In Rhythm with Wellness: Selena Watkins on Movement, Mindset, and Cultural Healing
Selena Watkins
Selena Watkins is a wellness leader, professional dancer, and the founder of Socanomics, a cultural wellness platform dedicated to helping individuals cultivate physical and mental well-being through movement, mindfulness, and Caribbean heritage. With a background in professional dance and training in yoga and holistic practices, Selena blends artistry with intentional self-care to create an innovative, rhythm-driven approach to fitness and healing.
Her expertise spans dance fitness, mobility and recovery, meditation and breathwork, and community-centered experiences designed to help women feel strong, confident, and connected to their bodies. Through her holistic philosophy, she encourages people to embrace joy, harmony, and clean living while building routines that support both mental and physical resilience.
For more insights and resources, visit Socanomics at www.socanomics.com.
Selena, your journey blends movement, mindfulness, and Caribbean culture in such a powerful way. Can you share a bit about how your personal wellness path began, and what inspired the creation of Socanomics?
Absolutely. My personal wellness journey is very layered. It began when I was just a teenager, long before I had the language for it and before it was trendy. I began to see a holistic doctor and colon hygienist who changed my life. My family and I became raw vegan for the first time when I was about 16, and we began the practice of colon hydrotherapy, fasting, detoxing – the whole gammit. By the time I was in college, I had fallen into deep love with self-care in the form of saunas, steam rooms, and massages, while also getting introduced to Yoga as a daily practice from one of my dance professors at Rutgers.
I’d suggest though, that my wellness journey has been like the peeling of an onion throughout my entire life because as a dancer, movement is the foundation and lens through which I see life. Art and creativity is spiritual for me and very connected to holistic wellbeing.
That love for music, and lifetime of studying movement, primes you to be quite receptive to fitness as a career. It was a natural next step in my journey. Socanomics was born out of that.
Like that same onion, I think it was just intuitive to create a wellness experience rooted in culture, being a first generation Caribbean-American. I developed something that reflected what I and so many people I know loved–SOCA MUSIC –while also offering a space to move, sweat, heal, and celebrate our bodies.
It was my solution to the lack of diversity and representation I saw in all of the boutique fitness spaces I taught in, or took classes in. Not just who they hired, but even in the modalities and who it was marketed towards. There was nothing that really spoke to me soI poured my years of experience into carving out a niche and catering to an underserved demographic.
By the time I was featured in Women’s Health Magazine, Socanomics began to reach the people who were in search of something like it.
Then, a few years later, the pandemic hit. It was like a domino of serendipity, because I was experienced in teaching to camera, and ready to teach online right away. That growing interest, and word of mouth, birthed Socanomics.com and helped us cultivate a loyal community.
As I’ve continued my own wellness studies, I’ve expanded my offerings as a practitioner and poured it into the DNA of the brand. So what started as a local dance fitness pop-up class has become a cultural wellness experience. The caveat is that it successfully resonates with a wide audience. It is for everyone.
From your work as a dancer, wellness coach, and founder, what have you found to be some of the most overlooked elements when it comes to achieving true, sustainable well-being?
The awareness that we don’t have to live in extremes and that there is no true balance. I think it’s more about harmony. Let me explain.
The duality of the human experience is about both work and rest. We are meant to work hard. We desire it. Finding purpose and fulfillment in life takes work.
And so holistic wellness isn’t about the absence of hard work, it’s about the harmony with it.
Physical fitness along with recovery. Work and play. Discipline and peace. Solitude and community.
Wellness can often be painted as passive self-care, complete rest, or something that’s monolithic. And it is not. And so, the awareness alone helps in achieving a sustainable journey towards wellbeing.
Lastly, many people don’t realize that joy and celebration are forms of wellness. Especially for women of color, honoring those softer, restorative practices is the most radical act of self-care.
You often talk about the importance of rhythm—not just in dance, but in life. How do you help your community tap into that rhythm as a tool for self-care and healing?
Wow, rhythm is such a metaphor. In Socanomics, we use the vibration of Soca music as a portal, right? We reconnect with our body. That cadence syncs with our nervous system and with nature.
I even think about the first forms of dance I studied and performed – Haitian folkloric dance and traditional west African dance.
Even then, at 5,6,7 years old, it felt like a remembrance rather than something foreign. The way we moved our hips, undulated our back, honored the drum and called in the spirit, was all accessed through the rhythm of the music.
I share that with our community. Because your connection to rhythm is the same connection to intuition and to source. There is a quote by Nietzsche that says “There is more wisdom in your body than in your greatest philosophy” and I believe this fully.
Are there any non-negotiable wellness habits or rituals you swear by?
Absolutely—I call it my healing toolbox. First, I believe that food is our medicine, and therefore our medicine is our food. I follow a kemetic lifestyle and swear by the saying that “ital is vital” which is a Rastafarian philosophy that what you eat should enhance your life force energy, rather than diminish it. And so, eating from the sun and the earth is what makes us our most vital and connected to source. It all goes back to physical AND spiritual wellbeing.
So I definitely eat plant-based. And for me that means no meat, no dairy. In my home there is no white sugar, vegetable or seed oils, no gluten or overly processed items.
I move my body daily, even if it’s just a stretch or a mobility routine right out of bed.
My other daily practices include breathwork & meditation, smudging, coconut oil pulling, and drinking lots of spring water. It’s all fun for me and makes me feel my best. It’s definitely a lifestyle.
As someone deeply attuned to the body and energy, how would you recommend people integrate Weddell Duo into their self-care routine in a meaningful way?
I love long, hot showers and so the Weddell Duo is very much a part of that routine. I really just marinate in the bathroom! It’s one of my favorite ways to spark gratitude and presence.
I recommend people make their shower ceremonial. Once you attach the Weddell Duo you’ve got cleaner water. Allow your shower to not just cleanse your body, but release everything that isn’t yours to carry throughout the day. Imagine it washing away stress, doubt, and energy that doesn’t belong to you. Light that candle, burn the incense and then hit play on your favorite playlist to match the energy you want to call in. Why? Because you are cleansing your energy field—both physically and spiritually. Set that mood, sis!
What’s next for you and Socanomics? Any exciting projects on the horizon?
Yes! As an experience brand, we are solving one problem through multiple access points. So we’ve got pop-Up events, digital programs, wellness retreats and branded collaborations throughout the year. There’s always something new bubbling.
Right now, wellness tourism is skyrocketing and experiential wellness is booming. So we plan to amplify our work by scaling up our physical presence, brand partnerships and content.
On a personal note, I’ve been movement directing on set for music artists and for brands which I love because it’s been a perfect segway from dancing professionally. I’m also committed to writing. Long before the path to being a wellness founder, One of my first goals in life was to be an author. So I am being diligent at fulfilling that little girl’s dream. Writing more of what you ask? You name it – Digital offerings, substack content, published work. I am just making creative space for the written word in my personal life.
We often hear that some of the best ideas come to us in the shower. Have you had any interesting shower thoughts lately, especially related to your work or wellness?
Oh, absolutely. Some of my best downloads come either in the shower or on my morning walks. It all comes so fast and uninterrupted. Those are the moments I have zero doubt about the work that I’m doing and the path that I am on.
My latest ideas have been around scaling Socanomics and the exciting projects on the horizon. Especially because I’ve been having deeper conversations with my partner about it, planning, researching and praying for clarity. And then boom, it comes in the shower – the realization that I’m already doing it, living it, being it. We all are. So I’m grateful.
A heartfelt thank you to Selena for being part of this conversation and for all she does through Socanomics to celebrate culture, joy, and wellness. We’re proud to highlight voices that inspire harmony, empowerment, and intentional self-care.
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