What is holistic wellness and why do you need it?
A common misconception is that holistic wellness is all about sage and crystals (although if that is your thing, we certainly won’t judge). A sophisticated view of holistic wellness is understanding that people are complex and a sum total of all their experiences. Holistic wellness defines wellness as the interdependence of several dimensions of health including but not limited to mental, emotional and physical health. While experts agree that those three dimensions should be included in holistic wellness, others add in social (a sense of belonging), occupational (fulfillment at work), and spiritual (a connection to something larger than yourself).
Why is holistic wellness so important?
Western society traditionally sees health as associated with physical health and the absence of illness or disease. However, that is only part of the story. Health - wellness - are part of an interconnected whole.
For example, take stress. It is scientifically proven and widely understood that stress exacerbates most major health issues. Extreme stress also has an emotional impact. Stress is a perfect example of how seemingly unrelated areas of your life can affect your emotional, and subsequently your physical health.
3 main components of holistic wellness
Looking at wellness as a multi-faceted approach is the best way to support and empower the whole person.
Mental Wellness
Mental wellbeing is crucial to overall health. It allows us to communicate with others, think critically, and make decisions with ease. Poor mental fitness is associated with reduced resilience and resistance to stress.
Physical Wellness
Physical well-being goes beyond just being free from illness but also includes energy, flexibility, strength, fitness, sleep, and nutrition.
Emotional Wellness
Your emotional wellness impacts your relationship with yourself and others. It determines how you interpret stressful situations and your ability to regulate emotions. Emotional wellness improves your ability to ask for help and sit with uncomfortable emotions. As suicide ranks as a leading cause of death in the United States, it is undeniable that emotional health is critical to public health.
Best practices to achieve holistic wellness
There are endless ways to create holistic wellness solutions and no “right” answer. Becoming aware of how the multiple areas of your life intersect, how it varies depending on your time of life, the seasons, and how your physical, emotional and mental energies impact your life will lead you toward a path of wellness. Stay open minded as you develop this new, whole-person approach to well-being.
Understand the connection between physical and mental fitness
Physical well-being has a huge impact on our mental and emotional well-being. Take care of your physical health by getting enough sleep, exercising regularly, and eating well. Self care practices like chiropractic care, massage, yoga and mindfulness are also good ways to nurture the whole body, mind, and spirit.
Work with a coach
Sometimes it’s not always easy to see how different dimensions of wellness may be impacting other areas of your life. A wellness practitioner, therapist, or coach can provide insight and an action plan to move you toward overall wellness. An Ayurvedic Health Coach works with people to understand their energies and implement diet, lifestyle habits and stress management changes.
Take time to nurture your energies that are lacking
After an Ayurvedic Coach has distinguished your energies and where you have Dis-ease, you’ll understand how to better bring yourself into balance. Take time to rest, do something you love, and keep your creativity flowing.
Stay open-minded
Skeptical about trying a yoga class, meditation, or a Reiki treatment? Try it anyway. Just because we don’t fully understand how something works isn’t a reason not to try it. If it makes you feel better, we are all for it.
Nurture your relationships
Invest time in building and maintaining relationships based on shared goals, support and mutual respect. These relationships will have profound positive effects on how you feel, what you eat, and even on how much money you make.
Holistic Wellness is about understanding people as multi-faceted beings whose areas of life intersect and overlap to create a sum total of how we feel at any given moment. Taking a whole person approach to wellness is key to helping human beings live their happiest, healthiest, and most fulfilling lives.