Wellness From Within: The First Step

Wellness From Within: The First Step

If you could choose to enjoy better health, would you be interested? Do increased energy, greater enthusiasm, and an enhanced sense of well-being appeal to you? How about a greater sense of joy?

The good news is, these things are possible for you. Within yourself, you have the power you need to create wellness in your life. That power is your power of choice.
Health is more than the absence of disease

According to the World Health Organization, "Health is more than the absence of disease. Health is a state of optimal well-being." Optimal well-being is a concept of health that goes beyond the curing of illness to one of achieving wellness. Achieving wellness requires balancing the various aspects of the whole person. These aspects are physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. This broader, (w)holistic approach to health involves the integration of all of these aspects and is an ongoing process.

The American Holistic Health Association (AHHA) has developed this booklet to help you achieve wellness in your life. It will answer some of the most commonly asked questions about the holistic approach to health and wellness and start you on your path to optimal well-being.
Your health is your responsibility

Many of us have been brought up to believe that our health depends solely on the quality of the healthcare we receive. The truth is, your health is your responsibility. You are the only person who can make the lifestyle decisions that contribute to your well-being. You are the one who must take the steps to preserve your health and promote your wellness. Only you have the power to create wellness for yourself.

Your power lies in the choices you make every day on your own behalf. If you react out of habit or fixed attitudes, you may not be using your choices wisely to create wellness in your life. To create wellness you must expand your focus beyond mere physical health, and:

• Strive to balance and integrate your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects
• Establish respectful, cooperative relationships with your family, friends, community, and the environment
• Gather information and make informed wellness-oriented choices
• Actively participate in your health decisions and healing process.
Your wellness team
To understand wellness, it helps to think of yourself as a team made up of several members. For the team to be effective, each member (each aspect of yourself) must have its needs met and must work in harmony with the other team members. These aspects of yourself are:
• Physical you (your body)--your tangible structure and the five senses which enable you to touch, see, hear, smell and taste the world around you
• Emotional you (your feelings)--your range of emotions from fear and anger to love and joy
• Mental you (your thoughts)--your knowledge, attitudes and beliefs; your analytical self
• Spiritual you (your spirit )--your relationship with yourself, your creativity, your life purpose, and your relationship with a Higher Power.

All of these aspects work together to make you a whole person. What happens to one aspect can affect all the other aspects. That's why being confined to bed with a sore back (physical) can lead to depression (emotional), or why denying your anger (emotional) can lead to a headache (physical). This relationship between your different aspects is often referred to as the mind/body connection. Since all four parts of you must work in harmony to achieve wellness, each part needs your attention and care to perform at its best.

• The physical you requires good nutrition, appropriate weight, beneficial exercise and adequate rest.
• The emotional you needs to give and receive forgiveness, love and compassion; needs to laugh and experience happiness; needs joyful relationships with yourself and others.
• The mental you needs self-supportive attitudes, positive thoughts and viewpoints and a positive self-image.
• The spiritual you requires inner calmness, openness to your creativity, and trust in your inner knowing.

The captain of the team

A comfortable, healthy balance between your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects doesn't happen accidentally. Someone has to be in charge, and that someone is always you.
Your behavior and the choices you make in your life affect your health. You can choose to do more of what's good for you and the world around you, and to do less of what is harmful. You can choose to learn more about your health and the variety of healthcare options available and you can choose how you will react in a given situation.

In order to make wise choices, however, you must know what changes you may need to make. To help you determine your current degree of wellness, take the following short quiz. Do not judge yourself by your answers. Simply accept yourself as you are at this moment, knowing that tomorrow is a new day and that you can always make new choices that will take you closer to the wellness you desire.

Wellness Quiz
Do you wake up with enthusiasm for the day ahead?
Do you have the high energy you need to do what you want?
Do you laugh easily and often, especially at yourself?
Do you confidently find solutions for the challenges in your life?
Do you feel valued and appreciated?
Do you appreciate others and let them know it?
Do you have a circle of warm, caring friends?
Do the choices you make every day get you what you want?

If you answered "no" to any of these questions, congratulations! You have identified areas in your life that you may want to change. This can be valuable information.

http://ahha.org/ahhastep.htm

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