Want to start living holistically? This approach believes that all aspects of your life are connected. Therefore, holistic looks at the “big picture” of your life and how each aspect affects the others. We must look at all aspects of our life to achieve wellness in mind, body and spirit. In other words, you don’t just focus on one part of your life. You really can’t because each and every part of your life is interconnected with the other parts.
For instance, if you are having trouble at home, you most likely bring it to work and vice versa. But the good thing about embracing a holistic lifestyle is that it isn’t one size fits all. You can choose and pick what parts of holistic living you want to work with first, for you and your family, and go from there.
Three Major Aspects of Holistic Living
As I said earlier, holistic living takes into consideration all aspects of a person and their life. Body, mind and spirit all are a part of a person, so each should be addressed.
Mind
You may wonder why you have to worry so much about your mind. Simply because it is a part of the person as a whole and therefore, just as important as your body is to take care of.
Where our minds are concerned, many of us tend to push our emotions aside if not downright ignore them. We also tend to think we need to live up to the expectations of others. That we should live in a way that society or our family expects.
Living holistically means we can step back and look at what we are, what we feel, what we think and what we want to or should learn. All of these affect our mind, therefore would affect the other areas of our lives.
So, we need to spend as much time on our minds, as we would on our bodies. We need a good healthy strong mind because our mindset is what will control our other actions. What we think, becomes…
Body
We tend to understand our bodies more than any other part of our lives. Because it’s physical we can calculate and see the effect on our body just by observing the results of anything we do with said body.
We all know that what we feed it and do with our bodies, determines what we get back from it. And our body definitely affects the other aspects of our lives.
What many of us don’t take into account or realize is that living holistically includes looking at how our sleep, movement and time in nature affects our bodies. And so does the types of products we put in and, on our body and the health of each system in our body.
Overall, being holistic focuses on the whole person for wellness, which means living in a state of good health. This is preferred rather than fixing what goes wrong when our bodies are not well taken care of.
Spirit
Your spirit or soul isn’t just concerned with your spiritualism or your connection with a Higher Being even though this may be a big part of your life. But spirit/soul, holistically, also considers living your life while aligned with your values and purpose.
You also need to make connections with other humans and in many instances deeper connections. Humans need connections with other humans. These all contribute to your soul and therefore interconnect and affect the other aspects of your life.
What to Consider when Starting the Journey to Live Holistically
Mindfulness
Mindfulness can be a valuable skill to have. Work toward living in the moment. See and feel what is going on around you at that moment in time. Being aware and present in the moment—the right here and right now.
Being mindful brings about self-awareness for a better understanding of yourself. You are probably being mindful many times a day when you don’t realize it.
Ever stop something you are doing, take a deep breath, think about what you need to focus on and then proceed—that is mindfulness. Have you ever done that?
Intention
Mindfulness goes along with living intentionally. You should live a life based on your values that encompasses the purpose of your life. Living intentionally causes a simplicity of life but also control for you to see the big picture and therefore start consciously making better choices that will help guide you down your path.
Respect Your Body – Eat Healthy, Move and Sleep
How many times have you heard that your body is a temple? If that is so, then we need to respect our body and take very good care of it. Some ways to do that are being mindful of what you eat and getting enough movement in each day.
With a holistic lifestyle you need to intentionally start making better food choices and get some type of movement in several times a week. Even just wearing a Fitbit and using it to remind yourself to get up and move every hour or so, is good. And most of us know that.
What we don’t think about is other things our body needs to work at its optimum—like ….
Sleep
In order to really respect your body, we need to continually remind ourselves to think of the whole picture. And sleeping is part of that whole, so make sure you get the sleep that your body needs.
Nature
Our bodies need things that are outside and one of those things is sunlight. But nature also helps with our mind and spirit.
Living holistically also means spending time in nature and reconnecting with the earth and universe and self. Our spirits need that connection because it’s interconnected to other parts of our lives.
Reconnecting also changes your vibration for the better—so get outside as much as possible.
Learn, Grow and Know Yourself
There are so many things that we can learn about ourselves, and it should be a continual thing. Holistic would take in the intention of continual learning as it also connects to other aspects of our lives.
Big, drastic changes don’t need to be made, just simple basic modifications that help you become more the type of person you always knew you could be. Here are a few things that you can do for yourself.
Be aware
One of the things that can help the most is to be aware. It’s that living in the moment thing. Being mindful of every minute of your life and live it to the fullest.
You can’t change anything or grow if you aren’t aware that you should or need to change something. It’s all part of learning about yourself and growing.
Life throws curve balls, and when you are aware of all aspects of your life, you are more able to handle those curve balls and more able to make the best of the situation. This is a good habit to get into.
Meditate
Meditation is very good at helping to become mindful and self-aware. It will relax you and put you in a good frame of mind. I think meditating is cumulative—the more you do it the more benefit you feel.
One benefit is feeling more relaxed and less stress. And it doesn’t take longer than 10-20 minutes a day. Concentrate on your breathing. It will help with your awareness.
Listen to Intuition
A holistic lifestyle also suggests listening to your intuition.
Self-Care
Self-care gets pooh-poohed by many when thinking you don’t have enough time, you’ve got others to think about, etc. There are all kinds of excuses not to practice self-care. But it is important because it helps prevent burnout, stress, and exhaustion. You are better able to take care of others, when you also take care of yourself.
Remember you are trying to change over to a holistic way of life and looking at yourself as a whole, so that includes incorporating self-care into the equation. Taking care of you is an important component for you to then take care of those around you.
And self-care can mean what you want it to from soaking in a tub for 15 minutes to crafting, reading, dancing or just relaxing. Self-care needs to suit you.
Positive, Respectful Relationships
Some of us may not want to admit it, but the relationships we have in our lives make a big difference. To live holistically, you may want to stop and take a deep look at those you spend time with, in reference to your love life, friends and family.
If anyone causes you stress on a regular basis, it may be time to move on. Negativity of any kind can cause physical illness, stress and other difficulties. It may not be easy, but we all need positive people in our lives, not those that bring us down.
You may also want to think about starting a gratitude journal of two or three things you are grateful for each day. You don’t have to spend a large amount of time writing. You could just jot a few things down on your calendar.
Then at the end of a month, quarter or year, look back at all the things you were grateful for and see how it has help enlighten and strengthen your life.
Connections/Social Support
Living holistically also means connecting with others and finding social support with like-minded people. You see this all over the internet these days and in our own lives.
Do you have a hobby or are you doing the keto diet? Look at Facebook and you’ll find plenty of others doing the same thing and who are looking for others to share with.
This is just one example of connecting with others that have chosen the same path. You’ll make new friends, learn and get help on the new path you have taken.
And don’t forget, your family and friends can be support. But you also need to make a connection with yourself. This is a journey of growth and to keep on that path, you need to always be aware of looking at the big picture of your life.
Balance
We all need balance in our lives. For many of us, stress at work is a biggie to take on in order to bring about balance. I know how it is with a stressful job. So all I can say is that life is too short to dread getting up in the morning for something that takes up a third of our lives.
If the job doesn’t fit your values and brings a ton of stress, it may be time to change jobs.
I’ve been lucky, as the pandemic helped me realize this when I had to take off several weeks from my job due to illness. When I went back to work at a different job with less hours, I felt blessed.
The money is less, but I now have more time at home and can do things that I didn’t have time for before.
Sometimes Change is Good
It was a good change. I didn’t look for this change, but I was thankfully aware enough to know that it was a good opportunity when the job was brought to my attention. I feel like I’ve moved more toward my idea of holistic living.
This is how living intentionally and holistically can help balance your life. Staying aware of all aspects of your life helps when something comes your way to change your life for the better.
It certainly made me more aware of where my energy was actually going rather than where I wanted that energy to be spent.
How to Begin Your Holistic Path
To begin your journey of holistic living, you need to begin creating different habits. These habits will probably be new ones and need to be sustainable and match your values and align with the life you want to create. Below are some basic components or steps to take into consideration when starting this new journey.
**Become Aware of Where You Are
Contemplate and understand where you are at this point in time and be brutally honest with yourself. Assess your life right here, right now, not where you want or think you should be.
You can’t grow and create your new life if you don’t know or understand where you are starting from. And you also need to take this into consideration from the standpoint of mind, body and soul. Remember these components interconnect and affect the others.
**Focus on One Change at a Time
You can’t do everything at once and it would be way too stressful to try to change to all new habits at the same time. So do one of the things that holistic teaches—take one day at a time and be gentle on yourself.
A better plan would be to take one aspect of your life and concentrate on it at first. For instance, I’m taking on my health. For me that means changing the way I eat to healthier choices and also get my butt moving.
It’s slow because I’m not perfect all the time. But I’m beginning to go for the better food choices without thinking too much about it and I wear my Fitbit all the time.
It keeps me aware of my steps and I get up most of the time when the Fitbit tells me to move, even when I’m working. I’m competitive so I hate not hitting my step goal.
Create good and healthy habits for you and your family if you are including them. And if you don’t know enough about living holistically, do more research and learn. There is a ton of information out there at our fingertips. Start with my article on “What is Holistic”.
Once you have decided on what area of your life to concentrate on first, do research on the best ways to implement the changes you want to happen. And don’t be afraid of the old trial and error method.
**Set Sustainable and Purposeful Intentions
I think it is better to set intentions rather than goals when you are changing to a holistic lifestyle. Goals indicate an end result and that isn’t what holistic is about. Besides how do we feel when we don’t meet a goal we have set.
Feeling bad about ourselves is not holistic.
Remember holistic is a lifetime journey so set yourself up with intentions. They are easier to blend into your everyday life. Such as: I intend to eat healthy 85% of the time this month.
I wouldn’t do 100% of the time right away because I know I wouldn’t make it. But 80-85%, yeah, that I can do and therefore it’s sustainable and becomes my new habit.
Holistic is not a destination, but rather a path that keep going as you need it to.
**Blend Your New Intentions Into Your Life and Continue Practicing
If your set intention is too big to begin with, break it down into smaller parts until you can work the whole intention or change the habit you are working on.
Remember whatever action you take to make a specific change; you need to be able to sustain that change for the long haul.
Eventually, as you evolve and settle into this lifestyle, it will change you. Then you’ll need to make more changes in order to continue growth, based on your needs, at that point in time.
You’ll basically be changing things anytime you have fully integrated an intention and it has become a holistic healthy habit. It will then be time for another goal or change.
Just repeat these four steps.
Final Thoughts
Here are a few other suggestions that can be incorporated into your holistic life on a daily basis.
*Try natural and/or plant-based remedies
*Use natural and unscented products inside and outside your body
*Improve your spirituality. …
*Be aware of your impact on our environment
*Educate yourself
*Eat superfoods at every meal
Living holistically can be a healthy and sustainable way to live that will also bring balance to your life. By seeing the “big picture” and making intentional choices, all three aspects of our lives (mind, body and soul) can be happier and more fulfilled.
Keep your mindset toward that aspiration as living holistically is more than just choosing natural remedies when needed.
For instance, it’s about taking care of your whole self. It’s about knowing when it is OK to use a natural remedy or having the awareness to know when it may be time to follow your doctor’s advice.
Holistic is knowing that we are all unique and that one size does not fit all and that holistic allows for us to do what’s best for each individual.
I know I was long winded here, but I wanted to present as much information as I could in one article for those of you that are leaning toward starting a healthier, holistic lifestyle.
Don’t hesitate to contact me if you have further questions on the subject. I don’t mind as I think this subject is fascinating.
Till Later,
Cher
