“True wellness is a holistic combination of physical, mental and spiritual health.”
Introduction: Rather than focusing on a problem, it considers mental, physical, and spiritual factors. As the adage goes “A healthy body is a healthy mind”. Mental, physical, and spiritual factors influence a person’s well-being. Human body is a great miracle. Body is a gift of God, created meticulously by Him. It is a work of out design by God. God is the potter and we are the clay. He has breathed His life in us. He keeps us going, He keeps us moving. We are created in the image and likeness of God. We carry God’s image and likeness within us. Hence we have divine qualities. Through his incarnation Lord Jesus has made our human bodies holy (Heb. 2) God has made us the temple of the Holy Spirit in Baptism. Hence we need to take care of our body, we need to befriend our bodies, avoid conflicts, and we need to attend to our bodily needs. For one’s body one is responsible. Every part of one’s body is precious. Body is treasure – mine. It contains all one’s experiences, both joyful and sorrowful since the time of one’s conception in the mother’s womb. Body contains life – wisdom. Hence we need to listen to our body when it sends us messages. Body contain all resources that one needs to live one’s life to the full (Jn. 10:10) physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual.
How to take care of the body: To take care of your body properly is fundamental to the well-being of yourself as a person, physically, mentally, and spiritually. There are many benefits to doing things for yourself the right way. If you take care of yourself physically by working out regularly, eating healthy foods, and avoiding risky behaviors that could hurt you, you are increasing the length of your life as well as decreasing your risk of certain medical conditions that come from a sedentary lifestyle such as diabetes, scoliosis, and some forms of cancers. If you take care of your mental and emotional health by surrounding yourself with positive influences, taking time to delve into your thoughts and feelings, and exercising relaxation techniques such as meditation, Daily rhythmic time-table, doing the balancing act, time to time medical check-up, especially when the body sends messages or warnings, right diet, exercises, prayer, work, rest, relaxation. Reading, reflection, creative activities, mathematics, thinking activities, relationships, connectedness with life, prayer and faith practices, physical exercises, yoga, manual works, daily doing the eye exercises etc., you are increasing the length of your life. Psychologists have proven that by listening to our bodies’ needs, we can become more aware of our emotions and desires. By incorporating body psychotherapy methods, one can heal a person’s emotional sphere including anxiety and depression, as our bodies can ‘talk’ to us and give us the hints of what we need. By listening to our bodies and taking a good care of them, we can reach the state of balance and inner harmony.
Here are some of the things we can do to look after our body: Having a proper work/rest balance. Not enough sleep and rest can cause a lot of stress, and, thus, an inability of our bodies to function well. While work is important, one shouldn’t forget about the proper rest, even when we want to accomplish more and, thus, start working more. After some time of such intensive work, our bodies will stop functioning well, and we can even get sick. Making sure that one drinks enough water every day. On average, the human body consists of 60% of water and billions of our cells should have enough water to live. It’s also necessary to make sure that the water one drinks is not contaminated, – not pure water will do more harm than good to our bodies. It might be difficult to get clean water, especially when one lives in a big city. Getting a good whole house water filter might be an option in such a situation, – it’s always better to ensure that one gets uncontaminated water. Having enough time for eating and checking that the body gets all the necessary vitamins. Proper food is fuel to our bodies that help us function well. At times, one, probably, needs to have some additional supplements to ensure that the body receives everything it needs, especially during winter times or when we don’t have a chance to eat properly balanced food rich in vitamins. It’s also necessary to eat slowly and chew every bit of food. Ideally, eating should bring us pleasure. Holistic approach to Health and Wellness: People often think about wellness in terms of physical health – nutrition, exercise, weight management, etc., but it is so much more. Wellness is a holistic integration of physical, mental, and spiritual well-being, fuelling the body, engaging the mind, and nurturing the spirit. Although it always includes striving for health, it’s more about living life fully, and is “a lifestyle and a personalised approach to living life in a way that… allows you to become the best kind of person that your potentials, circumstances, and fate will allow”. Wellness necessitates good self-stewardship, for ourselves and for those we care about and who care about us.
Wellness encompasses 8 mutually interdependent dimensions: physical, intellectual, emotional, social, spiritual, vocational, financial, and environmental. Attention must be given to all the dimensions, as neglect of any one over time will adversely affect the others, and ultimately one’s health, well-being, and quality of life. They do not, however, have to be equally balanced. We should aim, instead, to strive for a “personal harmony” that feels most authentic to us. We naturally have our own priorities, approaches, and aspirations, including our own views of what it means to live life fully.
Conclusion: Making the right choices for health and well-being can be challenging. Although we know what is good for us and how we can do-and bebetter, we may not act on it, or if we do, we may, in due course, slide back to familiar ways. Self-regulation is central to effective human functioning. It is “our ability to direct our behaviour and control our impulses so that we meet certain standards, achieve certain goals, or reach certain ideals”. It allows us to act in our short- and long-term best interests, consistent with our deepest values. There’s just one limitation: self-regulation requires mental energy, and the brain is always looking for ways to conserve energy (i.e., save effort). Wellness is a dynamic, ever-changing, fluctuating process. It is a lifestyle, a personalised approach to living life in a way that allows you to become the best kind of person that your potentials, circumstances, and fate will allow. The past is history; the present and future lie in the choices you make today. Don’t worry about getting it perfect; just get it going, and become the best kind of person you can be. Stay safe and healthy!
Rev. Fr. C. Joseph,
Counsellor-St. Joseph’s College (Autonomous) Jakhama,
Kohima-Nagaland
