Beginners Guide To Holistic Health & Wellness
Discover why holistic health and wellness is important!
I love the health community, but sometimes it can be very pretentious. I know, right, that’s one way to start a blog post. Have you been searching for simple questions online and you get the most scientific, not entertaining text. I get it, but maybe not everyone is interested in reading these or has the knowledge or time to understand them. I created this beginner’s guide to help you better understand why holistic health and wellness is important, tips on how to include it into your life and why it can help you reduce stress.
I am not a doctor or a medical professional. These are advice I have followed in my life that has helped me and others with my coaching. I am in no way suggesting treating yourself or not seeking medical attention. Before starting any health programs, I recommend you speak to your doctor.
This post contains affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission, at no extra cost to you, if you make a purchase using this link. Please see my disclosure for more details.
Where does Holistic Health come from?
Holistic was coined by South African soldier and statesman Jan Christian Smuts in the 1920s as a philosophical term. Smuts, who—aside from war and politics—was a student of natural science, he used the term to describe his complex philosophy regarding the organization of nature.
The term derived from holism, from the Greek word holos, meaning “whole.”
In his 1926 book Holism and Evolution, he defines holism as “the tendency in nature to form wholes that are greater than the sum of the parts through creative evolution.”
Smuts’ philosophy was quickly adopted into other fields, such as medicine, where it influenced the development of methods that treated a patient as a “whole person,” rather than focusing on single symptoms. Source
Why am I talking about holistic health and wellness?
I started my holistic journey in my early 20s, but at the time, I didn’t know much about it. I just started on a path to living my life in a more natural way. From depression, stress management, relationship issues, bad nutrition, terrible work environments and poor exercise, I was a mess. My health and wellness was in shambles.
The world we live in includes a lot of quick fixes for every aspect of life, like miracle programs you can do for 30 days and everything will be fix forever… I am here to tell you this isn’t one of them.
The more time and effort you will put into yourself and work on what doesn’t align for you anymore, the more you will have a happy and fulfilling life. The question to ask right now is, do you live with any regrets? Are you looking into ways to increase your well-being?
It’s easy to end up at the doctor because you have something wrong and it is easy to be prescribed medication. Yes, conventional medicine does work, and I am not suggesting stopping going to the doctor, ever. But sometimes you could be doing more.
Conventional medicine saved my life after a terrible accident when I was young. It also helped me find out what was wrong and the diagnosis. I still go see my doctor and always ask for her opinion and work with specialist. Approaching my life has a whole and adding more natural ways to improve it has helped me a lot to become the person I want to be.
What does Holistic Health mean?
The direct definition is : “holistic health is an approach to wellness that simultaneously addresses the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual components of health.”
Your body is a wonderful mechanism. Wouldn’t it be able to heal part of it on it’s own, or are the life choices you make affect you in a negative way as a whole? Are the choices you make impacting your life, maybe even making you sicker.
I live in a western part of the world and the choices when it comes to alternative medicine are somewhat limited depending on where you are located. Sometimes, not mentioned at all. Take some medication to fix this and be on your way or go on this crazy diet plan to lose weight. Aromatheraphy is more and more present, but it is not explained how to prevent a lot of diseases before they happen.
We are gaining more knowledge about chemicals and the benefits of a more natural approach, there are more options available that offer a toxin free lifestyle. As you grow up, you might not want to take medication for everything on a daily basis or you don’t understand what most of the ingredients there are in the products you use. . What if there was something more you could do.
The added stress to our lives is creating a lot more diseases than we ever saw before, from lack of motivation to anger and even increasing substance abuse. Did you know your brain doesn’t know the difference between being chased by a bear and being stressed because you are stuck in traffic, you might of had a shit morning after screaming at your kids to get ready, there was a big line at the coffee store, you are late at work and you get the picture. The brain response is the same. We just have a different kinda bear chasing us.
What does a Holistic Health approach mean?
Holistic Health doesn’t only look at the disease, but the person as a whole, through a holistic approach, you will work on:
- Physical Health
- Mental Health
- Emotional Health
- Social Health
- Intellectual Health
- Spiritual Health
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What to expect during a holistic journey?
During holistic healing, you become an active participant in your health choices and require to look at your life as a whole. Discover everything about it, what creates your stress and anxiety. What are your struggles and opinions about yourself. How you define relationships, nutrition, health, fitness, work/life balance etc.
We go through life quickly, until it’s too late and you have the feeling there is no way out anymore. Everyone grows and wants different things in life, if you aren’t happy with your life anymore, you don’t have to keep going this way.
What to expect from a beginner journey
- Sense of being whole
- Increase moment of relaxation
- Reduce worrisome feelings
- Potential to reduce chronic pain
- May reduce headache
- Can help with Insomnia
But it isn’t a one week medication approach. It takes months and years to comprehend yourself and what you want. It’s a constant work on your life and your approach. It took you (insert your age here) to get here, and it might take you more than a week to heal.
From small daily actions, understanding who you want to be and what stresses you the most, you can start healing yourself. The world becomes a new playground. It’s by trials and errors that you find out who you are. The life you were as a kid doesn’t define who you are now. Everyone evolves and should attempt to be the best version of themselves.
During a holistic approach, you will work with a combination of conventional medicine and an integrated approach to your health.
Some Remedies for Holistic Health and wellness
- Food
- Herbs & Supplements
- Teas
- Homeopathic remedies
- Essential Oil
- Physical Approach (Yoga, Acupuncture, Massage Therapy, Chiropractic and others)
- Naturopathy
- Ayurveda
- Energy Therapy
- Aromatherapy
The best essential oils to start
- Lavender, reduce stress, promote sleep
- Orange, uplift your energy
- Lemon, reduces fever, flu-like symptoms, depression and stress.
- Tea Tree, stimulates your immune system, helps reduce stress and promotes sleep
Quick tips use them
You can start by adding a few drops to a diffuser in your home or adding a few drops to a cotton ball to smell throughout your day.
Lavender drops can be added to your bath for calming effects. If you are interested in learning more about essential oils, continue reading here.
Why is Holistic Health important?
Have you ever been to the doctor, (I am not suggesting you don’t go see your doctor here) and they fix your issue with medication, surgery etc. In the end, you feel like there is still something you could be doing that would help. You take another appointment and you leave the doctor’s office being told, they can’t find anything anymore or to go see another specialist for more testing. What now?
For example, if you do go because of depression-like symptoms, you likely will end up with a prescription for antidepressants and be on your way. Again, I am not suggesting you should not see the doctor. They have a reason to provide the services they do. What if you could be doing both holistic and standard medicine.
Some real life example
This exact scenario happened to me, as a 20 year old. I was lost. One thing, my doctor did prescribe me with antidepressants and sleeping pills, but he did force me to see a therapist, since I was so young. The medication helped keep me going to work and keep “living”, but going through the process of a more holistic approach with the therapist changed my life forever.
This same principle applies to all parts of life. It is a belief for someone to lose weight and be able to successfully keep the weight down. You should understand how you see yourself and your relationships first. If the life around you makes you so stressed, do you have a quick fix to go to? Do you go for that sugary food each time, as much as you want to lose weight, the stress will be a very big factor to consider.
Losing weight will then become a lot harder. It’s a lot more complex than just eating better and exercising. Doing a 30 day boot camp challenge can be great for some, but if you believe that it will solve all your problems, if you just lose 20 or 30 pounds and people will like you more, it might not be the best approach.
What exercise can you do that are considered Holistic?
It is one thing to talk about what holistic health is and what it can do for you, but the list below will provide you some exercises you can try as well that are made to work mind and body.
- Yoga
- Reiki
- Tai-Chi
- Yin Yoga
- Qigong
- Yoga Nidra
- Meditation
How to get started with Holistic Health and wellness
There are some tips and tricks to help you start your holistic health and wellness journey right, and I call it a journey because again it will take more than 1 month.
Example no. 1 – Find a Holistic Life Coach. These trained professionals work as a guide to use an approach from diet, stress management and lifestyle changes to improve their client’s health.
Example no. 2 – Include mindfulness into your daily life. Mindfulness is simply to be aware of your environment, feelings and actions in the present moment. By slowing down, you start to notice what works and what doesn’t work for you.
Example no. 3 – Changing your diet, but not going on a diet plan. Introducing whole food to your diet, avoiding processed food and unnatural sugars. By simply changing your choices, it will reduce a lot of stress and inflammation in your body.
Example no. 4 – Find the source of your stress. The stress we live with on a daily basis will affect the outcome of your life. Finding out what creates a trigger can help you make better choices to avoid these triggers.
Easy tips for success in Holistic Health and wellness
- Be more mindful
- Daily meditation
- Eat a whole food diet
- Drink water
- Journal
- Aromatherapy
If you have attempted to wake up early in the morning and want further tips and advice, continue reading the 5 best tips here.
Is chinese medicine considered holistic?
Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) has evolved over thousands of years. TCM practitioners use various psychological and/or physical approaches (such as acupuncture and tai chi) as well as herbal products to address health problems, from the national center for complementary and integrated health.
Some techniques use integrative medicine that will allow the body to heal on its own, like accupuncture. Some studies have shown that acupuncture may help ease pain that is often chronic
Benefits of Accupuncture
- May reduce low back pain
- Improve neck pain
- Reduce sign of osteoarthritis
- Help with knee pain
- Improve sign of carpal tunnel syndrom
- May improve headaches and reduce migraines
For more information, see NCCIH’s acupuncture fact sheet.
Specialist to seek in Holistic Health and wellness
Specialist can help you get started in your holistic journey, from giving you tips and ideas to provide you a guide to follow. The list below will include some profession you can seek.
- Therapist
- Meditation Practitioner
- Yoga Instructor
- Naturopathic practices
- Ayurvedic Theprapist
- Accupuncturist
- Aromatherapist
- Craniosacral Therapy
- Reflexology
- Chiropractor
Frequently Asked Questions
The last thing you need to know about holistic health and wellness
Holistic health helps you in all aspects of life, by including a more natural approach to your life, it can make the healing process better. By understanding why and how you can make better choices and find a way of living that matches who you want to be.
The person you were as a child doesn’t define who you want to be. You make that decision. No one else does.
If you would like more information about how to start your holistic journey or are interested in learning from a life coach to guide you, please book a 10-minute call!
