I wrote briefly previously about 'balance' but in the context of personality traits that have gone to a negative extreme and are becoming toxic. Balance is a very common theme throughout my coaching practice: from the individual sessions I conduct for guests on Retreat through to the workshops I run for mothers. In almost every case, there is an absolute element of something being incredibly out of balance. This disharmony manifests itself in many ways, through feeling stressed, overwhelmed, over emotional, exhausted, ill...
The list of dis-ease could continue. Being out of balance or out of harmony with yourself can be incredibly debilitating, more so as it cannot be prescribed for in the medical sense. There are plenty of prescriptions for 'stress symptoms' such as anxiety, tiredness, eczema, IBS, migraines but when you are only treating the symptoms and not the cause, you tend to put out one fire, only to have another ignite somewhere else. Dis-ease is your body telling you something! To ignore it by dealing only with the symptoms, only serves to have it create another outlet somewhere else in the body.
The concept of balance, or harmony and total wellness is not a new one. It is a way of living that incorporates mind, body and soul. It is being aware of these elements; the way they all connect and relate to the other; how each element needs to be in balance, in harmony for total wellness to occur. It is a continual learning process, where you are aware of you 'being' and reacting to changes that occur, sometimes on a daily basis. With knowledge and understanding and ACTION, you allow yourself the opportunity to be the best you that you can.
When you nurture and care for all the elements of you: mind, body and soul you bring harmony and balance to your life. By ignoring one element too often, you can trigger a manifestation of dis-ease in the other elements: not nurturing your mind? You may start to show symptoms such as anxiety, or depression. Not nurturing your soul? You could experience a lack of confidence or esteem. Not nurturing your body? There are the obvious symptoms of ill-health but poor nutrition, or lack of exercise can also have an impact on sleep patterns or general mental health.
The overall idea is that you come as a complete package and it would be a disservice to yourself not to embrace and nurture and fulfill all those elements to the best of your ability.
So how do you do that? Here are some very simple starter ideas:
FOR THE MIND
- learn something new on a regular basis
- open yourself to experiencing alternatives: routes to work, ways of stacking the dishwasher, a polar opinion to yours, a new genre of book
- stop and breathe. Let your mind rest regularly. Try meditation.
FOR THE BODY
- sleep well: get enough of it and good quality as often as you can
- eat well: organic, if possible, fresh, home-prepared
- exercise regularly
FOR THE SOUL
- know your values and live by them with conviction
- take responsibility for yourself and honour the gift you've been given
- surround yourself with love, especially for yourself. Keep close those in your life who are good for you and represent healthy relationships
If you are feeling stressed or poorly, or some sort of inner discord, it could be that one or more of these aspects is out of balance and has been ignored. Take a look at your current lifestyle and see where you might need to get things back on track to a more harmonious state of total wellness.
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