What is Holistic Wellness? Part 1
Hello, I’m Yana, and I am a Holistic Wellness Coach and guide tech professionals to their most vibrant and authentic selves. Actually, none of my friends, family, and even former clients have ever described or introduced me as such. Instead, I get introduced as Health Coach, Wellness Coach, and most often as a Life Coach. While I don’t take offense (and am grateful I get introduced to anyone at all), I believe it is essential to point out what Holistic Wellness is and become aware of its benefits as you evaluate who and what will be of most service to you.
My background is in the tech industry, and I have had a long career as a design leader, so I bring the perspective of Holistic Wellness to tech professionals who are desiring to reclaim their magic. However, anyone interested in leading a healthier, happier lifestyle and lasting transformation would benefit from learning more about Holistic Wellness.
I will geek out on all things Holistic Wellness in this post because that is my passion and practice. However, I will keep it high level and dive a bit deeper into each element of holistic wellness in future posts.
So what is Holistic Wellness?
Holistic Wellness is a philosophy of aligning towards optimal Wellness considering all areas of our lives. It is about uncovering the root cause of an issue and healing it from there versus treating a symptom or series of symptoms. It removes blockers that keep us stuck and from achieving our goals at the root, which looks different for everyone. The practice is rooted in the belief that we are not made of separate parts that work independently but work together. Holistic wellness includes focus on the seen, the physical body, which is observable and measurable; and the unseen, which are unobservable but equally real such as sensations, feelings, thoughts, and beliefs.
The invisible but core parts that contribute to Wellness are mindset, purpose, career, finances, relationships, and spirituality which can impact us subconsciously and affect us at our core. In addition, food, movement, sleep, air, sunshine, and water affect us directly and are visible. All those elements work together to create a balance or imbalance which impacts our state of well-being.
A holistic wellness practitioner will help increase a person's awareness of how all the above areas of their lives may impact their wellbeing and design a roadmap that will lead to lasting transformations felt in all aspects of their lives. It is a way to evaluate and look into sometimes seemingly unrelated experiences and symptoms and find connections that will lead to lasting transformation, fulfillment, and increased quality of life when addressed.
“We are born to BE who we were meant to be, and we have an innate ability to self correct towards our highest, best, authentic self. ”
Most of us tend to think that to be healthy and well, we need to take care of our bodies by eating healthy and exercising. However, if you are really into wellness, you tend to pay attention to sleep as well. Those three components, food, exercise, and sleep, are the core of what we generally think of health and wellness. Still, in truth, those elements make only a part of a holistic wellness approach and are the most obvious, easily observed, and measured. Too really get a whole picture of what impacts your wellbeing we need to look at all of the elements and how they are playing a role for you.
Looking at how all the elements are playing out with your specific challenge is a powerful way to create transformation in your life. People tend to feel off, and we are naturally driven towards creating balance, so that we feel great, fulfilled, and optimistic. But unfortunately, most of us are limited in our awareness of how the different elements intertwine together. Each imbalance in one piece impacts several other ones. And it takes introspection and some searching beyond the surface to reach the answers which lie within us all.
Example
For example, consider the element of career. Let’s say you feel drained and lack the energy and motivation to do your best work and end up feeling low and unhappy but may not be able to pin-point to why you feel that? Let’s also say you end up overeating and making less then ideal food choices as well. You soon start feeling worse and may end up also not having he greatest sleep so the cycle keeps repeating and you can’t seem to completely get off the wheel. You try to eat healthier but after a few days or weeks can’t seem to stay on track.
After some introspection you realize you are experiencing a setback or conflict with a co-worker and boss, and it impacted you more than you initially realized. You stopped drinking water and opted for diet coke instead. You also stopped paying attention to the quality of your food and it even started messing with your sleep. What was hard to see at first is that one symptom of feeling unwell and overeating or making unhealthy food choices has a root cause of a conflict within an important relationship. It happens to us all, a lot. Until we find the root and come up with a way that aligns with our system and make up the slew of symptoms will not resolve.
As the above example illustrates, a few benefits of working with a holistic wellness coach are increased self-discovery, awareness of how your symptoms relate to different areas of your life, and guidance towards an innate ability to find the right solution from within which is attunement to your own healing power.
So as you are considering hiring a coach to support you in your journey, do take note of the type of practitioner you are seeking. A Holistic Wellness coach will guide you towards wellbeing based on your unique needs and goals with deep consideration of how all areas of your life can move you towards balance and optimal wellness.
“Life is a constant noticing, tuning in, recalibrating and reprioritizing based on what our bodies and what our emotions are telling us.”
My Holistic Wellness Short Story
For as long as I can remember, I have cared for my body and mind holistically, but I’ve never had the words to describe what I do and why. A couple of years ago, I started experiencing severe anxiety, a lack of energy, and diminished enjoyment in life. Relaxing became so far out of reach, and the only way to feel somewhat at rest was to self-medicate. I would wake up in the night to what felt like a high-speed train moving through my chest. It became harder and harder to fall and stay asleep due to the anxiety that developed from the night terrors. I kept it together during the day and looked “fine” on the outside, but there was a pressure cooker waiting to explode. And it did.
I was diagnosed with anxiety and burnout towards the end of 2020. Sleeping it off didn’t do it. Medication didn’t do it. Before I became symptom-free, I needed a complete re-evaluation of my priorities, boundaries, and beliefs. I was never interested in managing my symptoms; I wanted to get to the root and understand why and how I got to the way I did. And a holistic approach revealed multiple areas that needed to learn to dance together that led to lasting change. Out of control anxiety, an overactive nervous system transformed to a new norm where peace, joy, and calm are not out of reach concepts anymore but my new day-to-day reality. It took work, introspection, and dedication, but it happened holistically and naturally. With the right mindset and approach, it can work for you too.
“Wellness 360 reminds us that we are whole beings with a variety of influences upon our being. When we change one area of our life, we often see other areas change.”