“Wellness.” It’s a word we see everywhere these days. Wellness Centers, Wellness Retreats, Integrative Wellness. Sounds great, right? But do you really know what wellness is?
Wellness is a way of life, not a slogan, gimmick or trend. Sometimes it gets confused with things like grabbing a green juice or going to yoga class – these things are wonderful, but sometimes they can become part of our monotonous routines, instead of helpful tools for wellness. We need to care for ourselves with intention and mindfulness.
You don’t have to be vegan or drink kombucha or even meditate to live a wellness-based life. I’ve lived the autopilot so-called wellness life. I’ve taken my vitamins and supplements every day like a good girl. I’ve been attached to a routine of lengthy Pilates and cardio workouts, gym time and weekly yoga classes. Heck, I even got certified to teach yoga! And I’ve taken some of the most beautiful vacations you could imagine.
This way of living had the makings of wellness and looked like it from the outside, but it was based more on my ego than on what made me feel good. Wellness, true wellness, feels wonderful.
However, not that I was hiding it, but no one would see it from the outside, I wasn’t attending to my overall wellness. Daily McDonald’s Frappes, not taking lunch breaks, overscheduling myself, no unplugged time, being ruled by my workout plan, my home was a cluster f***, and I slowly lost many of the things I’d always enjoyed like time outside and reading for pleasure.
Wellness involves attending to all areas of your life. In the work I do I refer to these areas as Mind, Body, Soul and Space. This is loosely based on the feng shui systems of Mental, Emotional, Physical and Spiritual.
Mind is our thoughts that lead to our emotions. Our mental organization and logic. This is a large area that incorporates things like your job and finances, too.
Body is our medical health, food, drink and anything else that goes into our bodies, as well as our exercise and movement.
Soul is the stuff that gets to us on that deeper level. Our relationships, our needs, and desires. It can also incorporate faith and religious practice. Think of anything that you feel feeds or kills your soul.
Space is the physical space you live, work and play in. The health of our physical space is integral to our health in all other areas. How we care for our space is indicative of how we care for ourselves.
In the work I do wellness is a given part of every thought. I want to help everyone move themselves toward whatever whole-being wellness means to them. It isn’t for me to tell you. I’ll advise, and give you the wisdom of my years of experience, but I won’t tell you how to live your life.
I’ll ask you a lot of questions, though. What kind of diet do you have (be honest)? How’s your sleep? Do you like where you live? What percentage of the time are you happy? Do you like yourself? How are your connections to other people? What feeds your soul? Stuff like that.
I want you to become curious about yourself. Without curiosity you’ll never know what wellness means to you. Your wellness plan will look different from your neighbor’s, from your husband’s, even from mine.
That’s what’s so great about true wellness. It’s freedom to be yourself. To pay attention to what makes you feel the best.
I listen to myself now. I listen to others, too. I consider the whys and wherefores before I react. I have better systems in place that work with my personality. This helps my Mind Wellness.
It’s been almost a year since I got a Frappe. I now love my Tuesday juices from the local juice bar. I do small bite yoga and workouts daily that work even better for my body. This is all part of my Body Wellness.
I take a lunch every day now. I still take those vacations. I don’t play video games anymore, and do read almost every day. This attends to my Soul Wellness.
I feel amazing when my kitchen sink is clean, and the counters are cleared and wiped down. I step back and look at my handiwork with a deep sigh of satisfaction every day. This is part of Space Wellness for me.
Please don’t think this is a blueprint for you. I’m just a person trying to figure out how to reach my highest self, just like you.
I’m so excited for you to uplevel your wellness game. Mine is ever evolving and yours will be, too. Be true to yourself, be honest, do no harm, and you’re going to be great!
For more specifics on the four areas of wellness, take a look at my other blogs Wellness for Your Mind, Wellness for Your Body, Wellness for Your Soul, and Wellness for Your Space.