BY: KAMAL HYLTON
Public knowledge of and dedication towards health and wellness has made it one of today’s biggest booming industries. For people of all different ages and walks of life, the industry has gone far beyond simple weight loss by branching out into many different directions. We are now more aware and cognizant of what’s going into our bodies, and our overall goal has changed from just looking better to feeling better and having a better quality of life.
All of this has, in turn, opened up numerous avenues for employment opportunities. In this article, we take a closer look at three specific areas within the health and wellness industry that job seekers should target.
FARMING, AGRICULTURE & AGRI-FOOD
Being at ground zero of anything within this field can be very rewarding in more ways than one. From a more general positive-feeling perspective, knowing that you are the source for your customer’s locally grown food should be rewarding on its own. Financially, the agriculture industry is solidly in the top ten within Canada, alongside industries like Mining, Technology and Sustainable Energy. According to the Government of Canada website, the country is a top ten exporter of Agricultural goods worldwide, with over 750 companies generating a combined revenue in the $20 billion dollar range.
All of this points to numerous job opportunities across the country, especially with the demand for organically grown foods, more people turning towards vegetarian/vegan living and being aware of foods with MSG, hormones and pesticides. When it comes to Canada, outside of traditional farming in the country’s heartland, significant profits are being made from farmer’s markets, rooftop greenhouses and stronger ties between local restaurants and local farms.
EXERCISE, SPA/MASSAGE & MEDITATION
Another field with rising job opportunities is anything to do with the body. When looking at the top programs being taken in college/university, one that keeps popping up is Kinesiology – the study of the mechanics of body movements. This has spawned multiple careers in exercise, with instructors now teaching a wide range of classes that include yoga, mixed martial arts and boxfit. Speaking of martial arts, check out Pack the Mats. In terms of body relaxation and injury recovery, spa and aromatherapy has been proven to help with quicker recovery from injury or ailments such as arthritis. Another big area has been meditation, not only as a way of relieving stress but as a coping mechanism for those with certain mental health issues. The days of just wanting to lose weight are changing, the goal trending now towards feeling better and living longer.
There are many wellness centers that are popping up all over the country, that are multi-discipline practices focused completely on holistic health. These offer a variety of options, such as Chiropractor Near Me, massage therapy, yoga and even, less familiar therapies like cupping and FST (fascial stretch therapy) all under one roof! Another type of therapy that can improve your health and well being is physiotherapy.
ADVANCED DRUG RESEARCH, ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE & NATURAL REMEDIES
The other major revenue generating field within health and wellness is alternative medicine and natural remedies within advanced drugs research. When it comes to experimental drugs, people are far more hesitant these days to use certain pills, creams and/or injections of drugs that they can’t effectively research or even pronounce. This has become more prevalent with some drugs that have been shown to have serious immediate side effects or far more scary delayed side effects when taken over time.
This issue has also come up in sports when discussing steroids and HGH (Human Growth Hormones). The stigma surrounding it, and use of it by high school athletes, has turned people to looking at natural remedies, consuming “superfoods” and progressive technologies/sciences with inversion tables and cryogenic chambers as ways of keeping the body fresh.
Image source: planetsoho.com
