Incorporating Wellness into Your Everyday Life - the 4 Pillars of Wellness

What does it mean to be truly well?  Many people believe that they are well just because they are not sick. While the absence of sickness and disease is one definition of health, it is not comprehensive.

Wellness is the broad, comprehensive definition of health. 

But what does it really mean?  Wellness has become a buzzword. With all the wellness podcasts, and Instagram influencers touting their secrets to holistic health, it can be easy to misunderstand what true wellness is.  To better understand, let’s break this cloudy term up into 4 pillars of being well.

Personal

Perception is powerful, and how you see yourself affects how you see the world.  Nourish personal wellness by keeping your mind sharp.  Here are some ways to engage in personal self care:

• Attend a class and learn about something new
• Make reading part of daily routine
• Try writing down affirmations to attract positivity into your life

Physical

Physical wellness is integral to being all around well and healthy. However, exercise is not the only component of physical health.  A healthy diet and enough sleep are also major factors of physical health.  

To maintain physical health, try:

• Avoiding screens 30 minutes before bedtime for better sleep
• Meal prep meals ahead of time to ensure healthy decisions
• Building an exercise routine that you enjoy doing so that it does not feel like work!

Emotional

Emotional wellness encompasses the way that we feel about the world around us. Our emotions influence everything we do, no matter how hard we try to keep them out of things. Keeping yourself emotionally well is a journey that we are always on. Try these tools:

• Journal every day, write down what happened, and how it made you feel
• Look for a trusted therapist or counsellor, they can be a great third party while navigating the sometimes tumultuous emotions of life

Spiritual

Spiritual wellness looks different for everybody. Some people embrace spiritual wellness by attending church or religious services, some pray, some meditate or do yoga. While all of these are different practices, they all have the same goal of creating a strong spiritual bond within oneself.  Connect with your spiritual side, try to:

• Make time for yourself to practice spirituality
• Educate yourself on how others maintain spiritual health, to get ideas and potentially incorporate it into your routine