love that it’s not being treated as a cute side-topic anymore. But I don’t want that visibility to turn into exploitation. I don’t want “women’s wellness” to become a luxury category where you’re paying more because the packaging is pink.

We deserve better than that. The progress is real and it’s brilliant but the challenge now is making sure it stays grounded, human, and reachable. Because women’s needs aren’t a trend. They’re not a marketing moment. They’re not a premium add-on. They’re basic. Essential. Non-negotiable. And every woman, not just the ones with disposable income, should have access to support that actually helps.

So yes - call it a trend if you want.
But for most women, it’s not a trend at all. It’s life. And it’s about time the wellness world caught up.