What is Wellness and How Can I Get it?

Life is short and so much is out of our control, it’s a wonder that we’ve survived as a species. From what I’ve researched, wellness is more than just avoiding illness; it’s about thriving in all areas of life—physically, mentally, emotionally, socially, financially, etc. Finding time to focus on wellness, aka living healthy in all aspects of life, can be so challenging with our busy schedules and personal challenges, but I know that I need to try, for my long-term health and happiness. There’s also the piece about wanting to be around for a while yet, to experience the grandmother thing that looks like fun, if at least to aggravate my offspring by spoiling their kids rotten.

I have been trying to make small, consistent choices and changes to integrate wellness into my daily routines. I have to keep reminding myself that it’s a marathon, not a sprint though! I found this holistic wellness graphic that’s nice and comprehensive.

Physical Wellness

Physical health is often the first thing people think of when they hear the word “wellness.” It’s about taking care of your body so you can live a longer, more energetic life. But busy working adults may not have the time to spend hours in the gym to achieve the physical fitness that’s an important part of wellness. Hats off to those who can swing this. Here are some simple ways for us to incorporate physical wellness activities into our daily routines.

1. Taking short walks during work breaks if your job is more sedentary/sitting at a desk 9-11 hours a day like mine– even if it’s to walk around the house from my home office.
2. Standing and stretching at your desk – I do a series of stretches starting with my neck and extending through to back stretches by reaching to my toes as far as I can, some arm extensions, then each arm over my head for side-to-side spine stretches too.
3. Using the stairs if you work at or are often in a building with more than one floor instead of the elevator can be impactful over time.
4. Neighborhood walks for more purposeful exercise (if not the gym). I would confess to not liking the gym. I feel like it takes time to get dressed, drive out to where it is and drive back, but that’s just me. Instead, I got myself some 3-pound weights and brisk-walk with them. I don’t just passive walk while holding weights, but I work my biceps, triceps and deltoids (shoulder muscles) while walking. I also add lunges to amp up the exercise session, and I’m starting to see the results! If you’ve not had a bit of quadriceps definition in your thighs from doing lunges a couple days a week, let me tell you, the feeling is awesome (hint, hint – try them!).
5. For my diet, I’ve been drinking more water throughout the day, plus replacing juice (20+ grams of sugar in an 8 oz glass) with a glass of water at mealtimes. I’ve been making more dietary changes with smaller portion sizes, more vegetables, and less carbs! The less carbs part is a struggle but what isn’t?
6. Sleep is another critical component for good emotional health, stable mood, and immune health to name a few benefits. So where you can, do try to get at least 7 hours each night (talk yourself into coming off the phone in bed. Sometimes, I succeed with this, but alas it’s an ongoing battle).

Since I want to provide this information about the other aspects of wellness in bite sized pieces and how I’m trying to be successful, I’ll continue looking at the other parts of our wellness journey in upcoming posts. Subscribe to stay tuned and share what you are doing to keep up your physical health!

Be well,

Juliet