A new wellness trend called “Lakshmi-maxxing” is gaining attention across social media. It combines beauty, self-care and abundance with imagery linked to Hindu Goddess Lakshmi. The trend has been linked to wellness mentor and Ayurvedic practitioner Lisa Power, known online as @well_witch. She began posting about the concept in July 2026. Her content encouraged practices such as waking during Brahma Muhurta and practising abhyanga or self-massage. She also promoted drinking warm water from a copper vessel, offering flowers and chanting Lakshmi mantras. Her content also encouraged more intentional daily routines. However, the trend has attracted criticism as it spread online. Indians and members of the South Asian community questioned the trend’s approach to a revered religious tradition. They asked whether it was turning the tradition into a social-media wellness aesthetic.
What Is Lakshmi-Maxxing?
The term combines Goddess Lakshmi with the internet suffix “-maxxing,” generally used to describe optimising or maximising a particular aspect of life. In this case, “Lakshmi-maxxing” presents ideas associated with Lakshmi including abundance, beauty, prosperity, harmony and nourishment through the language of modern wellness and lifestyle content.
Creators discussing the trend have linked it to early-morning routines, oil massages, flowers, ghee lamps, gratitude, decluttering and intentional self-care. The result is a concept that feels familiar to anyone who follows the online wellness space. It features carefully curated routines, soft lighting, flowers, traditional objects and rituals. These elements appear alongside beauty and self-improvement advice.
Why Did Lakshmi-Maxxing Go Viral?
The trend reportedly gained traction after Lisa Power began sharing videos around the concept in July. One of her Instagram videos posted in late July had crossed 72,000 views, according to Hindustan Times. The format also fits naturally into the existing social-media wellness ecosystem. Morning routines, skincare, self-care, manifestation and “high-vibration” lifestyles already attract large audiences. This makes traditional practices easier to present through familiar visual formats. As more creators picked up the idea, “Lakshmi energy” began appearing in conversations around beauty, femininity, prosperity and lifestyle choices.
Why Are People Criticising The Trend?
Criticism has largely focused on cultural appropriation and the removal of religious practices from their original context. Indian creators and commenters have questioned why Western wellness terminology makes Indian traditional practices trendy without acknowledging their cultural or religious context. Some online reactions have explicitly called for creators to credit the Indian origins of the practices rather than presenting them as newly discovered wellness techniques. The criticism is therefore not necessarily about people outside India engaging with Indian traditions. Rather, the debate centres on how those traditions are represented, renamed and presented to a global audience.