Your guide to holistic health

Holistic health and how you can put it into practice.

If you’ve been reading my blog for a while you might have heard me talk about health from a holistic perspective. This term is thrown around a lot in the wellness space and it can be confusing! So, to break it down for you, here’s how you can zoom out to view your health through a holistic lens.

What is holistic health?

Holistic medicine attempts to treat the whole person, including mind and body, not just the injury or disease. Raise your hand if your doctor has taken a few vitals, scribbled down a prescription, and sent you on your way? Unfortunately, this is how most traditional doctor visits go. One of the biggest unlocks to my own health has been realizing that health encompasses more than the physical body. Viewing health through a holistic lens considers everything from relationships, social life, and even career.

Primary Food vs. Secondary Food

Below is a diagram called the Wheel of Wellness. Consider the twelve categories your “primary food.” This is everything that nourishes us off the plate since wellness goes far beyond the food we eat. Food is critical to survival as humans, and we need much more than food to thrive in today’s world.

Want to assess where you’re at with your own holistic health? Grab a piece of paper and rate your level of satisfaction within each pillar. You can use a 1-10 rating scale (10 is optimally fulfilled) or draw dots within the wheel of wellness – the closer the dot is to the center of the circle, the less satisfied you are in that area of your life. Once you have all your dots connect them all to see your wheel. Try to do this without judgement and just notice what areas might be lacking for you. This can be a practice you do once a quarter to check in and evaluate where you are at in different areas of your overall health and then choose one to three main areas to focus on over the next 90 days.

What about the food we do eat on our plates? Think of the nourishment you receive from the food consumed on your plate as your “secondary food.” Of course, eating a diet composed of mostly whole foods rich in fiber, protein, and healthy fats is another important part of the equation to balance holistic health. But equally important is to find a way of eating that is intuitive and works for you. I’ve talked about how my diet has changed over the years here, and there’s no one size fits all approach that works for everyone.

Inspo for tuning into your own holistic health

Put pen to paper. I love a good brain dump before bed to get all the thoughts out of your head. The nighttime works best for me because I tend to get racing thoughts before bed that can keep me up, so this is a great way to clear out the mental noise and quiet the mind. After a while you can start to see patterns on where you want to focus your energy.
Incorporate more whole foods by shopping at your local farmer’s markets, cooking more meals at home and eating with the seasons.
Regularly donate or sell clothes you don’t wear and get rid of clutter that is taking up physical (and mental!) space in your home. I truly believe a cluttered home = a cluttered mind.
Take more walks. Waking up and getting sunlight in your eyes first thing in the morning is so important for your circadian rhythm. Grab your fur baby (or human baby), put on a podcast or walking meditation, and enjoy daily time in nature. Bonus if you can meet friends for walks and make it part of your socializing time!
Join (or start) a book club, bible study, or regular game night with your friends, neighbors, or co-workers. Having community is so important to health and even longevity. One of the reasons people in Blue Zones live so long is that they have strong, tight-knit communities.
Dial in your sleep routine. I’ll preach this one all day long: sleep is a superpower and if your sleep is off, your entire health is affected. Aim for a regular bedtime, start to wind down by limiting screen time at least an hour before bed, and read, journal, or do a Yoga Nidra meditation before bed.
Set boundaries to protect your time and energy.

This only scratches the surface of holistic health and if you want to dive deeper into your bio-individual health, I’m always happy to chat or you can check out my free e-book using the sign up form below! I hope you feel empowered to assess your health not just by your diet and exercise, but with every other aspect that makes up your primary food and wellbeing. My challenge to you this week is to pick one area in your wheel of wellness to nourish and see how you can expand that part of your circle!