" Clean living ": this is a term that may seem barbaric at first glance and needs to be explained. The word clean is very common, especially in beauty with clean beauty and also in fashion andfood (Clean fashion, clean eating). It also characterizes something well done among teenagers, for example asports figure "It's clean". And what about "clean living"?
The definition of Clean living?
It could be translated as a lifestyle marked by well-being, self-care . As if you were revisiting your life through the prism of hygiene, a philosophy of "good for yourself and for the planet" to respect yourself and respect the living. A kind of ecosystem of well-being, applied to yourself, your body, your loved ones, your environment and which connects all dimensions: physical, mental, emotional and spiritual. Through diet, sport, spiritual "body-mind" practices ( yoga , meditation , etc.), different forms of medicine , massages , good sleep, maintenance of your interior, your garden, recreational practices. Clean living is a healthy, holistic lifestyle or even integrative health in a way!
However, let's say it right away, there is no question here of falling into rigidity or exclusion, like orthorexia, this obsessive desire to integrate healthy food and the systematic rejection of foods perceived as unhealthy.
Everyone is free to find in this philosophy of Clean living what will suit them and to adapt it in their own way. And above all to integrate pleasure into it! Here is a brief guide to Clean living or "Happy, Healthy, Holistic Living":
How did Clean living, this quest for increased well-being, come about?
A little flashback... The word Zen made a large appearance in the vocabulary in the West at the end of the 90s and increased proportionally to the rise in stress felt by individuals in the face of society's injunctions, in particular the profitability demanded by financiers, companies, etc. Humans had to be profitable and accelerate their productivity rate. They were ordered to perform at all levels (professional, personal, etc.).
The thirst for well-being, for releasing pressure through many practices was then in place and has been inextinguishable since. Development of spas, increasing promotion of a healthy lifestyle: nutrition / sport / care / rest, personal development: the notions of prevention, of being an actor in one's health, of taking care of oneself flourished at the beginning of the 2000s. However, it was not very attractive: we talked about diet (the word "detox" had not yet surfaced!), of a healthy lifestyle that put off the majority. Organic and natural had a sectarian connotation. Yoga ? Seen as a practice of enlightened people! Spirituality? Perched and satellite!
Everything changed in the 2010s thanks to 3 key and combined factors: the predominance of Generation Y, the birth of Instagram and the rise of tech. In no time at all, boring self-care practices became glamorous, hype, totally revisited by image and words. A new "detox" philosophy allowed the upgrading and "cleansing" of all facets of one's life! Make way for " healthy juices ", gluten-free , "mindfulness" via meditation and all kinds of yoga , qi-gong, the explosion of experts and "Feel Good" books with the popularization of the keys to happiness, positivity, etc.
Make way for experience, the key word of the 2010s! Young people rushed into this "healthy" lifestyle and bombarded it on Instagram. A profusion of images praised a hyper-attractive lifestyle, with superfoods , sports, enhanced body representations , incredible wild natural spaces, etc. And in addition, new electronic tools, "devices" connected to data, to science, made it possible to measure one's sports performance, sleep, physical condition in order to improve them.
Everything became possible and accessible! Professional reconversions were legion: there was a profusion of coaches, yoga teachers, sports teachers, well-being gurus (like Gwyneth Paltrow to name just one). The quest for balance, for the optimum state in a world of stress became the Holy Grail and still is! Not to mention the longevity revolution which leads to new strategies: the "No-one day older", integral youth.
Health has become a marker of beauty, radiance, and "glow." The change in life towards holistic, "Clean living" even finds an echo in epigenetics, since "The environment influences 85% of our DNA" according to scientist Joël de Rosnay.
New ways to take care of your body
This shift towards more naturalness in our lives, self-respect and global awareness have merged into a personal integral ecology. Far from the 80s which praised fitness & tonic gym and hyper activity at all costs, today it is a question of settling down, learning to breathe as in the famous book "Breathwork" by Susan Oubari and Emilie Veyretout, of considering oneself with kindness and gentleness.
Standards and injunctions are no longer relevant, thanks to Millennials who uphold the values of #bodypositivism and inclusivity. Many clean and natural cosmetic brand startups provide advice on how to take care of your body, for a better overall beauty.
Applying a simple cream is not enough, no one is fooled anymore! Dry brushing, self-massages with the appearance of fascialists (Marie Depoulain, Delphine Langlois, Fabienne Crocq, etc.), healthy eating, keys to good sleep, etc. Skincare routines are global, with the motto: "Better everyday". The multitude of practices and messages is total. Collaborations between brands, coaches and experts from different sectors are everywhere, especially on Instagram.
But the real plus of the contribution of the new generations is that they have found a way to de-stress through collective, sensory and joyful solutions such as with collective running. Doing yourself good, taking care of your body has become the new format of cool, fun and it really makes you want to do it!
What better way to adopt preventive health practices than this “Clean living” mode?
Body & Mind
The rise of individual consciousness, and in particular that of Millennials over the last five years, is incredibly shifting the lines. Astrology, "witch" women, mysticism, the power of stones, yoga, meditation. The craze in all these areas is considerable. Taboos are imploding, especially those concerning women. From periods to menopause, including sex, people are speaking out.
The search for meaning in our lives is growing, especially since the first lockdown in March 2020. This real "Wake Up Call" has put our values and essentials back at the center of our lives. It has made us question our priorities. Well-being and DIY practices (cooking, cosmetics, household products, etc.) have exploded, thanks to the many online courses, Instagram live, tutorials. Spiritual awakening is gaining momentum because "body-mind" practices have a real power of transformation! All this contributes to the democratization and desirability of "Clean living". Even in cosmetics, treatments and massages are in unison with the vibrations of stones , to enchant our being. Talismans, crystals guide us towards a cosmic beauty. In order to experience an emotional benefit, like a healing portal.
In "Clean living" the real phenomenon took place through the practice of yoga and meditation (with proven anti-stress effects and positive action on longevity, via the modulation of the expression of certain genes, including pro-inflammatory genes). Once reviled, if you now declare that you do neither yoga nor relaxation nor sport, you are doomed to the pillory! Even among the intermediate generations, practices with esoteric connotations such as Kundalini yoga have found a resounding echo thanks to Anne Bianchi and Lili Barbery-Coulon, two former beauty journalists. It was quite daring and courageous of Lili Barbery-Coulon to offer live sessions on Instagram (at the beginning of the first lockdown and every evening at 6 p.m. during it), in order to teach and commune with connected people, around unknown mantras and postures, which may seem totally incongruous. In total, 10,000 people regularly followed his live broadcasts to try to transform their lives and move towards more Clean living!
Listen to yourself and flee from dogmas!
For this harmony of body and mind to happen, for adherence to the Clean living lifestyle to take place, it is necessary to listen to yourself. To say stop to the dictates, to try to do everything well. A good help for this is the 80/20 rule. Mainly applied to nutrition (Healthy Eating), it can be applied to all levels of well-being. And consists of integrating 80% of healthy practices and leaving 20% of "trashy" practices, to link pleasure, conviviality and not sink into rigorism! It is an ideal and friendly tip to follow when you are in transition to a more ecological lifestyle.
Listening to yourself also means learning to respect yourself, to be attentive to your biorhythms. To consider your mental load (family, personal, professional, etc.), take into account your activity, your emotional state, your environment (urban, outdoors, etc.), in order to make decisions that correspond to your deep self. A trigger can also lead to changing your habits. Years ago, a stranger, a neighbor at the table, told me: "My body is not a trash can!" This sentence has always stayed with me. Since then, I have paid attention to the notion of satiety (20 minutes are necessary for the information to reach the brain), to leave the table still a little hungry - to keep tone and energy.
Giving meaning to your actions
Finally, to be in a joyful "Clean living", get involved, commit, find the meaning of your life, the common thread of what drives us is fundamental. Meaning is linked to passion, creation, what puts us in a state of "flow", "the maximum state of concentration, full commitment and satisfaction in its accomplishment" in positive psychology. Putting awareness, ethics in your purchases , in your consumption, allows you to put meaning in it and to be in agreement with your values. A great question to ask yourself every morning when you wake up is the one advocated by the philosopher and writer Alexandre Jollien: "Who, what gesture, what action will make me happy today?"
To conclude, the quest for health and well-being reinvents lifestyles, care rituals and invites Clean Living. Between prevention, sensoriality and pleasure, the range of solutions to access a state of rejuvenation is wide. Listening to the body, the emotional response allows us to refine our perceptions and be guided in our choices. It is a question of giving meaning and putting more awareness into our actions and our daily purchases.
And the quest for well-being & Clean Living enters a new era, that of well-being with a spiritual aim. For physical and bodily health, it is the moments of inner peace, of feeling of harmony with one's inner and outer space that make one radiant, strong with a feeling of love and gratitude towards life.
