What is wellness?
Wellness is a state of complete wellbeing, it is the act of practicing healthy habits daily to attain better physical and mental health outcomes, so that we THRIVE not just survive.
It is an approach to preventing disease and illness instead of treating it.
“the state of complete physical, mental and social wellbeing, and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity”
“Wellness” can be seen as an analogue to the medical term HOMEOSTASIS
Why is it important?
Wellness is primarily being in good physical and mental health.
Mental health and physical health are so closely linked, problems in one area can impact the other.
Overall physical wellness encourages the balance of physical activity, nutrition, and mental well-being to keep your body in tip top condition. Obtaining and keeping an optimal level of physical wellness allows you to nurture personal responsibility for your own health and future goals.
At the same time, improving your physical health can also benefit your mental health and other life domains, and vice versa but wellness is so much more than just your physical and mental wellbeing.
It also includes your emotional, spiritual, and social wellbeing for a full body wellness.
Being in our healthiest state, not only benefits us but will impact our friends and family’s life also, by being a positive role model and leading by example we create a ripple effect in the lives around us.
This also goes the other way around, the environment’s we place ourselves in affect us massively.
Wellness is so important as being in your best and healthiest state you can stay strong during adversity.
What are the 4 types of wellness? (Some, would say there are more dimensions, but we’ll stick with these for today)
The Four Dimensions
• Spiritual Wellness – Spiritual wellness is a growing sense of purpose and meaning for life, including your morals, spiritual strength is the force that drives us to do good for others, it’s our awareness of the connection to the energy around us, to something greater.
• Emotional Wellness – Emotional wellness refers to having an awareness to life’s stresses, accepting them as they are and dealing with them appropriately, being able to share one’s feelings and empathize with others, adapt when needed. Helping you cope in a much healthier happier way.
• Physical Wellness – Physical wellness means to be able to take care of your body, your health, and your mind so that you can maintain a quality of life and get the most out of your day You can obtain this by having a healthy diet, physical movement, and adequate sleep.
• Social Wellness – Social wellness involves building healthy, happy relationships with people who support each other. Making a genuine connection with others around you. Offering each other support in difficult times.
Each of these dimensions overall completes your wellness if one is low the other will support until you are back to full strength.
For example, if you are physically injured your emotional and spiritual side will keep you motivated, or if you are feeling emotionally drained the healthy relationships you have gained will make it easier for you to be able to ask for help, to give you emotional support until you are 100% again.
Wellness is so important because it shapes your whole life, being physically fit helps you get on with your day feeling great, working, training, daily household chores. Emotional wellness helps your process your feelings in everyday life, driving the car, keeping your road rage at bay ha-ha, your joy when something good happens to yourself or a family member.
Wellness helps you stay on track, keeps you pointing towards your goals even when the going gets tough.
How do we achieve total wellness?
Yes, we all want to be living in peak condition 100% of the time, life is just so much more enjoyable when we are feeling fit and healthy.
Sometimes life gets in the way and that optimal condition is not achievable, so we need to make sure we work on each of the dimensions to strengthen them, so when we do need each one for support, we are ready especially as we get older.
There are so many different opinions everywhere regarding what you should do for your health, but the main thing is to listen to your body.
The more you live a healthy lifestyle, the more self-aware you will be, your mind will be clear, your body will feel great and when you feel a little off balance you will know.
Many people live in a condition that they are always feeling low and sick, never knowing how amazing they can feel… emotionally, spiritually, socially, and physically.
So how do we keep our body and mind in peak wellness state?
Always remember that wellness is not separate it is all one entity of all the dimension mentioned above.
Most of us want to feel more energetic, healthier, and vibrant, but due to our busy lives most of the time this gets ignored and one way other we begin to suffer.
The best way to achieve wellness is structure your daily habits, so that they become part of your everyday life.
Here are 5 ways to structure your days and build healthy habits to create total wellness
1. Stay Hydrated
Start your day by drinking a glass of water, especially before your tea or coffee, it will put a spring in your step by transporting all the nutrients to the cells of your body, clearing your mind, and lubricating all your joints.
Drinking water at the start of your day sets you on good stead for getting your daily amount of water in.
2. Eat Healthy
This sounds simple, it really can be but with all the fast food and takeaways around just now it makes eating healthy that little bit harder.
Giving your body the nutrients, it needs, will not only help your body function better, but it will make you feel amazing too.
Our bodies are not designed to eat so much sugar and processed foods then we wonder why we feel so sluggish and low.
First, cut out processed foods, fizzy juice, white carbs (bread, pastries, cakes) fried foods and limit your sugar
Add in as much vegetables as possible, flooding your body with the nutrients it needs and make sure you hit your daily protein requirements.
Obviously, don’t forget your water as previously mentioned.
3. Get Your Body Moving
Being active is a must to staying fit and healthy, moving your body makes you feel so good. It doesn’t have to be anything crazy, whether it be a walk, swimming, or the gym. Working out floods your body with happy hormones and keeps them functioning properly.
4. Relax, Connect with your people
Its ok putting the work in all other areas, being a positive role model but if you don’t make time for your friends and family you are missing the point of it all. Having a healthy, stable relationship with your family and friends, is so important. It keeps you connected and part of something, most humans thrive amongst loving people. Also, its helps to have someone there when you need to let off some steam and vice versa.
5. Sleep
Sleep, ooohhh what can I say about sleep. This is where the magic happens, where our body recovers from the day, sleeping is so important and 100% necessary for your wellness.
It is a must to help us perform at our very best.
Sleep helps you feel more balanced and energetic throughout the day, so make sure you stick to a sleep routine every night, well most nights.
6. Meditate
Meditation in my opinion can be a life saver, it calms your central nervous system, reduces stress and anxiety. In a world where currently, everything is 100 miles per hour, meditation can bring you back to you, it brings you back to the present moment.
I highly recommend meditation, take your time learning and do not rush or judge yourself with this. It can feel uncomfortable at first but once you get it, it can be magical.
7. Plan Ahead
When you plan your week, you are starting off ahead of most people. Get all your appointments scheduled in your diary, meal prep, plan all your workouts.
This way you will use your time wisely and have time to keep on top of your wellness.
Once you commit to a schedule and plan your routine, it is much easier to stay consistent and build healthy habits that you can take into
