Holistic Health and You
Mind Medicine is all about a holistic approach to life and health. But you may be wondering what does Holistic Health mean and how it is going to help me?
Definition of Holistic Health
There are many instances where the term Holistic Health is used including an alternative approach to medicine. Although alternative medicines can be used to treat illness and symptoms, a holistic approach looks at you as a whole being even in the absence of any illness.
Holistic health considers mind, body, spirit, and emotion as well as how a person responds to their environment. Even without any illness present, you can still not be 100% healthy, happy or balanced. This is because, in holistic health, each aspect of your being affects your overall health and wellbeing.
Your overall state of being should be positive and when part of you is not working optimally, then other areas will suffer.
Do you find that your poor eating habits negatively impact your moods and thoughts around your body? Or that your long work hours lead to poor sleep and a complete lack of energy?
A holistic approach to life can transform you as it means you take responsibility for your healing, day to day wellness and achieving your highest state of wellbeing.
Why is Holistic Health and Wellbeing Important?
It may seem strange to think of the importance of wellness as anything but physical health. When physical wellbeing is jeopardised, it causes people to turn to conventional medicine. Using drugs and other methods to mask and treat the illness.
But this method often does not look at the cause.
People believed that they could get away with unhealthy lifestyle choices, and modern medicine would “fix” them as problems developed
Susan Waters
Lifestyle choices are said to affect 53% of our overall health and wellbeing yet modern medicine only considers the visible problems and how to treat it. This can lead to recurring illness and ignorance of how you feel within.
The balance between your physical and mental wellness can be difficult to achieve and when out of balance, you run into problems. Holistic health looks at both aspects of being to improve your quality of life.
Taking a holistic approach to health and wellbeing can be part of preventative action for recurring illness but, more importantly, it improves physical wellness, mental health, and your internal balance. When you practice holistic wellness, you will:
- Want to be the best version of yourself everyday
- Feel improved morale
- Have boosted confidence
- Keep healthy, happy relationships
- Feel healthier and happier
- Live more aligned and balanced
Feeling imbalanced is a common problem for many people, why not get our Free Life Balance Quiz to see how balanced you are?!
How to Apply a Holistic Approach to life
Of course, this boosted morale and confidence will not happen overnight and it takes time to build and achieve balance. There are physical and mental actions that you can do regularly to improve your everyday wellness and happiness:
Nutrition
Fuelling your body the right way definitely makes a difference to your physical health. This is because each individual can react differently to types of food, for example, carbs can lead to bloating and diminish your mental health and happiness.
Implementing a diet and nutrition plan into your holistic approach to life will guide you, remind you of your daily health responsibility, and trigger you to make better choices for yourself.
Exercise and Physical Healing
Exercise is good for the body as it is, but regular training can help you reach your body goals gradually.
Whether you want to lose weight, build muscle or workout as a hobby, there are many holistic benefits to exercise. Working out will improve your physical being, which in turn can improve your mental being.
Weight loss, body image, and confidence can grow along with positive thoughts and boosted functionality through any type of exercise, such as yoga, weight training, walking or boxing.
Additionally, it is important to look after your body in other ways such as massage, physiotherapy or posture correction. If you suffer from aches and pains or injury you need to focus on recovery and taking care of your body.
Massage therapy is an excellent way to look after your body regularly if you are suffering or not. This is a holistic approach to maintaining physical wellness by reducing muscle tension, increasing relaxation and reducing the stress hormone, and stimulating the lymphatic system.
Mind Therapy
As holistic health and wellness considers every aspect of your being, your mind needs to be trained too.
This can be through meditation, coaching, journaling, and therapy to:
- Identify limiting beliefs
- Increase self-awareness
- Grow emotional intelligence
- Make conscious choices
- Notice patterns of behaviour
- Overcome any mental roadblocks
When you explore and nurture your mind, you have the opportunity to reach your full potential and improve your life exponentially.
Reaching Your Holistic Health Goals
As you can see, there are many dimensions of holistic health and it will take time, effort and hard work to achieve. Mind Medicine wants to help you achieve your goals, feel balanced and fulfilled, and approach life in a whole new way.