What Is Wellness? Origins and Benefits
9 May 2025
Good morning, everyone! Today’s episode kicks off with a focus on wellness—and who better to guide us than the Wellness Foundation? Please join me in welcoming Federica Alberti, the Foundation’s director! It’s a real pleasure to launch our new segment: Wellness Bites!
We often hear the word “well-being,” but it’s a broad and multifaceted concept. According to various studies, wellness is defined as a lifestyle that aims to achieve complete physical, mental, and social well-being. So let’s start right there—with Federica telling us when the Wellness Foundation was founded, what its core activities are, and what its mission is.
Founded in 2003, the Wellness Foundation is a non-profit organization established by Nerio Alessandri, founder and President of Technogym, with the goal of spreading the culture of Wellness. For over twenty years, we’ve been leading the Wellness Valley initiative—an ambitious regional project that, through the collaboration of numerous public and private stakeholders, has transformed Romagna into the first internationally recognized district for wellness expertise and quality of life. The project has delivered tangible results in terms of health and prevention, as well as economic development and tourism. Since its inception, the Wellness Foundation has worked to bring the concept of wellness to the forefront of both national and international agendas, with the aim of encouraging more active lifestyles and building healthier communities. Looking ahead to the 2026 Winter Olympics, we launched Milano Wellness City 2030 in 2023—an ambitious urban regeneration project focused on well-being and prevention, reflecting the crucial role cities play in promoting the health of their citizens.
A year later, in 2024, Cortina in Wellness was born—an initiative designed to foster the culture of healthy living and to help build a lasting social legacy from the Milano Cortina 2026 Olympic and Paralympic Games.
These days, the word “wellness” can mean many different things.
If we asked a group of people to define it, we’d likely get a wide range of answers. So how can we trace the origins of the concept and explain what wellness really means?
In fact, the roots of wellness go back over 2,000 years to ancient Roman culture.
The poet Juvenal, with his famous motto “Mens sana in corpore sano”—a sound mind in a sound body—advocated for a healthy, balanced life, combining mental and physical well-being. This harmony between body and mind translates into better health, a more positive mood, and healthier relationships—with others and with the world around us. Fast forward to 1993, when our president, with his pioneering vision of Wellness, defined it as a lifestyle that brings together regular physical activity, a balanced diet, and a positive mental attitude—all aimed at feeling good about ourselves and our connection to others.
In his book Be Wellness, Nerio Alessandri explains that the term “Wellness” stems from the combination of two concepts: well-being, referring to overall health and quality of life, and fitness, understood as physical condition. This enriches the idea of “feeling good” by adding the dimension of physical form—and there can be no true fitness without movement.
The word “Wellness” first appeared in the Oxford English Dictionary as the opposite of “illness,” but over time, the concept evolved. It came to represent not just the absence of disease, but a more complete vision of health—one that emphasizes the positive outcomes people can achieve through lifestyle choices. So, “Wellness” is a broader concept than “health,” yet it’s clear that there can be no Wellness without health. And globally, we face a major challenge: ensuring a healthier population.
Ultimately, Wellness is a lifestyle choice—one that anyone, anywhere, at any age can embrace. It’s about making conscious decisions around movement, nutrition, and mindset—the three pillars of the Wellness Lifestyle Pyramid.
That’s a really interesting point you just mentioned—the Wellness Lifestyle Pyramid. What exactly is it, and how does it work?
The Wellness Lifestyle® Pyramid, developed by Technogym’s Scientific Research Department, illustrates the daily activities that can have a positive impact on our health and overall well-being. At the base of the pyramid lies the mental approach, which includes factors like sleep, taking care of relationships, pursuing personal interests, staying positive, and managing stress. As you move up the pyramid, the focus shifts to physical activity and healthy eating—activities like engaging in daily exercise, eating appropriate portions of fruits and vegetables, staying well-hydrated, and avoiding habits that could harm long-term health.
A Wellness lifestyle is built on healthy habits, a positive attitude, and the motivation we bring to our daily routines. Another key tool we use to spread the wellness culture is the Wellness Decalogue, a straightforward guide designed to help people develop the right habits for a healthier, more productive, and happier life. It provides simple, actionable advice for improving well-being, such as committing to regular physical activity, eating fresh and nutritious foods, staying hydrated, ensuring proper sleep, nurturing personal passions, and spending time in nature. The idea is to foster a positive mindset, limit harmful behaviors like smoking and excessive drinking, and embrace life with motivation and a smile.
When it comes to the benefits of a wellness lifestyle, it’s clear that it promotes good health. This is not only backed by science and studies, but something we can also experience firsthand. We’ve discussed the Wellness Pyramid and the Wellness Decalogue—essentially, a guide to help us adopt healthy habits. But let’s dive a little deeper into daily life.
In terms of both physical and mental health, studies show that living a wellness lifestyle helps regulate digestion, maintain a healthy body weight, and prevent chronic diseases like cancer, diabetes, and cardiovascular conditions. It also reduces stress and anxiety, promotes better sleep, and boosts mood and self-esteem.
However, wellness is not just beneficial for individuals; it’s also an opportunity for society, and today, more than ever, it’s a priority. Feeling good is beneficial for everyone: for individuals, as we’ve discussed, it promotes health and a longer, better life; for businesses and organizations, it helps improve productivity and unlock the full potential of employees; and for governments, it supports the implementation of effective, sustainable public health programs focused on prevention. To truly experience and enjoy complete well-being, we must adopt a wellness lifestyle across all aspects of our daily activities and the spaces we occupy. From what we do at home to how we work in the office, from the sports we practice in our free time to the vacations we choose: achieving wellness means improving all our daily behaviors. After all, wellness, as a lifestyle, is about the overall way we live. There are no miracle cures, but we can create the awareness that a certain way of living, along with a new mindset, can lead to a tangible improvement in our quality of life in every aspect, helping us feel better about ourselves and with others.
One last question to wrap up… In today’s fast-paced world, it can be challenging to follow these guidelines. What message would you like to leave our listeners to help them start living a wellness lifestyle?
Each of us deserves to live a full and fulfilling life. It’s never too late to start taking care of yourself. Listen to your body, make small changes, and celebrate every step forward. You don’t need to turn your life upside down overnight. For example, you can start by drinking a glass of water as soon as you wake up, or taking a 10-minute walk during your lunch break—without forgetting the importance of spending time with others.
