I have been thinking about holistic health a lot lately and how I can approach it in a way that intuitively works for me. For years, I have been learning about energy and how it affects everything in your life from a holistic perspective but never really looked at the definition itself.
According to Guiding Wellness, “Holistic Health is actually an approach to life. Rather than focusing on illness or specific parts of the body, this ancient approach to health considers the whole person and how he or she interacts with his or her environment. It emphasizes the connection of mind, body and spirit.
This Holistic theory is applicable to the 4 interrelated dimensional parts:
- PHYSICAL
- MENTAL
- EMOTIONAL
- SPIRITUAL
These parts of a human being work cohesively together in order to facilitate homeostatic, well-being for optimal health.”
This article does not constitute medical advice. Please see your medical professional for proper diagnosis and treatment.
What Holistic Health Means To Me:
Ever since I started my transformational journey a few years ago, I have been focusing on the way I actually feel in terms of my mind, my body, and my soul. I started incorporating meditation, reiki, more self care, and even started eating intuitively. I was focusing on how I felt physically, mentally, emotionally, and spiritually (and I’m not talking about religion here either). It’s helped me ground my energy and focus on the things I truly need in my life and create boundaries with the things that I don’t need. Turns out, I was actually taking care of myself from a holistic standpoint without even realizing it. You may be doing the same thing.
According to the American Holistic Health Association (AHHA), “Holistic Health is based on the law of nature that a whole is made up of interdependent parts. The earth is made up of systems, such as air, land, water, plants and animals. If life is to be sustained, they cannot be separated, for what is happening to one is also felt by all of the other systems. In the same way, an individual is a whole made up of interdependent parts, which are the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When one part is not working at its best, it impacts all of the other parts of that person.”
The last sentence of this excerpt from AHHA’s website hits home for me because I truly believe that if something in one of the four major areas of our life is out of balance, you’re probably going to start feeling it in the other three.
That’s what happened to me. In fact, I had several areas that were completely out of whack. I was honestly feeling super anxious and depressed because of the environment I was in at a previous job and didn’t know what to do. There were days where I didn’t get out of bed. Also, I would constantly get migraines and the physical effects started to run rampant to the point where I would just completely shut down and just keep to myself.
Yes, looking back on everything, I know I could have treated myself better, but I didn’t know how. I was only used to what my family and friends were telling me to do (or not do) and completely ignored my physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual needs of my own life (Hint: Don’t do that).
Looking back at this time in my life hurts because I wish I knew how I could have felt better instead of letting it drag out for years and through various cycles.
Yes, I said cycles. I’ve been struggling with anxiety for a very long time and it wasn’t until last year (2019) that I finally got a handle on it.
AHHA states, “Holistic Health is an ongoing process. As a lifestyle, it includes a personal commitment to be moving toward the right end of the wellness continuum. No matter what their current status of health, people can improve their level of well-being. Even when there are temporary setbacks, movement is always headed toward wellness.”
So, after reading this, what does holistic health look like for you? What does it mean for you? How are you going to implement it in your life? If you don’t know where to start, I suggest starting with changing your self care routine first by taking care of yourself.
Start easy and with the things you can control then start to tackle the other areas in your life where you need to heal.
This article does not constitute medical advice. Please see your medical professional for proper diagnosis and treatment.
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