My journey as
a wellness doctor

Miia Grénman
D.Sc, (Econ. & Bus. Adm.), Marketing, Turku School of Economics at University of Turku (2019) 

I defended my doctoral dissertation at the Turku School of Economics in the spring of 2019 specializing in marketing. In my interdisciplinary dissertation In quest of the optimal self, I investigated the wellness phenomenon from the perspectives of consumption and self-branding. This was the first wellness-related doctoral dissertation in the field of marketing and consumer research in Finland.

Currently, I work as a postdoctoral researcher in Jyväskylä School of Business and Economics (JSBE) and in the Biodiversity Unit at the University of Turku in the Strategic Research Council's (SRC) funded multiyear research project BIODIFUL. My research focuses on wellness consumption and practices, eudaimonic well-being, and a good and meaningful life. 

Expertise

#wellness consumption and practices #wellness branding  #eudaimonic well-being #flourishing #good life #meaningfulness #sustainability #nature relatedness #transformative consumer research #positive psychology #Gen Z

Biography

Positive Psychology Practioner, Joylla (2020)
D.Sc., Marketing, University of Turku (2019)
M.Sc., Marketing, University of Turku (2008)
BBA, Marketing, Turku University of Applied Sciences (2004)

Position

Postdoctoral researcher, JSBE, University of Jyväskylä

Postdoctoral researcher, Biodiversity Unit, University of Turku

A fascinating journey

My journey as a wellness doctor has been fascinating. Health and well-being have fascinated me since 2006, when I was first researching my bachelor's and then my master's thesis on the meanings of physical activity. In 2010, when the new health and well-being trend - wellness - gradually started to emerge in Finland, I became fully engaged.

The current wellness phenomenon can be traced back to early 2000s California, USA, when this consumer trend first went mainstream through the growth of the fitness and spa industries. Since then, the wellness market has evolved and widened both in scale and scope, shifting wellness to a multi-trillion dollar global industry.

I have witnessed this shift myself - first, while competing in gymnastics for a decade, and afterwards, through two decades working in the fitness industry. In gymnastics, I got motivated but also fascinated while recognizing that self-improvement and self-development are actually possible. Whereas I was pushed and coached as a gymnast, as a gym instructor I was the one to encourage and guide others to achieve their own goals.

I realized that in achieving goals - whether smaller or bigger - the most important thing is the journey towards identifying your own strengths to achieve your optimal potential.

The journey itself may even be more meaningful than achieving the actual goal.