Holistic wellness: a guide to health

Holistic wellness, what does that even mean? It is the term that keeps on coming back. Perhaps you have seen the phrase before but did not know what it mean. We all deserve to feel our best and that is exactly what holistic wellness can do for you. Wherever you are in life you can take this approach and implement it into your own life for the better. We are here to explain holistic wellness to you and how you can achieve it.

Holistic wellness

With the holistic approach it takes wellness to another level. But let’s get back to the begin, what even is wellness? Wellness is the state and journey of being in good health. It can also be described as the journey of actively pursuing the goals of having good health. The journey of wellness starts by getting back into routine. It is important to firstly set up a foundation and then build from that.

8 pillars of holistic wellness

In order to achieve holistic wellness we have to take a look at the bigger picture. Because wellness does not consists of only one main pillar. It is formed by 8 different categories that are the building blocks of how we feel. Often one or more of these areas get neglected when setting goals. For that reason if you want to uplevel your life you have to take a look at the 8 pillars. And then analyse what you can do to improve.

1. Physical

Physical wellness is the term that describes having and working on a good physical health. Doing activities that feel good and also give you energy is very important for you. With doing so we create habits that lay out the foundation of how we feel.

Key factors to keep in mind and to start implementing in your life NOW.

Get active. We as humans are not made to sit all day. So make sure to add in more movement throughout the day.

• Go for a daily walk;
• Stand up every hour, even if it’s for 1 minute;
• Do gentle movement before bed;
• Incorporate morning movement;
• Do a couple of squats/jumping jacks between long sittings.

Movement > exercise

Sometimes you just do not have enough time to go to the gym. However that is not a reason to do absolutely nothing. You can always go for a quick walk or a 10-minute home workout. How much movement you get in throughout the day is way more important than going to the gym a couple times a week and doing nothing else besides that. Sure going to the gym will help, but not getting movement in the rest of the day will minimise the results you can get. Spread your movement over the day and make sure to not sit too long. Go for a little walk or stretch to get everything flowing. Increasing movement over the day, even low-impact, can also uplift your mental state!

2. Nutritional

Nutritional wellness is extremely important if you want to improve your overall well-being. To achieve holistic health you have to take a look at your eating pattern. Do your eating habits truly align with the highest version of yourself, who you want to become. Or are you self-sabotaging here and not really supporting your body and mind.

There are a few basic things to keep in mind and you need to start implementing in your life NOW.

Eat whole foods. Eat seasonal.

Incorporate whole foods into your diet. This is the most important thing for improving your nutritional wellness. It must be remembered that even whole foods can contain pesticides. So for that reason is it very important to buy your produce direct from the farmers, farmers markets or buy the organic version.

Eat whatever fruit and vegetables are in season. Our bodies are in tune with nature, because so it is significant to eat seasonal. That way you will also get the freshest ingredients.

Bone broth

Bone broth is your new best friend. In my article bone broth and why you should eat it I go in dept about the benefits. But one of the biggest reasons to drink bone broth is because of the collagen. From age 25 our body slowly decreases the production of collagen and when aged 50 our body fully stops its produce. With the support of bone broth we increase our collagen levels. Collagen is a healing factor. It may improves gut health, may help with sleeping, may reduce skin issues, may fight inflammation and may support the immune system. Besides these befits there are a ton of other advantages of drinking bone broth. Last but not least: it tastes delicious and is highly nutritious.

But bone broth is not the only way to supplement collagen. You can definitely add in collagen and/or gelatin into your diet. By adding it into coffee, tea, shakes or soup you can get extra collagen in. You can also make delicious collagen gummies and puddings with just 3 ingredients. Another good thing about that: the ingredients are highly nutritious and they are easy to make.

Focus on protein

Protein is needed for the body to function. Firstly it is needed to build and repair muscle. Even if you do not want to look like a bodybuilder it is beneficial to build some muscle. Secondly protein, and muscle, will boost your metabolism. It also must be remembered that women will not look bulky when we practice weightlifting. Thirdly it helps with digestion. Fourthly it supports bone health. Besides that it can also reduce cravings by giving a more satisfied feeling after eating. That are enough reasons to increase your protein intake right NOW!

3. Spiritual

Spiritual wellness is described as different for everyone. Undoubtedly it is good for the soul to tap into spiritual health, however that may look like. Therefore we cannot give you actionable steps to take.

Spiritual wellness is having the understanding and acceptance of your purpose in relation with the world. This may or may not involve religion.

Journal or start to think about your values and from what place they stem from. Dive deep and then you will hit the core center. You may find your inner core values and how you operate in life.

Practice of gratitude can uplift yourself. Even if you’re not in the best mood, practice of gratitude can positively affect your headspace. Try to incorporate gratefulness right after you wake to set an uplifting tone for the day.

A few things to definitely add into your routine NOW.

• Meditation;
• Breathework;
• Yoga;
• Journaling;

4. Intellectual

Intellectual wellness is described as the stimulation of creative thinking, curiosity and actively learning. It is important to be knowledgable on different topics as this expand your horizon. Being open to constantly learning is not only good for intellectual growth but also for stepping out of the comfort zone. Besides that it brings down the bar of fear of new things.

A few tips to expand your intellectual growth NOW.

• Learn a language;
• Read non-fiction on interesting topics;
• Read more books in general;
• Be open to new experiences.

5. Emotional

Emotional wellness is the awareness and understanding of your emotions. It is also having the ability to handle to life change. Stress impacts our emotions and you need to minimise that. Improving emotional wellness can sometimes takes a deep dive into your heart and mind. Emotional wellness is more than just saying you are stressed and then not acting upon it. It can require self-awareness and taking accountability. It asks you to take a look at your feelings, thoughts, philosophies, actions and behaviour.

Questions to ask your self to improve your emotional wellness NOW.

1. Can I see a pattern in how I react to certain situations/events and do I need to change that? Then how can I change that?
2. How can I minimise/eliminate the stress I experience?
3. What is my behaviour whenever I experience stress?
4. What are sabotaging beliefs I have? And how can I change these?

Things to do to improve your emotional wellness NOW.

• Journal;
• Meditation;
• Learn how to cope;
• Deep meaningful conversations with loved ones.

6. Financial

Financial wellness comes from being mindful about our spending habits. Besides that it is also looking to the future and spending accordingly whilst keeping that in mind. Spend within in your budget, save and invest. Investing can look different for everyone but what it really means is allowing yourself to use money that you will get back in a bigger quantity or another valuta like health.

Things to keep in mind for financial wellness NOW

• Set aside a monthly budget;
• Be mindful about your financial habits;
• Invest in yourself and health.

7. Social

Social wellness translates to the relationships we have and how we build and nurture them. It also described how we interact with people. We as human beings are meant to be surrounded by other people. It is important for us to surround ourself with uplifting people. Having supportive communities will positively impact how we feel in our day-to-day life.

Things to focus on when bettering social wellness NOW.

• Surround yourself with uplifting people;
• Build your own community;
  • Join a sport team;
  • Start a book club;
• Have meaningful conversations.

8. Environmental

Environmental wellness is a broad term for living in a healthy environment and how you handle and take care of surroundings. Keeping our living space clean and neat will improve our overall headspace. Then we can make our home healthier for the environment and ourself. By natural materials, organic products we can optimise our overall wellness experience.

Tips to improve your environmental wellness NOW.

• Make your home healthier;
• Enjoy spending time outside in nature;
• Use eco-friendly and organic products/materials.

Frequently Asked Questions Holistic Wellness

What is holistic wellness?

Holistic wellness is a journey of our well-being divided in the 8 pillars of holistic wellness.

What is the importance of holistic wellness?

The importance of holistic wellness is to take a look at the whole picture. By actively working on the 8 pillars we can improve our whole life.

Examples of holistic wellness?

Holistic health examples are: daily walks, bone broth, having meaningful relationships, meditation, learning new things and using eco-friendly products.

What are the 8 factors of holistic health?

The 8 pillars of holistic health are: physical, nutritional, spiritual, intellectual, emotional, financial, social and environmental wellness. These 8 areas are the categories in which you can set goals and uplevel in.

Conclusion on holistic wellness

Holistic wellness takes the level of wellness to another level. With an approach of looking at the whole picture we can implement more positive changes from which our overall well-being will benefit from. To put it differently, we need to take a look at the 8 pillars of wellness. In conclusion: if you want to improve your well-being you have to take on a holistic view of wellness.

---

Maybe you’re interested in

• PILATES FOR BEGINNERS AT HOME
  The guide on how to start and what the essentials are of Pilates For Beginners At Home. Everyone is doing Pilates and so are you…
• MIND WELLNESS WEDNESDAY WISHLIST
  Wellness Wednesday Wishlist but make it MIND related. We’re talking all things meditations, books and more!
• HEALTHY DATE FILLED COOKIES
  These Healthy Date Filled Cookies are gluten-free, simple and chocolatey. This recipe is dairy-free, nut-free, egg-free, paleo, vegan and follows food combining principles. Try these…