What does it mean to be truly healthy and how is it quantifiable?
By Mellissa Laycy, Holistic Health Coach
Your health goes far beyond just avoiding a visit to the doctor’s office, it starts with the fundamentals that impact your feelings of satisfaction and general well-being in a variety of areas across your life. Let’s take a look at some key topics that make up what it is to be truly healthy.
Relationships
The saying goes that we become like the five people we spend the most time with and so it stands to reason that if we have nourishing, loving relationships then we will feel supported and strong in ourselves. If those main relationships leave us feeling depleted and drained this could then impact our sleep or stress levels which would have a knock-on effect to our overall health. Never underestimate the importance of good relationships in your overall well-being.
Motivation
The feeling of growth and moving towards a goal is a natural way for the body to make the neurotransmitter dopamine. Moving forward to something achievable in the future gives the mind something to focus on, which can elevate feelings of hope and when completed raise your self-esteem.
Home cooking
The only way to guarantee you are getting the vital nutrients for your mind and body is to be conscious about the foods you are eating. Each mouthful you take is a scientific experiment that can positively or negatively impact the way you feel. Our gut flora affects so many different processes in our bodies from hormones, digestion and immune system so it is vital that we make our gut a hospitable environment for them to thrive. I suggest that my clients eat similar to a Mediterranean diet with lots of healthy fats such as avocado, coconut, olives and a diverse range of vegetables that focus on prebiotic fiber (food for your good gut bugs).
Spirituality
The mind can be a busy place to reside and so having a practise that alleviates you away from the constant chatter is a wonderful way to decrease your stress levels and find inner peace of mind. Stress can not only affect your digestion and hormones, but it can also increase your risk of a heart attack. Your mental health really does play a vital role in your physical health and so integrating a daily mindfulness, meditation or a spiritual practise will support you in more ways than one
Home environment
Where you live should be a sanctuary, a safe haven of comfort and security. If the place you live leaves you feeling anxious or uncomfortable it could mean that subconsciously you might lean on unhealthy coping mechanisms such as overeating or alcohol which in themselves negatively affect other areas of your general health.
Physical activity
Just 10 minutes of exercise first thing in the morning is enough to release those feel-good endorphins and elevate your mood. Making sure you move your body is an essential element when it comes to not just your physical health but your mental health too.
A tool I use with my clients is called ‘The Circle of Life’ which takes a holistic mind, body and spirit approach to our health and can be a useful visual when wanting to bring more harmony and balance into your life.
- Simply make a mark on each section of the circle up to the level that you feel fulfilled in that area, the closer your mark is to the edge of the circle the more fulfilled you are).
- After you have made your marks throughout you then link the dots up.
- For the areas that seem unbalanced write a small action step that you can take today to move you closer to finding harmony.
- You can then repeat this exercise in a month or two and track your progress.
If you want to learn more healthy recipes and outdoor workout plans to enhance your mood and improve your overall health you can visit VSL#3 website and social media pages (Facebook and Instagram).