How to nourish ourselves beyond our plate: 12 areas we can work on to contribute to our overall wellness and happiness
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When most people think about getting healthy they think about weight loss, but the truth is being healthy is satisfying a lot of our needs beyond our plates. Health is affected by more than the foods we eat. We could eat a perfect balanced diet and workout everyday, but if areas off our plate are unbalanced we will never be fulfilled.
What does being healthy mean to you?
For me it means being fulfilled in many different aspects of my life. Our needs are multidimensional and they are always changing. Be present, listen to your body, and take action towards meeting your needs. Health is mental, physical, emotional, and spiritual.
As an IIN student we learn about the circle of life and the 12 areas that contribute to our overall wellness and happiness. The 12 areas are spirituality, creativity, finances, career, education, health, physical activity, home cooking, home environment, relationships, social life, & joy!
When you close your eyes and think about all these areas in your life, where do you feel out of balance? Where can you focus and give more time and energy to become more fulfilled?
I am going to share a little bit about each area and give you some ideas on how you can fill your cup!
Spirituality.
Spirituality is finding meaningful connections that allow us to view life with a deeper significance, sense of purpose, or something greater than ourselves. MRIs have shown that activities like meditation and immersing yourself in nature stimulate the parietal cortex, which is involved in awareness, perception, and integration. Some people may find that when they meditate they have an out of body experience.
Yes, spirituality can be about finding god and going to church, but it doesn't have to be about religion. There are other ways to practice spirituality for a non religious person. Here are a few ways you can develop spirituality as a non- religious person:
Develop a morning routine. This helps you connect to yourself and keeps you grounded. Your routine can be anything that works for you but some ideas are drinking warm lemon water in the morning, going on a walk, meditating, journaling, or reading.
Practicing meditation is also another way to find meaningful connections and find a sense of purpose. There are a ton of apps out there that can help you practice, meditations don't have to be long, starting with 5 minutes is a great way to begin your journey.
Go out in nature and connect with yourself!
Acts of service, volunteering and using your natural gifts can give you a sense of feeling like you belong to something greater in this world.
2. Career
Many of us spend the majority of our lives working. It is important to find a career that nourishes us, so we may feel less stressed and feel more motivated
If you are feeling unfulfilled in your career, maybe you can request projects that interest you, surround yourself with coworkers that lift you up, or stay motivated by giving yourself small rewards for achieving your goals.
3. Finances
Finances are never a fun topic to talk about, but it is important to have a healthy relationship with money. Research has shown that those that have a negative relationship with money also may have increased blood pressure, anxiety, tension, depression, and shame. The more you are aware of where your money is going the more you can intentionally spend money on things that bring you joy!
We live in a world where others are easily influenced by social media and it may cause others to live beyond their means. Figure out what makes you happy and spend money on things that bring you joy!
Manisha Thakor, a speaker from IIN, gave a couple tips including paying the minimum payment on your bills each month, establishing an emergency fund of at least 2,000, take advantage of the free money towards your 401k, pay down credit card debt, distribute your “extra money” across 3 buckets one being emergency fund, 2 being near term needs, and 3rd being retirement savings.
4. Health
Health is self care! It is understanding that our bodies have needs and we need to respect that and follow through. There are several forms of self care. There is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
Physical self care can be something as simple as going on a walk, hiking, nourishing your body with food, breath work, sauna, or sex with a partner.
Mental self care can include reading a book, decluttering, unplugging from technology, or trying out a new hobby.
Emotional self care can be as simple as connecting with others, journaling, laughing, nourishing your inner child, being in the present moment, positive affirmation, feeling your feelings and releasing your emotions, picking up new hobbies, or spending time with friends.
Spiritual self care could be spending time in nature, donating time or money to charity, reciting mantras, creating a morning and bedtime routine.
5. Creativity
Having a creative outlet has been huge for my mental health. After I had my first son I needed a creative outlet and a way to spend my time in a positive manner. That is when I created my blog and started learning how to use a manual camera and editing photos.
Creativity can help alleviate stress and anxiety. It can help you focus on the task at hand and live in the present moment. Sing, dance, draw, learn a new skill, or find a new way to do a task!
6. Relationships
We are all social creatures and we have many relationships in our lives. Relationships fulfill a lot of our basic needs. Relationships can bring us comfort and joy. Our deepest desire is human connection.
How we bond with our caregivers in our early years can affect relationships later on in life. How our caregivers respond to our distress teaches us what to expect from relationships later on in life.The lack of a supportive relationship in infancy can negatively impact social and emotional development.
7. Joy
Joy is an inward. Peace and happiness is something that aligns with our core values. Joy is something internal we experience.
Some ways to find joy are to practice gratitude. I love this GRATITUDE JOURNAL. Each morning and evening it helps you focus on things you are grateful for today and to focus on the highlights of your day. Hold time & space to be present, Use your 5 senses, and commit to random acts of kindness.
8. Home cooking
Cooking, people either love it or hate it. I personally love it. Cooking at home gives us the opportunity to pick healthy ingredients and use our creativity at the same time to cook and experiment with new meals.
I encourage you to pre plan meals, and if you are in a time crunch try out some crock pot meals. If you want to turn it into a date night activity, play your favorite music, pour some cocktails or your favorite beverage, and cook with a loved one.
If you have little ones at home, cooking together in the kitchen is a good way to get them involved. When kids get to participate in the cooking they are more likely to try and eat what you are cooking. This has been helpful with my little picky eater!
9. Home environment
Having a relaxing home environment plays a big part in our overall health & happiness. Creating a safe and warming space that is comfortable will help reduce stress & give you a sense of inner peace. What does your ideal home environment look like?
A detox of your home environment may be needed. Donate clothing or kids items that are no longer needed. Open up windows & let some natural light in. Organize your pantry or your closet.
10. Physical activity
A body in motion stays in motion. Physical activity is more than just moving to look a certain way. Physical activity is great for our mental health and overall wellbeing. It can help lower your risk for other diseases and help fight osteoporosis.
When we make time to exercise and move our bodies we are giving our bodies the gift of energy, strength, and focus.
Find an activity that moves you. Find something that doesn't feel like punishment. Most people spend only an hour at the gym, how we spend the rest of our day matters. Being active could be something such as a morning walk, vacuuming the house, gardening, or chasing toddlers around all day just to name a few.
There is something called non exercise activity thermogenesis or NEAT and this is the energy you expend when you are not eating, sleeping, or doing structured exercise. Some ways to increase NEAT are stretching when you wake up in the morning or before you have your morning cup of coffee, walking more, park further away and walk, take the stairs, set a step goal, and a fun one… include dance parties throughout the day. If you have littles they love this one! Think of some ways you can incorporate NEAT into your upcoming week.
If you have goals to become stronger and build muscles then spending time in the gym is important.
11. Social life
Over time our lives have become so jam packed and sometimes we don't have time for friendships and social events. We are social creatures and as a species we thrive on connection and community. There have been studies shown that having friends and a social circle can increase your lifespan.
Reach out to old friends and plan a get together. Get things on the calendar. If you are looking for new friendships you could always search online and find a community that interests you. I am a mom of 2 littles and I was looking to create friendships with women going through the same stress of motherhood so I found a group called moms of preschoolers and it meets every other week and it has been a great way to meet other moms and socialize.
12. Education
Knowledge is power. It is important to stay curious and educate yourself on various topics that peak your interest. Learning new things help to give you confidence and acquiring new skills can help improve your memory.
One of my favorite education apps is Skill Share through this app I have learned manual photography, editing, product photography, some blogging, and social media stuff as well. There is a wide variety of topics to learn from on the app.
After learning about our primary needs which areas do you feel need more attention? Do you think this is effecting any physical health symptoms you may be experiencing?
If you are feeling unbalanced, and you do not know where to start feel free to reach out or schedule a free discovery call! I would love to guide you on a journey where you can find the power in healing through nutrition, fitness, and lifestyle changes!