Holistic, adjective –
1. Incorporating the concept of holism, or the idea that the whole is more than merely the sum of its parts.

I believe in order to have true health, you have to approach it from a balanced standpoint, from the perspective of the whole being. A healthy body, healthy mind, and healthy spirit. Much like a three-legged stool, if one leg is broken, the stool isn’t going to function properly. For instance, exercise is only one component in the overall approach to a fit and healthy body. If you’re nutrition isn’t clean as well, and you’re hitting up the local Fat Fried Shack on the way home from work each night, not even working out in the gym 2 hours a day is going to be enough to yield the kind of results you’re hoping for when you look in the mirror. Not to mention keep you safe from illness and disease! Conversely, great nutrition is only one piece of the puzzle with regard to healthy bones, cardiovascular tone, immunity, & longevity etc. You have to also include some form of strength training.

Next is health of spirit and mind. I’m not referring specifically to any particular religion, but hey, if that’s your thing, and the “spirit” moves you, go head on (pun intended). What I am referring to, is some type of practice in which you “un-plug” from the stress and minutiae of modern day, first world country-life. Maybe it’s meditation, yoga, or just a daily walk in nature. The point here is to keep it simple and make it something you enjoy to allow you to re-connect with your simple truth &  your inner wisdom. The world seems to move faster all the time and it becomes increasingly easy to operate on auto pilot and before you know it, it’s time to drag yourself to bed where you exhaustedly fall into a restless slumber with nary a spare moment throughout the day to just sit still, in silence.

I believe a healthy mind is greatly enhanced with healthy relationships. True intellectual connection and engagement with another human being can stimulate you and arouse your curiosity. It can challenge your beliefs, your truth, and broaden your knowledge base. It can open your heart to possibilities. This can of course be done, and most often is done, in an intimate relationship. But it can also be done with your aging grandmother or even a 6 year old child. And if at this moment you’re staring at your computer screen like “Say what??”, clearly you’ve never met my 6 year old! Or my late grandmother for that matter, who was full of quiet wisdom gleaned from 90 plus years on the planet.

The above is a broad overview or introduction, if you will, to my definition or interpretation of holistic health. My goal in sharing this is to create a spark of awareness and of course pique your interest in coming back to read my blog on future topics!

Til we meet again, take care!