in pursuit of wellness

"What is wellness to me?" That's the question I had to answer for the final project of my intro to wellness course last fall. Almost instantly, a single word came to me as my response, loud and clear: GROWTH. What wellness means to me entirely revolves around the word "growth" and the holistic implications it holds. For my project, I created a digital presentation introducing my word, "growth", and explaining how it translates into the general concept of wellness. I've simply restructured and rounded it out a bit for this blog entry. Given I've only taken a couple of intro classes in my Health Promotion/Wellness major, this is mostly based on my ideas and independent research. My goal in sharing this is to help you understand the holistic concept of wellness a little more and become familiar with my viewpoint on it. Remember that this isn't the definition of wellness, including all 7 dimensions and such, instead, this is a breakdown of how ...

Looking to grow holistically this summer? I've come up with a list of five ideas to give your wellness a boost this summer. Try implementing some of these activities and tips into your daily routine and see what happens! 1. UP YOUR WATER INTAKE. This is a crucial step towards not only feeling better in general, but also performing better, whether that be at work, or at home with the regular demands of "adulting". I've noticed when I drink more water daily, I have more motivation, my brain can function more clearly, and I feel more energetic. In the summer, you can really make or break a beautiful day outside depending on if you stay hydrated or not. Not drinking enough water can lead to pounding headaches and lethargy, but drinking an adequate amount water will ensure that you can enjoy that day to the fullest. 2. TRY YOGA. Sure, there are many other practices you could do besides yoga to stretch or get in a light workout; Pilates, simply stretching you...

Hello reader! Today's post is fairly short and simple but I figured that would be appropriate for this topic. My intention with this post is not to arm you with a list of a million things you should be doing to keep your mental health in check. Instead, with just 5 practical tips, I want to provide you with a simple set of reliable suggestions for refreshing your mind and body when under stress. These don't take any sort of mindset training or habitual practice. Use these as tools to pull out when you just don't know what else to do. That's how I use them. For example, when I'm feeling overwhelmed to the point where I can't quite think straight anymore, I remember a few of these and try them, trusting that the calm mind that thought them up is more reliable than my current mind that's in a state of panic. 1. TAKE 10 DEEP BREATHS Deep breathing stimulates the parasympathetic system in our body, which counteracts the fight-or-flight respon...