The Bigger Picture of Wellness
Plus the ingredients for Sunday LIVE cooking with Vas - Lentil Soup
Everyone wants to look good and I get it. It’s natural and there isn’t anything wrong with that. But, with so much emphasis on image and appearance, it’s easy to get caught up in diet and exercise alone — however, I implore you to make your wellness about so much more than that. For your sanity, if nothing else. 😉 Wellness is, after all, a holistic practice that contributes to your total wellbeing considering multiple wellness factors. Factors such as diet and exercise, yes, but your wellbeing also relies on things like mental health, sleep quality, stress levels, relationships, environment, spirituality, growth, career, time management, resiliency, and joy. As you can see, it’s about so much more than diet and exercise alone.
I’ve spent a lot of time the last almost 20 years talking health and wellness with everyday people as an everyday person. People wanting to pick my brain or share their latest wellness win (or worry) with me. Wether it be at a backyard bbqs, weddings, engagement parties, Sunday fundays, girls nights, family gatherings, bachelorette parties, car rides, Super Bowl parties, at the studio, on a plane, at church, the beach, Disneyland — you name it! People have taken an interest in how and what I do to stay well. And if you know me, you know I love talking wellness! But most of the time, people ask me the same types of questions and typically those questions are around diet and exercise. I rarely have someone approach me about health and wellness to discuss the “other” stuff. Sure, sleep and stress might get brought up on occasion, but for the overwhelming majority of the time, we talk diet and exercise. Which is great.
But what do you say we shift the focus today and discuss the “other” stuff?!
That “other” stuff is of equal importance because you cannot merely eat or exercise your way into your being well. Sure, it will contribute in a positive way to your overall net wellbeing, but it alone will not do the job. Again, your wellbeing is about the total net outcome of all your wellness buckets, not just one or two. I’m not saying that diet and exercise aren’t important, because they are, I’m just saying that you can focus on diet and exercise while still also doing the following:
crappy sleep
high stress levels
poor relationships
a toxic environment
negative self talk
zero coping skills
no spiritual practice — this does not mean a religious practice, but can be that
poor time management
The list goes on, but I think you get the idea.
In the end, when you take into account all the “other” things, the net effect is more clear. You can see how those two categories alone aren’t the whole picture and in fact, don’t even make up half of it. The picture is way bigger than just one or two things. I encourage you to dive deeper. To explore all the buckets of wellness that contribute to your wellbeing.
Don’t let the buckets overwhelm you. The buckets are a reminder that:
wellness is a practice that you will hopefully, continue to build upon — you don’t have to address all buckets all the time.
buckets help to avoid burnout — focusing on one thing only can get boring and feel complacent after a while.
buckets remind you that there is a balance — you can’t put all your energy in one bucket and, at times, some buckets may require more or less energy than others.
each bucket has ripple effects with all other buckets — they are all interconnected
you have options! If you’re feeling stagnant or uninspired in one bucket, shift your focus to another. Get to know all of your buckets!
As you can see, wellness can feel big, that’s why it’s important to remember to take it one step at a time. I am never trying to add stress to your wellness goals, rather, I’m trying to expand your vision of what being well is. In focusing on the whole I’ve been able to find the balance that I have been looking for and ultimately, I’ve been able to stay healthy and vibrant. And I know you can too!
Consistency is the key — making the time to focus on your wellbeing daily. The whole picture. A great place to start is by evaluating your buckets. And feel free to add any additional buckets, swap buckets out, or rename them in a way that suits you! Wellness is totally customizable if you’re willing to put in the work.
This week, I encourage you to explore at least one bucket that you haven’t really thought about or a bucket that you might be neglecting. And if your still unsure, make a list of the buckets and rate them with a number from 1-10 based on satisfaction. 1 being not satisfied, 10 very satisfied. You can then begin with the bucket or buckets that had the lowest satisfaction score.
I’ll be diving into each bucket in more detail, offering tips and tools, in the weeks to come!
I can’t wait to hear about your buckets! As a reminder, you can reply to this email, respond in the comments, or respond in the Your Body, Your Path chat group. I’m always up for questions and sharing with the group helps more than you know! Community is so important. 😃
LIVE Classes: (recordings available for paid monthly subscribers)
8:30am Monday Movement - 30 minutes, pilates and yoga inspired
8:30pm Thursday Guided Meditation - 20 minutes, practicing deeper mind body connection and awareness.
5:00pm Cooking with Vas — Lentil Soup — Sunday, February 23rd
Here’s what you’ll need to join me LIVE next Sunday:
2 celery stalks
2 carrots
1 small onion
2 medium tomatoes or a can of unsalted organic diced tomatoes
3 garlic cloves
2 tablespoons olive oil — plus a little more to drizzle with at the end
1 bunch fresh parsley
1 ½ cups dry lentils (green or brown) — while lentils don’t have to be soaked, I prefer it.
optional bone broth — I prefer to use bone broth, but any broth is fine or keep it simple with water!
salt and pepper
2-3 dry bay leaves
optional — a nice quality sourdough
optional — Manchego cheese or Feta cheese 🧀
Looking forward to seeing you LIVE!! Have a fabulous week!
