Why wild health raves will be one of 2026’s biggest wellness trends

A conference’s last session before lunch is usually the time to covertly check your phone and run some digital errands, while trying to stifle yawns. But that was not the case at the Global Wellness Summit’s recent event in New York to launch its annual trends report. Attendees were urged to get to their feet, turn to their neighbour, hold their gaze for several minutes, take their hands and say: “I love you.” Next came the rave. On stage, former dancer Luuk Melisse, founder of the mindful movement community Sanctum, who has hosted sessions all over the world, shouted instructions over heavy, vibrating house music. We followed his moves as he thrusted his hips and punched his fists to the beat, swaying and pulsating as one, everyone letting down their guard to join in. The dancing provided a profound emotional release and it was impossible not to feel the room’s energy lift. A new chapter is opening for the wellness industry, one that owes a lot to the euphoric rave culture of the 80s and 90s. “This year we will witness a backlash against hi-tech, performative wellness … and a resurgence in experiences embracing what humans actually are: imperfect, emotional, relational and sensory – hard-wired to seek pleasure, joy and self-expression,” says Beth McGroarty, vice-president of research and forecasting at the Global Wellness Institute, which organises the summit. The “festivalisation” of wellness was among the top 10 trends forecasted for 2026. “Wellness will pivot to catharsis and connection,” McGroarty says. “We will see a wave of wild, cathartic wellness raves and gatherings, redefining wellness as wild, collective energy, joy, magic and ritual, profound emotional release.” This is no new fad. Cathartic chanting and rhythmic movement in large groups to evoke collective energy are ancient practices dating back millennia. Catharsis comes from the ancient Greek word katharsis, meaning cleansing, which was first attributed to Aristotle. It evolved into a therapeutic idea for releasing buried trauma, thanks to Austrian neurologist Sigmund Freud, but its essence is to purge negative emotions for a sense of renewal. This idea never went away, and in the mid-90s, ecstatic dance became a global movement, inspired by a movement meditation practice introduced by American dancer and spiritual teacher Gabrielle Roth in the late 1960s known as 5Rhythms. Now, cathartic dance and chanting are enjoying a resurgence and engaging new audiences, McGroarty says. This is partly thanks to the pandemic, after Covid lockdowns left people craving human contact and community, with our lonely addiction to screens resulting in our self-alienating more than any other generation, she adds. Dancing together is proven to be beneficial for mental health. A 2024 study in the British Medical Journal suggests dance can be more effective against depression than common antidepressant medications. Another study, from Harvard University, outlined how group dancing has been used to treat Parkinson’s disease. In classes hosted by Sanctum, described as mindful fitness raves “combining movement, emotional release and spiritual awakening”, participants are encouraged to lose inhibitions, connect with others and process emotions through sound and movement. Sanctum partners with resort brands such as Six Senses globally, holds daily classes in London, Stockholm, Amsterdam and Dubai, and has plans to expand into Asia. “We use our body as a vessel to express ourselves,” says Melisse. “Sanctum has become a safe space where people can laugh and cry and be themselves with each other – the community aspect has become the main pillar.” Sanctum is among a host of emergent cathartic movement classes, including The Class, a cult favourite somatic (body movement) workout available in New York and Los Angeles that is loved by celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow, Drew Barrymore, Harry Styles and Emma Stone. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Taryn Toomey (@taryntoomey) In the UK, Love Supreme Projects in London’s Notting Hill offers yoga and chanting sessions as well as dancing. The studio’s maxim is “crack your heart open”. Attend on a Friday night and there will usually be live music, with free chai and cookies after the session. There are other aspects of the trend for collective release. The sober morning rave before work is a concept inspired by London’s Morning Gloryville, where people drink coffee or smoothies and dance to live DJs. It even brings “mini raves” to corporate offices. Similar concepts have been inspired in Seoul, Delhi and Sydney. Grief raves have also found a niche, providing connection and an outlet after personal bereavement or a break-up, or even to release some political fury in these complex times. This has helped pave the way for crying clubs and scream gatherings – all demonstrating a movement towards emotional honesty. Anyone living in Hong Kong will have seen collective group dance classes daily in parks and public spaces called guangchang wu, or square dancing, usually performed by elderly women. Now, younger generations are embracing the trend in a structured way, says Joseph Chen, director of culture at the Eaton Hong Kong hotel, which hosts an annual Consciousness Festival. “We started the festival in 2023, emerging from the wellness boom after the Covid-19 era,” he says. “We wanted to foster deeper, more challenging dialogues about our inner selves than just going to the gym. So, we created a festival that bridges narratives from artists, scientists, therapists and advocates to explore the richness and complexity of consciousness and its power to inspire social and creative change.” The festival most recently took place last year from November 8 to December 7, kicking off with a contemporary dance performance by Party for Three that invited audience participation. That was followed by a line-up of breathwork, Tantric practices, and discussions on topics including battling cancer, carer trauma and explorations of grief, culminating with a sunset yoga rave with a live DJ set. “With the World Health Organization predicting depression will be the leading cause of disease burden globally by 2030, we are reimagining art and culture not merely as self-expression, but as a force for collective well-being that deepens empathy and strengthens the bonds that connect us,” says Chen, who felt personally inspired to create the festival after losing a friend to suicide. “We need more than ever to build a living network of mutual care.” Like what you read? Follow SCMP Lifestyle on Facebook, X and Instagram. You can also sign up for our eNewsletter here.

Why wild health raves will be one of 2026’s biggest wellness trends

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}The Global Wellness Summit’s new trends report predicts wellness to pivot from hi-tech and performative to cathartic and connective

The Global Wellness Summit’s new trends report predicts wellness to pivot from hi-tech and performative to cathartic and connective