Novice Guide to Wellness

Image courtesy of benjaminasmith (Flickr)

What exactly is wellness, you ask? Well, no pun intended, the word wellness has been thrown about pretty often lately. Wellness seems to be the new fitness.

Simply put, wellness is the connection between the body and mind. It is the process of becoming aware of and making choices toward a more successful existence for both your physical and mental wellbeing. If we really want to complicate things, we can add in your spiritual health as well. Clear as mud, right?

In my life and in my wellness practice, wellness is simply peace. Peace for my body, peace for my mind and ultimately peace for my spirit. I think that’s simpler than a long winded technical explanation. With my clients, I try to make things simple – but there are a few key points we focus on:

• State of Body – Wellness for the body is truly a focus on improving and maintaining your machine to its best functioning capacity. I say machine because the truth is that our bodies only really need the proper environment to perform.  Our bodies need fuel, rest and activity. We are well created, designed and engineered. We adapt, persevere, and outperform our deepest limitations. In general, the pitfalls we sustain to our physical beings are our own creation. Stress, overindulgence and self-punishment, for example, are all mind made things that we allow to impact our machines. Our bodies wouldn’t react if our minds didn’t first. Appreciate your physical abilities, whatever they are. Keeping yourself active and physically challenged to new depths will keep your machine in top working condition.

• 

  Image courtesy of Tiger Girl (Flickr)

  State of Mind – We as humans are a complex cornucopia of thoughts, knowledge, feelings and emotions. Wellness of the mind involves balance. We can never ignore those things that make us human, but rather need to recognize them and create a counterbalance of stress relievers and coping mechanisms. My clients focus on moments of positive attitude, gratitude and reflection. Very Zen, I know. Actually, it truly is just a shift from focusing on all the negative things to giving proper accolades to the good in life. As we take notice of the positive, the negative seems smaller. This becomes a chain reaction in the mind. The moments that we take to calm our minds to a place where we can focus on positive practice helps us reset and recharge.

• State of Spirit – Spirit is harder to define. Spirit implies belief. The thing of it is, not everyone believes in something. Most people don’t really even believe in themselves. Spirit for me and my clients, simply, is the combination of the positive energy generated from the practice of wellness of the body and mind. It is the end result of feeling energized and alive. It is a state of emotional uplift and peace.

Lastly, there is the Journey. (I left this out earlier on purpose.) To understand wellness is to understand the items above – but most importantly, it is to understand that wellness and the pursuit of all those things we previously discussed are a lifelong journey. While there may be a noted beginning, such as the day you recognize the need for change, there is no end. Wellness is an ever-developing, ever-changing path: but a path very worth stepping onto. Be well, and enjoy the journey.

Alicia

Alicia Kirschenheiter is an American Council on Exercise Certified Advanced Health & Fitness Expert, Personal Trainer, Fitness Coach, Certified Weight & Lifestyle Management consultant, and Certified Wellcoach. Alicia is owner of Evolution Total Wellness Inc. located in New York, providing health and wellness solutions for individuals and businesses. She is also a published fitness, health and wellness writer for a variety of venues and author of Oscar and Otis – Fat Fighters, a children’s book about healthy lifestyle choices.