So how have the first two weeks of the New Year gone for you?
I’ve been in bed since Friday with a little virus and am beginning to feel much better.Initially, I was frustrated because I needed to cancel social plans and activities I was looking forward to. That wore off and things slowed down. I took advantage and slept a ton, took a bath every day, and had simple, healing meals with a bunch of vegetables.
It really is amazing how the body heals itself given half a chance.
In “the spirit of slow” I created a checklist or inventory for you to take some time with, taking stock of your health from a holistic viewpoint. And of course, I wouldn’t ask you to do something I don’t do myself. I regularly set aside time to check in with myself around these three areas.
Holistic Health Inventory
Answer “yes” or “no” to the following questions (except the last one, obviously):
Physical:
Am I moving my body on a regular basis in ways that I enjoy?
Am I adding many health-promoting plant foods to my diet like leafy greens, healthy fats, vegetables, and fruit?
Am I decreasing the amount of sugar, refined foods, fried food, and fast food in my diet?
Am I allowing myself rest when I need it?
Am I making sure to drink water throughout the day?
Do I sleep well?
Am I using non-toxic products on my skin and in my home?
Emotional:
Am I practicing letting go of grudges I have that are still holding me emotionally captive?
Do I practice full self-acceptance, even when I feel I am less than perfect?
Do I feel I have adequate resources to navigate my inner world?
Am I allowing emotions to naturally flow through me?
Am I laughing on a regular basis or spending time with people that crack me up?
Am I taking responsibility for the way I experience things?
Do I have community, friends, family, or mentors that can support me on my journey?
Spiritual:
Do I have a spiritual, religious, or other personal practice that feels very nourishing to my spirit/being?
Are feelings of isolation rare?
Do I feel a general trust in life?
Do I have a sense of what my guiding light is? What keeps me going?
What do I know to be true from the depth of my being?
In a culture that relies heavily on measurable results, it’s easy to invest much of our time in numbers and charts. What is not as easily measured often gets overlooked. Health is holistic and integrates body, mind, and spirit.
A strong spiritual practice while neglecting the physical body, ignores a fundamental part of our well-being: the vehicle that allows us to serve our purpose in the world.
In the same breath, a healthy body minus the inner resources to take care of our emotional world, is also missing a key ingredient. A healthy emotional life contributes to physical health. Unprocessed emotions can manifest in the physical body via pain, disease, or unsupportive habits.
Physical health brings us vitality.
Emotional health brings us groundedness.
Spiritual health brings us a sense of peace & trust.
It all ties together.
As we continue to integrate all three pieces, we begin to see how tending to our physical being can be a spiritual practice. We see how navigating our emotional world is also building tolerance for physical discomfort. And we see how having a spiritual practice can lighten our emotional overwhelm.
So, what area(s) did you respond to with a majority of yes’es? How about no’s?
I encourage you to keep doing what is working for your and attend to the areas that might need a little more TLC.
In health & with love,