More than meditation, this practice of self-reflection and actualization is a simple yet powerful self-care tool.
What Is Cocooning? Understanding
the Emerging
Wellness Trend
If “self-care” has been the buzzword throughout the pandemic, “holistic wellness” is hot on its heels. The idea that the mind and body are best served by a multidimensional care approach goes back centuries. Yet only recently has the modern wellness movement broadened the way we think about treating the whole person.
There are many avenues of self-care, and what cocooning does for one person may not influence another in the same way. What’s important, says Ash, is for us all to carve out time to more fully explore and understand the many layers of ourselves.
“I started my company, Black Girl in Om, with the mission to catalyze healing within Black women around the world on their unique journeys toward wholeness,” Ash shares. “And that wholeness is about truly accepting and embracing all parts of myself, and embracing and accepting all parts of my story.”
Embracing Wholeness
Another wellness pioneer, Anabella Landa, has seen the evolution of the industry firsthand. Best known to her social media devotees as AnnieMoves, she’s excited to debunk myths surrounding self-care—like the belief that self-care needs to be complicated.
“It can be as simple as sitting down and taking a few focused breaths,” Landa says. “I think the current wellness revolution is connecting us within ourselves so we can connect better with those around us. I really love that.”
A Soft Touch
To find her own quiet place for self-reflection, Ash spends time in nature—a simple yet underutilized form of self-care.
“Most of us are walking around with a very activated nervous system,” she says. “Taking a walk in a place that has a lot of greenery—which, unfortunately, I know not everyone has access to—has a lot of value. Our nervous systems are instantly at greater ease when we’re outside, breathing fresh air and looking at green space.”
Ash is featured in the campaign for Loro Piana’s aptly named Cocooning Collection. She says joining forces with the Italian fashion brand for this particular project felt like divine timing after recently emerging from an elongated cocoon phase herself.
“Clothing has always been a really personal way to communicate what’s going on during any given season of my life,” Ash says. “And when I first saw the Loro Piana Cocooning Collection, it was exactly the type of clothing I was already wearing daily. There’s a cream button-down sweater in the collection that I did not want to take off. Another favorite is a long, flowy cashmere dress that feels as dreamy as it looks. I love the idea of wearing something around the house that I would feel equally as amazing wearing in the outside world.”
“When I practice habits of self-care, where it’s yoga or meditation, I see the impact of it on my life,” she continues. “That ability to calm myself down or manage feelings of stress and sadness in a productive way is priceless. It makes me want to have a positive impact in other people’s lives.”
In her classes, Landa encourages students to look at yoga as a moving meditation, encouraging them to infuse the practices learned in class into their personal lives. “I’m part of the revolution of people who are trying to draw more attention to the prolific impact of conscious movements and conscious breathing; taking a few seconds of your day to take a couple deep breaths, exhaling longer so you send the correct signal to your nervous system. Taking a few minutes for yourself can really, really change a person’s day or even life.”
Like Ash, Landa is also featured in Loro Piana’s Cocooning Collection campaign. As someone who is quite literally always on the move, she connects with the softness of the pieces, many of which feel like a warm embrace—a reminder to pause, relax and breathe.
“Cashmere is so cozy, it instantly makes you feel,” she says. “I really love their yoga shorts and socks. There’s also an incredible cashmere yoga mat. The feel of the material made me feel safe. I felt so good in them. I think Loro Piana did an amazing job with this collection because with these pieces, you can achieve elevated comfort. When you feel good in your own skin, you can share that feeling with the rest of the world.”
Shop the Collection
Custom Content from WSJ is a unit of The Wall Street Journal Advertising Department. The Wall Street Journal news organization was not involved in the creation of this content.
Influencers and activists in the wellness space are increasingly championing practices that embrace a back-to-basics approach. The path they’re evangelizing relies on practices and platforms that are more inclusive and accessible to all.
Take cocooning, for example. It’s the practice of turning inward to reconnect with yourself and live in the moment—without any of the outside noise. “Cocooning is about relishing in self-nurturing moments,” says Lauren Ash, founder of Black Girl in Om, a community that supports women of color on their journeys to wellness and healing. “For quite some time I thought that turning inward had negative connotations; that not being connected to others or sharing yourself like you are when you’re in the cocoon stage is a bad thing. But there’s beauty and reverence in cocooning that we should honor.”
Shop the Collection
LOREM IPSUM DOLOR QUIS