Less is core

Infrared blankets and special teas, hyperactive apps, crystals in skincare, and spa treatments that feature caviar and diamond dust... Whatever happened to a simple walk by the beach, an afternoon with a hobby, or a quiet evening with loved ones? Ambi Parameswaran takes a look at the evolution of self-care, and — given the breathless rat race we're in, amid our concrete jungles — what it will take to turn the clock back

- Ambi Parameswaran

What makes us happy?

In his book Authentic Happiness (2002), psychologist Martin Seligman of University of Pennsylvania defines happiness as a state made up of positive emotions, positive engagement and a sense of meaning.

His research birthed a new field of study: Positive psychology, born of the idea that this branch of medicine need not focus only on illness and dysfunction. It could also aid humans in their search for well-being and fulfilment.

Long before this, in 1970, molecular biologist Jon Kabat-Zinn pioneered secular mindfulness training with the Mindfulness Based Stress Reduction (MBSR) programme born at University of Massachusetts and since deployed around the world.

I got a taste of it while enrolled in Harvard Business School's advanced management programme in 2014. Mindfulness training there involved lectures, meditation sessions and exercise. (The dozen-plus participants from India, who had been brought up on a heavy dose of meditation did not find this of great interest, but for the others from 50+ countries, it was an “aha” moment.)

Amid the growing the strain of our eternal-growth economies, alongside terms such as “work-life balance” and “wellness”, such practices came to define “self-care”.