WELLNESS
As long as I’m on the topic of longevity (see last post), I would be remiss if I didn’t mention “wellness”.
“If you don’t take time for your wellness, you will
be forced to take time for your illness.
(Read that again)”
I added that quote to my website (author unknown), under ‘about Yoga Therapy’, since it speaks volumes. Much of what I do and don’t do will affect my wellness. If I ignore the signals my body sends me, I may become ill.
The word ‘wellness’ is defined as the quality or state of being healthy in body and mind, especially as the result of deliberate effort.
This has been reinforced by a small book I’m reading now “The Health Catalyst”, by Avanti Kumar-Singh, M.D. Dr. Singh writes about her journey into western medicine and her return to her roots in Ayurvedic healing. She writes that her own health (or lack of) was the catalyst for this shift in her perspective and career. A shift from ‘symptom-curing’ (my words) to ‘whole person healing’.
Ayurveda is known as the sister science to Yoga. From the Cleveland Clinic:
“The word “Ayurveda” is derived from Sanskrit and means “science of life.” In Ayurveda, there’s an underlying belief that everything in life is connected. Because of this, general health and wellness rely on achieving balance and harmony.”
There is the word ‘wellness’ again. And, in the Ayurvedic world, it means making a deliberate effort to create self-supporting habits to decrease toxins, as opposed to health-weakening habits that increase toxins.
And, this work is not just about the food I ingest. It includes other aspects of my life, including environment, lifestyle, work, relationships, and diet.
So, when I consider wellness, I must consider:
Environment - mood shifts can happen when my house is clean (inside and out). For example: clean house = contentment; disheveled house = an anxious feeling for me.
Lifestyle - anxiety visits when the schedule is overloaded with social and work activities, or I find myself worrying about too many things I have little or no control over.
Work - I love my work. I also see that burnout could easily happen if I stop learning. My satisfaction with my work comes from feeling that I am capable of working with and helping others. To me, knowledge is the barrier to burnout.
Relationships - another source of contentment at this point in my life.
Diet - always a challenge. What to eat, when to eat, how much to eat, etc., etc. My one success moment over the past 2 years has been the ability to (more often) put my fork down between bites and truly chew and enjoy the food I am eating.
An imbalance in one of these 5 aspects of my life can create toxins in my body. In Dr. Singh’s book, she writes that toxins lead to symptoms which lead to illness and on to chronic disease - significantly affecting my efforts towards wellness.
As I mentioned under ‘Work’, Ayurveda is new knowledge to me although it has been ‘lurking’ in the background of my yoga experience and knowledge for 25 years. I feel this is an area I need to explore more.
Wellness is of importance to me at this stage of life, especially if I hope to continue to ‘age gracefully’.
