A holistic approach to overall wellbeing

July 23, 2019
A holistic approach to overall wellbeing

ZEN TIP TUESDAY #23

Welcome to Mia Johnson, our next contributor to the Zen Tip Tuesday (ZTT) series. Mia shares with us her thoughts on holistic health and the 3 pillars that make up holistic health that help you to achieve optimised well-being, and the flow-on effect of course being – an enhanced sense of zen. You can find out more about Mia and how to connect with her in her Bio at the end of this post.

This is the first ZTT post after a mid-year break. The ZTT series is now ad hoc (not every Tuesday). If you would like to contribute please go here to find out how (you might also like visit all the Gems of Zen we have so far). I would love to hear from you!


A holistic approach to overall wellbeing

Holistic Health is usually defined as an approach to life. Instead of spending time focusing on sickness or specific parts of the body, this approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with the environment. It accentuates the connection of body, mind, and spirit. The goal being to achieve maximum well-being, where everything is working at the highest level possible. This concept encourages people to accept responsibility for their wellbeing and everyday decisions that affect their health.

These are three pillars of Holistic Health that will help you achieve overall well-being:

1. Physical Health

Physical wellness is made out of several smaller components, such as body mass index (BMI), cholesterol and glucose levels, blood pressure, the functioning of organ systems, musculature of the body, and the overall strength, stamina, and endurance. These physical components of well-being are various lifestyle factors and behaviours that either promote or decrease your wellness. Among them are alcohol or tobacco use, sleep patterns, exercise habits, diet and nutrition, and lifestyle factors such as extreme stress or lack of work-life balance.

You have to know and respect your limits when it comes to exercise. Start with something you know you can accomplish. It can be just a 30-minute walk every day, or a yoga workout or simply start by eliminating sugar from your diet. Whatever you choose to improve your physical health, discuss your plans with your doctor to ensure it is safe for you to do so.

2. Mental Health

“A typical adult has over 100 billion brain cells, each with an average of 1000 synaptic connections. Every thought, action, and emotion you feel involves complex interactions between your brain cells which involve neuro transmitters. These are chemicals that help your brain cells communicate. Most mental disorders involve an imbalance or some form of dysfunction at these communication points and alteration of these key brain chemicals.” by Evergreen Doctors.

Emotional wellness is the ability to engage in emotional self-regulation and separate your emotions. It is often more useful to focus on one emotion at a time than letting conflicting emotions get all mixed up. Mixed up emotions will lead to conflict with your romantic partners, family, friends, and colleagues and cause chaos in your personal life.

One of the best things you can do to work on your mental health is to quiet your mind. Spend around 15 minutes per day learning how to meditate. Choose one day during the week when you unplug from the outside world and be with yourself.

3. Spiritual Health

Discovering your spiritual side does not always have to mean attending a structured worship service unless that is what you want. You can spend time alone, contemplating the common good. You can volunteer with a group or some kind of organisation that supports a cause that you are interested in. You can practice gratitude or develop a pay-it-forward attitude.

As with any change in life, you shouldn’t rush it or start too big, because if you do you are running the risk of burning out quickly. It is better to choose one area of your life and one thing that you would like to change. After some time add to another area of your life. After that, add that third component. Making changes slowly and surely will help you to ensure that you will stick to your new plan and enjoy yourself. Establish how you choose to nurture your spirituality, and devote time to it regularly. Doing that will make you feel grounded.

Stress Management

Stress control is very important for physical and mental health, and it is overlooked in most cases. Trying to avoid unnecessary obligations is important. Simplify your life as much as possible and you will experience a lot of relief.

If you feel pressured to do certain things, ask yourself if they are something you need to be doing. Writing down a list of things you need to do each day is a great thing to ease your mind.

Well-being is made by physical health, mental stimulation, focus, clarity, and spiritual nourishment. Thus, to feel at your very best you need a special approach that meets your needs in each of these areas.

The best way to start a holistic self-care path is to create your well-being plan. Categorise the physical, mental and spiritual parts and then choose one activity that will help you in each of those areas, in the most gratifying and meaningful way.


Mia Johnson

MIA JOHNSON

Mia Johnson is a writer with a ten-year-long career in journalism. She has written extensively about health, fitness, and lifestyle. A native to Melbourne, she now lives in Sydney with her 3 dogs where she spends her days writing and taking care of her 900 square feet garden.

Here’s where you can connect with Mia:  TWITTER  |  LINKEDIN


 

You Might Also Like

19 Comments

  • Reply Donna Connolly July 24, 2019 at 8:48 am

    Hi, Mia and Min – These are excellent tips and reminders. I especially like your pointer about taking on a new goal slowly and steadily instead of too quickly or in too big of a chunk. I need to continue to remind myself of this!

    #MLSTL

    • Reply Min July 24, 2019 at 4:24 pm

      I especially need to take note of that one at the moment too Donna! I’ve got a new goal/idea and I tend to charge at it like a bull at a gate, wear myself out and then give up. This time, I’m making an effort to take my time, take breaks, and go back to it when refreshed!

  • Reply Natalie July 24, 2019 at 9:29 am

    Hi Mia and Min – Thank you for sharing these great reminders. I like the statement “Simplify your life as much as possible and you will experience a lot of relief.” #MLSTL

    • Reply Min July 24, 2019 at 4:25 pm

      Thanks Natalie. I like that one too. I love to simplify and to declutter – really helps me feel ordered and more calm. 🙂

  • Reply Deborah July 24, 2019 at 9:58 am

    Love this Min and Mia and I certainly need to work on ALL three at the moment. Interestingly I must admit I’m probably most blase about my spiritual health and I suspect there are repercussions in my life of that.

    • Reply Min July 24, 2019 at 4:26 pm

      Glad you’ve enjoyed it Deb. Spiritual health is an important piece of the puzzle, and something I always need to work on. Meditation helps but I’m still to get into a regular habit with that yet.

  • Reply Sue from Sizzling Towards 60 & Beyond July 24, 2019 at 10:45 am

    I agree with all three Min and these are the philosophy that I live my life. I’m not religious as such but when in nature you can’t help but feel spiritual can you? Thanks for sharing at #MLSTL and have a great week. x

    • Reply Min July 24, 2019 at 4:27 pm

      Thanks Sue! I’m not particularly religious either but agree with you about nature! It’s where I feel the most spiritual for sure. It has a profound effect on me. Hope you have a wonderful week too! xo

  • Reply Joanne Tracey July 24, 2019 at 11:06 am

    A wise and well-balanced post, with some great tips and reminders. Thanks, Min and Mia.

    • Reply Min July 24, 2019 at 4:27 pm

      Thanks Jo! 🙂 x

  • Reply Leanne | www.crestingthehill.com.au July 24, 2019 at 1:14 pm

    Hi Mia and Min – a really thoughtful post and so true. I think we often get caught up with one aspect of wellbeing and forget that it’s a broader spectrum and one doesn’t work without the other. I also think that we neglect our spiritual health a lot in Western society and that’s to our detriment.
    Thanks for linking up with us at MLSTL and I’ve shared on my SM 🙂

    • Reply Min July 24, 2019 at 4:29 pm

      Thanks for your lovely comment Leanne. I agree that our spiritual health is often neglected. I’ve got my hand up as one who neglected this aspect of my wellbeing for most of my life. I’m trying to make up for it now. Always learning! 🙂 xo

    • Reply Min July 24, 2019 at 4:29 pm

      Thanks for your lovely comment Leanne. I agree that our spiritual health is often neglected. I’ve got my hand up as one who neglected this aspect of my wellbeing for most of my life. I’m trying to make up for it now. Always learning! 🙂 xo

  • Reply Debbie Harris July 25, 2019 at 9:09 am

    Thanks Min for sharing Mia’s thoughts and suggestions. Always good reminders to hear. I especially agree with knowing and respecting your limits when exercising. It’s good to push ourselves but not to the extent we become exhausted and pout our health in danger. #mlstl

    • Reply Min July 26, 2019 at 10:31 am

      Thanks Deb – I agree about not pushing ourselves too much with exercise. I used to go to a bootcamp and was pushed to the point of throwing up. I was younger then and went along with it. I couldn’t do that now … and choose not to. xo

  • Reply Jan Wild July 25, 2019 at 2:01 pm

    Yes indeed, we need all three and it is so easy to get stuck in one area or two and neglect a critical third one. Someone once described balance to me as ‘hopping from foot to foot’ and in a sense we need to do that for holistic health (but don’t hop too fast). Pinning this 🙂

    • Reply Min July 26, 2019 at 10:33 am

      Hopping from foot to foot – yes! Love that Jan – it’s very much the case isn’t it. You don’t reach ‘balance’ and stay put. It’s a constant juggle. xo

  • Reply Christie Hawkes July 25, 2019 at 10:05 pm

    Thank you Mia for explaining a holistic approach to wellness in basic easy-to-understand language. I appreciate the practical way that you broke down the components and suggested taking small steps in each area. Thanks, Min, for sharing Mia’s post with us. #MLSTL

    • Reply Min July 26, 2019 at 10:34 am

      So glad you enjoyed the post Christie. Thank you for taking the time to comment! xo

    Leave a Reply

    This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.

    %d bloggers like this: