Holistic Wellness and Balancing Your Body

I don’t believe that your physical health is just affected by the foods you eat and how much you exercise. Every part of your life affects other parts in a wellness chain.

Stark Wellness is my holistic philosophy of looking at all aspects that affect a person’s health and well-being. On my holistic wellness wheel I’ve identified 16 elements that all work together to support a life that fully embraces wellness. (It’s actually a boat helm, or steering wheel, to encourage you to take control of your wellness.)

For each person these factors are uniquely interconnected and uniquely impact one another. This is a crucial part of understanding your physical wellness from a holistic perspective.

Having said that, talking about the body IS important when it comes to wellness. Your body is your life vessel, encapsulating your organs, bones and tissues and supporting all of your activity.

A Bit on Bioindividuality and Body Types

How can our bodies be made almost entirely of the same material and still be so different? And how can our needs be so different?

Biochemical individuality explains this. Our bodies respond to food, exercise and the environment in different ways. We also have different genetics, blood types, metabolism, preferences, personalities and lifestyles which affect these responses and how we behave in and treat our bodies.

You could force yourself to eat certain foods, follow certain diets, become a long-distance runner, or toughen up in a cold-weather climate, but if you work with your body’s unique makeup you don’t have to force anything.

You can honor your body and help yourself thrive by eating foods that fulfill your nourishment needs, participating in exercise or movement practices that feel great and energize you, or gifting yourself warming candles, spices and sweaters….or a new home in the tropics.

Just sticking with food for a moment: If a diet is not right for you, your body type, your activity level, your cooking preferences, your adaptations in a certain climate (think following a raw salad diet when you crave warm stew after a trek in the snow)…it’s not going to work for you.

The diet might make you feel sluggish or sick. Following the diet might make you feel deprived or angry. If your goal is to lose weight, you won’t–or you might, but likely not for long.

And seeing someone else follow that same diet and experience better health or lasting weight loss can derail you even more.

But it’s not your fault if you hate the food or type of diet and can’t force yourself to eat it for the rest of your life.

It’s not for you.

>> Related reading: How to Feel Great to Lose Weight Peacefully, Without Die-ting or Abusing Your Body

For example, I love raw oysters with fresh lemon juice and hot sauce and their high zinc content. If you hate oysters and can’t even stand to look at them, there is nothing wrong with you. You might think oysters are disgusting, but hopefully you don’t think I am; I think oysters are super nutritious, but you can find another food you love high in zinc.

Aside from food, you might not understand how anyone could put themself into a boxing ring; someone else might not understand how anyone can stand a hatha yoga class. You might love sleeping late into the morning; someone else you know might love to get out of bed at 5:30 am even when they don’t have to.

Consider the following:

• What do you notice about yourself that’s different from others?
• Have you reacted to certain foods or drinks differently than others?
• Have you thrived in climates where you noticed others fell to depression, or vice versa?
• Do you handle stress better or worse than others?
• Do you require more or less sleep than your partner or friends?
• Have you excelled with a certain type of exercise versus another?

Knowing how your own body works can help you take care of it the way it will respond best. You can better determine what food and movements are most beneficial for you.

Ayurveda Doshas

You can distinguish body types by body shape, blood type, metabolism rate and other methods. While there are a variety of body type theories, one of the oldest and most predominant–and one that resonates with me most–comes from Ayurveda.

The science of Ayurveda originated in India over 5,000 years ago. Ayurveda means the “science of life” (‘Ayur’ meaning life and ‘Veda’ meaning science). Traditional Chinese medicine, Greek medicine, and Tibetan medicine all have links to Ayurvedic concepts.

It’s a way of healing and a way of living that provides flexible guidelines on diet, exercise, behavioral habits, self-care and overall health according to your body constitution.

This holistic focus is why I love Ayurveda so much.

Each person has a unique combination of three body types called doshas. These are defined in Ayurveda as: Vata (Wind), Pitta (Fire) and Kapha (Earth).

Accorrding to Aryuveda, this unique combination shapes the makeup of your physical body and mental and emotional characteristics. Identifying your dosha provides clues to how you can balance yourself, physically and psychologically.

I have found it fascinating and helpful for myself, caring for my family, and serving my clients.

A follow-up blog post will be necessary to dive deeper into the Ayurveda doshas. Maybe soon….

I provide a Body Typing Quiz to determine your Dosha in my 4 week email course RENEW. Individual scoring is detailed at the end of the quiz, which comes in your eGuide for week 4. Just reply to the email and send me your results, then I will send you a full report to help you learn about your dosha, or combination.

Don’t worry–no pigeon-holing here. Learning your dosha, or combination, can be super helpful in determining the very best foods, forms of exercise, therapies, diets, herbs, spices, and lifestyle changes to achieve an optimal state of wellness.

And if you have a family, never fear! I am pretty sure my family represents all 3 doshas. That might seem stressful to someone who doesn’t understand Ayurveda science, but I find it easy to accomodate my family and meet my own needs. I’m happy to help you with that, too!

Conclusion

So, are you feeling ready to be more in tune with your body? Are you feeling drawn to learning how to balance your physical, mental, emotional, relational and spiritual health?

It gets me really excited! Holistic wellness is my jam.

I’m here for you:

• Check out my low-cost mini-course RENEW for a good start on your own self-care, to learn about your dosha, and to have unlimited email access to me for one month;
• or get in touch or comment below to let me know something more specific you want to read about in a future blog post;
• or schedule a free call if you want more support on your wellness journey.

Further reading:

A Call for Self-Care Plus 4 Solutions to Dramatically Reduce Stress, Improve Your Mood, and Balance Your Body and Spirit