What It Means to Live Holistically And How To Get Started

What is Holistic Wellness? Before diving into the fundamentals, lets break it down by meaning.

(as told by Dictionary)

Holistic: the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptom of disease.

Wellness: the state of being in good health, especially as an actively pursued goal.

If we put that together, we can define holistic wellness as an overall goal to continually treat life with natural medicine (nutrition, laughter, fresh air, exercise, etc.) to overcome and prevent diseases of the body, mind, and soul.

Holistic Wellness looks at your life as a whole. Every part of you from physical, mental and spiritual is connected, and to be "well", we need to be properly balanced.

There are many aspects of holistic living, but the basis is realizing that everything is connected, and in order to achieve overall wellness, we need to balance all areas of our life.

Living Holistically means:

*accepting your spirit and expressing who you are

*challenging your mind, learning new things, and soaking in memories that you will never forget

*loving your body; for all that it does for you, and preventing it from losing it's full potential

*growing, every day. Growing your mind with new wisdom, growing your body; stronger, healthier, growing your spirit and learning about yourself more and more

It is important to note that living a holistic lifestyle is not specific. Everybody is different and everyone needs different things in their life and are in different stages of their lives. The beauty of holistic wellness is that it is not a "cookie-cutter" lifestyle, and yet with everyone achieving their own goals, we all benefit from each other.

If you are already living holistically, or are interested in adapting this lifestyle, it is important to remember that a major part of this lifestyle is to be ACCEPTING of everyone's alternatives.

Below are some traits of holistic wellness/holistic living. You do not have to do everything on the list to lead a healthier life, and there are plenty of other traits not mentioned.

*****Originally I was going to break the list down to three sections: Mind, Body, Soul but a lot of these things fit into more than one category (because yet again, these three elements make you whole)

• read- anything! fiction, non-fiction, magazines, comic books! Anything to stimulate the mind

• learn- new skills/idea/thoughts/traits/habits

• open your mind- to knew possibilities, to other's beliefs, interests

• continuing education- go back to school, complete workshops, join a course

• meditate- for 30 seconds to 30 minutes, whatever you are comfortable with

• get creative- draw, paint, dance, sing, play an instrument

• let go of things- acknowledge how it made you feel, and let it go

• cut out stress- find the things that stress you out and get rid of it/learn how to cope with it

• avoid gossip and drama- remember there are always two sides to every story, give people the benefit of the doubt

• rest your mind- learn to turn off the inner mind, the one that is always thinking, talking to you, bringing up the past

• limit electronics- stop the mindless scrolling on social media to pass time by

• be mindful of your words/reactions/facial expressions- be truthful, but not degrading

• try yoga and/or pilates

• add cardiovascular and strength training to your regime

• avoid sitting for too long

• get moderate exercise for at least 20 minutes per day

• go for walks- explore! the world is a beautiful place

• consume more plant-based foods

• be mindful of eating- think about your food, how good it tastes, enjoy every bite

• get proper sleep- practice good sleep regimes

• detox- your body, mind and soul

• use more/only natural cleaners, makeup, skincare, etc.

• slow down- life is not a race, enjoy your time here while it lasts

• travel- explore the world!

• stretch- morning and night, the benefits are huge!

• drink water- we all heard this one a million times, at least 8 glasses a day

• use natural remedies

• experiment with homeopathy, massage, accupuncture, etc.

• take care of your skin- cleanse and moisturize, protect from sun damage

• be kind to your body- no harming/putting yourself in harmful situations

• spend time outside- whether it be sitting there, cleaning the backyard, going for walks, experience the benefits of inhaling fresh air

• get involved- volunteer, advocated what you believe in

• fuel your passions

• listen to music- it doesn't matter what you are into!

• be grateful

• express yourself- with your words, fashion, and attitude

• journal- your thoughts, experiences, stories, quotes

• be kind- you never know what people are going through

• find a career/ job you enjoy

• laugh often

• forgive yourself- with past situations, for being "imperfect", for indulging when you shouldn't, for not reaching a goal, whatever you are going through, learn to forgive yourself

• be more confident- there is only one YOU and that is awesome

• be social- connect with those around you

• feed your emotional side- learn to cope, share your feelings, acknowledge your feelings; don't push things down for them to build up

• if you are religious, go to church, if you are not, that is awesome too! Do not push your beliefs on others

• take responsibility for the environment, incorporate change, be a voice for the planet

• find balance in work/life

• learn about your chakras (health, authenticity, purpose, spirituality, security, passion, relationships)

Again, Holistic Health/Holistic Wellness/Living Holistic (whatever you want to refer to it as) is NOT limited to these things!

To Sum it up, if you want to start on this path, the main elements to living holistic are to:

• view everything as a whole- how will this fulfill me?

• be mindful- living in the moment, no judgement of others (you don't know what they are going through)

• sustaining healthy relationships and learning when to let go

• clean eating, homemade meals, and enjoying the preparation

• incorporating natural remedies/products into your life

• being more environmentally conscious- reduce, reuse, recycle

• exercise- not only your body but your mind and soul

• living true to your values- expressing who you are and your beliefs without forcing them onto others

• prioritizing yourself- it's not all about you, but it's not all about everyone else either!

• taking time to reflect- whether you do a nightly reflection on your day, monthly, or seasonally, being able to reflect on how you've GROWN and where you can improve goes a long way.