- WAIORA WELLNESS
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- Your Body. Your Water.
In Michaelmas Term 2024/25 at Oxford, I joined the Skoll Centre Impact Lab—one of the most transformative experiences of my term. During a storytelling workshop, I shared an idea that reshaped my own thinking: self-care is water care.
We talk about wellness, hydration, and sustainability as separate conversations, but they’re deeply connected. Here’s why rethinking water might just be the most important act of self-care we can take.
YOUR BODY. YOUR WATER.
Everyone says, “Water is life.” But do we really understand what that means?
Water isn’t just something we drink, swim in, or bathe with.
It is us.
By molecular count, 99% of your body is water.
When I started out, people said: Water is such a niche field and basic service. How will that be an interesting career?
The back story: I wanted to become an ambassador for Germany. But in a seminar on international conflicts of the future, someone stated, We’ll fight over access to natural resources, especially water.
Everyone nodded in agreement.
To me, it wasn’t obvious.
That was 2010. When the Chochabamba Water Wars in Bolivia made the news.
I shifted my plan and started researching water endlessly. I became the Water Fairy—every conversation was about water. My education and career led me deep into the technicalities of water management.
But what do people ask me the most?
What’s the best water to drink?
Which filter should I use?
That’s when I realised: Water management isn’t just about saving water or treatment plants. It’s about how we think and feel about water. Our beliefs, our mindset, and our connection to it.
We need a Hydration & Water Wellness Mindset Shift
We think we know everything there is to know about water—but we don’t.
Scientists discovered a new phase of water: a gel-like structure that exists in our cells. It turns out that the way water molecules are structured inside us affects our wellness in ways we’re just beginning to understand.
Yet we keep hearing the same outdated advice: Drink 8 glasses of water a day.
That’s a myth. Hydration isn’t just about how much you drink—it’s about how well your body absorbs it.
We aren’t just dehydrated because we drink too little. We’re dehydrated because we sit indoors all day, because our food is ultra-processed and dry, and because we lack the minerals needed to move water into our cells.
Movement is hydration.
Your lymphatic system is your body's internal irrigation system.
Your mindfulness practices influence the structure of water in your cells.
Water wellness is more than just hydration or pollution—it’s a lifestyle.
A New Perspective on Water
As a researcher, I thought I understood water—until I realised that the water inside me mattered just as much as the water around me.
That changed everything.
People say water is local. Experts argue we can’t manage it globally like CO₂. But water is global. The rivers in the sky connect us all. The molecules flowing through your body have travelled through oceans, clouds, and glaciers.
A river is a body of water.
So are you.
The Contradiction in Self-Care
The wellness industry is booming. People spend billions on supplements, skincare, haircare, and anti-aging products.
But real self-care was always about getting the basics right—eating well, sleeping enough, moving your body.
Ancient wellness practices like Roman baths, hammams, and saunas all revolved around water.
And yet, today, we’re fine with washing and flushing products down the drain that pollute the very water we need to be well. Here’s a fact most people don’t know:
92% of water pollution in the EU comes from pharmaceuticals and personal care products.
80% of wastewater globally reaches rivers and oceans untreated.
The very products we use for self-care are contaminating the water we rely on. And most of this pollution goes straight through wastewater treatment plants.
This is the contradiction we must face:
How can we pursue wellness while polluting the water that sustains us?
True Self-Care Starts with Water Care.
Real self-care isn’t about having more products on your shelf. It’s about making choices that respect a deeper connection to the water in your cells.
After all, water isn’t just something we use—it’s who we are.
Yours always – Clouds
The Age of Wellness
The pharmaceutical and cosmetics industries are jointly responsible for 92% of the toxic load in wastewaters. (Euro News)
Appearance (cosmetics, procedues, hair care & skincare products) are the top US health and wellness purchases category. (McKinsey Future of Wellness Survey, Aug 2023)
Water isn’t what you think it is. The fourth phase of water by Gerald Pollack (Bio4Climate)