Do your hectic schedule and high-stress levels consistently make you feel that your life is out of balance and that your physical health is suffering?
Do you ever discover yourself searching for fast solutions and fad diets all the time, only to be irritated and disappointed with the results?
If so, it might be time to think about switching to a holistic way of living.
Living a holistic lifestyle entails treating your body, mind, and spirit as integral components of a larger whole. A holistic approach considers all the variables that affect your total health rather than concentrating only on one, such as nutrition or exercise. A holistic lifestyle is all about finding harmony and balance in every area of your life, from mindfulness and meditation to food and exercise.
So are you ready to learn all about the holistic lifestyle?
Keep reading!
What is a holistic lifestyle?
The basic meaning of a holistic lifestyle is taking care of your mind, body, emotions, and soul. It is the belief that all these elements are interconnected and influence each other.
For example, if you are constantly exhausted, your mind will feel restless, stressed, and anxious, and you will feel negativity around everything and not feel happy or stratified.
So if you are looking at it from a holistic view, you will try not only to remove your anxiousness but also to work on your sleep schedule, rest properly and eat right to avoid being tired or restless. The holistic approach involves the consideration of various factors that are responsible.
A holistic lifestyle is about nurturing every part of your life as they are interconnected.
The philosophical definition of living a holistic lifestyle is:
” Holistic life is characterized by the belief that the parts of something are intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.”
It is about looking at the bigger picture. Living a holistic life will help you work on yourself rather than just the symptoms if you are suffering from mental health issues.
Let’s understand are elements of a holistic lifestyle.
What are the three elements that a holistic lifestyle focuses on?
A holistic lifestyle is based on treating the mind, body, and spirit as interconnected parts of a greater whole. This approach involves incorporating various elements of health and wellness into your daily routine to achieve optimal well-being:
Mind: Your mind is your powerhouse. Working on your mental health is as essential as working on your physical health.
A healthy lifestyle is about understanding your mind’s needs rather than running behind ‘should’ and ‘must’. Forcing yourself to positivity and suppressing your emotions and thoughts is not what mental well-being means.
Taking a holistic approach is letting yourself embrace your thoughts, understanding how they affect you and what you can do to feel better.
For example, if you are overexerting yourself physically and not taking good care unknowingly, it’s expected that your mind will be anxious and stressed. Now it’s essential to understand and accept your feelings and thoughts, they will guide you to the problem, and then you can quickly figure out what you need.
This lifestyle helps you cultivate a healthy mind. If your mind is healthy, your body and soul will nourish.
Body: The following essential element holistic living focuses on is your body. To keep your mind and soul satisfied, your body should be nourished.
Eating well and keeping track of what you take determines your bodily functions.
Apart from eating well, sleeping better, exercising, and using products that are not harsh on your body are also essential factors that must be considered.
Soul: It also deals with nourishing your soul. Enhancing your soul means having a good relationship with yourself and others. To nourish your soul, you must understand what you need and where you fit. This process takes a lot of time, but it’s okay.
Nourishing your soul doesn’t always mean spirituality; it also includes enhancing your values about your life. If you nourish your soul, you’ll be able to understand the purpose of your life.
In a holistic lifestyle, you learn to spend time with people you love and deepen your relationships. This helps your soul be happy and satisfied. You can also help others and develop compassion to nourish your soul.
This will help you understand who you are and develop self-awareness.
What are the qualities of holistic living?
A holistic way of life is characterized by various qualities that combine to produce the best possible condition of health and well-being. Focusing on balance, connectivity, mindfulness, and self-empowerment are some of these traits.
Here are some of the qualities of a holistic lifestyle:
1. Mindfulness
The very first quality that holistic living teaches you is mindfulness. It helps you embrace the present. This enables you to understand your feelings better. Knowing your feelings better makes you more aware of what you need.
The essential element of holistic life is mindfulness. The presence of the mind helps you understand your needs as a whole. You can focus on your growth better if you are in the present.
2. Intention
It is about having a purpose for all your actions. Your intention helps you develop values you can take forward and live your life satisfactorily. Doing things with purpose will help you save time and energy.
Living a holistic lifestyle will help you simplify your life. You can decide on things that are more important and give your energy to things and places that are positive. Making conscious choices will help you find purpose in life.
3. Balance
A holistic lifestyle entirely stands on the balance of mind, body, and soul. It’s about working on the three elements by giving them separate and sufficient time. These elements support each other and help you reach ultimate happiness.
Finding balance is a challenging task. You need to try. If one element requires more effort than the other, it’s okay. You can incorporate small changes that will help you grow.
4. Practice
The ultimate quality that a holistic lifestyle teaches is practice. Living a holistic life is not a destination; it’s a practice you keep doing for the rest of your life.
It has no end. You have to keep incorporating small meaningful things. This is a continuous practice. Every day you do a little more to enhance your healthy lifestyle.
What are the mental benefits of a holistic lifestyle?
The holistic approach to life can help regulate your emotions and mental well-being. There are many mental benefits of a holistic approach, starting from a decrease in stress to an increase in productivity and creativity. The key is to develop passion in your life.
Here are some mental benefits of living a holistic lifestyle:
1. Increase in positivity
Once you start living a holistic life and developing a positive outlook, when all the negativity strains your mind, you tend to picture your life as negative. A holistic lifestyle helps you adopt a positive attitude toward your life and relationships.
If you are positive, you are happier and satisfied. It will help you stay motivated in life and to develop better habits. A positive direction in your life can make your life so much easier, and you can enjoy your life better.
2. Decrease in stress and anxiety
In today’s world, stress and anxiety have become common invaders. Your mental health keeps depleting if you don’t take care of yourself.
In these situations, adopting a holistic lifestyle will help your mental health, and you can develop a balance between your mind and soul, which will help reduce stress and anxiety.
3. Increase self-awareness:
Holistic life is everything about knowing yourself and understanding what you need. If you can develop a strong connection with yourself, you’ll gradually become aware of your inner energy and purpose.
Self-awareness helps you understand things that are bothering you and what your mind and body need and enables you to work on them as required.
4. Increase in mental clarity
Life can sometimes get confusing, which can cause stress and anxiety. A clear mind helps you understand your problems and give you directions toward a positive solution.
Holistic life helps you set clear intentions and goals. It enables you to improve your mindfulness and become more conscious about your choices. This will be beneficial to both your mental and physical health.
5. Increase in personal growth
The overall aim of holistic life is to help you grow in life. To succeed in life, all three elements need to be improved. You cannot just work on your mind and let your body suffer. You have to find a balance. Holistic life is all about this balance.
You can grow by understanding all three elements and giving time to each of them separately. Doing this, you’ll see visible growth in your life. Your perception of life will change, making you a new person.
How to adopt a holistic lifestyle?
Adopting a holistic lifestyle can initially seem overwhelming, but getting started is quite simple. It’s all about being consistent and committed to a healthy lifestyle. Here are a few ways through which you can take to begin your journey toward holistic living.
1. Adopt a morning routine
The essential part of your day is waking up in the morning. Mornings regulate your entire day. If you are irritated in the morning, it goes on your entire day. So to live this lifestyle, the foremost thing you need to work on is a morning routine.
A morning routine depends entirely on what you need to feel good after you wake up. It can be anything, from having a good breakfast to writing your journal, listening to a podcast, or expressing gratitude. You can also include meditation in your morning routine to help calm your thoughts and develop a clearer mind.
2. Practice mindfulness
The true meaning of having a holistic life is in the present. Savoring every moment truly rather than being stuck in the past or the future. You can develop a holistic life if you try to stop worrying about what’s about to come and live in satisfaction with what you have.
Many activities can help you enhance mindfulness in you. Starting from yoga to mindful art can help you to stay calm and stress-free. You will practice these activities and make them a part of your daily routine.
3. Eat healthily
It is essential to keep a check on what you are eating. The things you let into your body shape your mind and soul. So if you want to live a comfortable and happy life, it’s important to have a diet that nourishes your mind and body. Avoid junk foods as much as possible.
Choose to consume as many naturally present, seasonal, local, and unprocessed foods as possible. Decrease sodium and sugar intake without eliminating them. Also, ensuring you’re consuming all the vitamins and nutrients you require is critical.
4. Exercise daily
Moving your body and making yourself active is the essential element when it comes to living a holistic lifestyle. Exercising helps you stay happy, healthy, and motivated. It increases body awareness and body positivity. Exercises can range from intense workouts to just a brisk walk in the park. The goal is to move.
Exercising daily can be a tough routine to incorporate into your life. Remember, you don’t have to strain yourself. Start small and keep practicing by setting small goals. Even walking your dog is great exercise!
5. Form positive relationships
Positive relationships are the pathway toward living a holistic lifestyle. Your body, mind, and soul can only be at peace if you indulge in healthy relationships. You are happier and more positive when you allow yourself to be with people who don’t cause emotional exhaustion. Relationships with negative people will bring you down.
Be around people who support you and help you grow. Nurture these relationships and spend time with these people. This will help enhance your mental health.
6. Practice gratitude
Being thankful for what you have makes you happy and satisfied. Showing gratitude makes your problems more manageable, and you become more vital to deal with your life’s challenges. There are many ways to express gratitude, either by writing a journal or reflecting on your day and thoughts.
There are many various ways that you can practice gratitude. Take a few minutes every day to look into the good things that have happened.
7. Practice a minimalist lifestyle
Living life with the thought less is more can help you focus on the crucial aspect of your life. Living a minimalist life doesn’t mean you have to get rid of your possessions but, instead, not let unnecessary things consume your time and space.
Decluttering can help you stay calm and composed. Don’t keep or want things that you don’t need in your life.
8. Smiling often
It’s challenging to smile in this tough and exhausting life. But to enhance your body, mind, and soul, find ways to be happy and satisfied. Smiling occasionally can make you feel light and clear your mind.
You can list things that make you happy and do them or talk to someone who makes you feel satisfied and secure.
9. Find a holistic coach
Living holistically can be challenging, and sometimes you need someone to guide you. There are many holistic life coaches available who can make a plan for you to help you live a consistent, happy, and healthy life.
Life coaches will help motivate you and teach you how to regulate your emotions throughout your journey. Do some research and find the coach who fits you the best.
10. Find a Community
Another great way to practice and incorporate holistic living is to find a community of people who understand holistic living. If you stay around such people it will be easier to stay on track and make positive changes in your life.
Finding communities that can help you through your journey is like finding a family. These people will share their stories and motivate you to live your holistic life. They will help you learn more effective ways to incorporate it into your lifestyle.
There are many holistic communities, both online and offline. Find the one where you feel you can fit in and live a healthy life.
Takeaway:
A holistic lifestyle emphasizes harmony and balance in all facets of life, including physical health, mental health, emotional fulfillment, and spiritual development. It also highlights the interconnectedness of the mind, body, and spirit. Mindfulness exercises like yoga, deep breathing, and meditation are used to develop a stronger sense of self-awareness and inner peace.
But there are no prescribed rules. It is about exploring and finding the best for you. Living a holistic lifestyle is about practicing self-care activities and keeping yourself healthy and happy. Click here to learn some practical self-care activities that you can try.
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