No More Wellness Ball and Chain
We often mistakenly believe that the physical realm of wellness (diet and exercise) is our only hope of living a wellness lifestyle. The media would have us believe that one size fits all. Wellness feels like a ball and chain – no fun, boring, unachievable. Everybody should eat the same number of fruits and vegetables, drink the same amount of water, and do the same kinds of exercise for the same amount of time. But it just doesn’t work that way and here’s why.
First let’s look at exercise – one size does not fit all. You may be really inspired by inline skating and your best friend might like yoga and Pilates. And still another might like to get all of their exercise by doing chores – chopping wood, mopping the floor on hands and knees, hauling water, walking to the store, digging in the garden, or scraping and painting the house.
What if you don’t like to exercise?
And some people (gasp) hate exercise and don’t want to do anything physical because they haven’t discovered the joy of moving their body (yet!). Are they totally lost to a wellness lifestyle if they are couch potatoes? Not at all. Maybe they’ve got a leg up on all their fit and lean friends because they are happy and pleasant throughout the day. They smile and help people. Maybe they’re grateful. Who’s to say just because they don’t exercise, they aren’t living a wellness lifestyle? We need to expand (blow up?) the current definition of what it means to live a wellness lifestyle.
What if you don’t want to be a vegetarian?
Imagine a vegetarian friend of yours who follows a strict macrobiotic diet and runs marathons. She is often sick, unhappy and has no relationship juice. She lives in fear of many things outside of her control like war and environmental toxins. Now imagine a chubby, sedentary friend of yours who has her finances in order, close friendships, and is surrounded by inspiring books and ideas. She avoids toxins whenever possible and sleeps well most every night. Which one has the higher wellness score? Your chubby, sedentary friend, of course!
So if you don’t have your diet and exercise plan nailed yet, not to worry. Take a look at your other lifestyle habits and see how you’re doing with gratitude, stress, hydration, positive attitude, time spent in nature, deep sleep, and good self-care. Do you have fun friends, a strong spiritual practice, a nurturing network, or a comfortable safe home? These are elements of a wellness lifestyle too and there are many, many more.
What is your wellness portal?
Often there’s one thing that inspires people to change their lifestyle habits, just one thing. I call it a wellness portal. A friend of mine has wanted to lose weight for years. Her husband had been bugging her to buy a juicer, so one day she did. The juicer has transformed their eating habits. They used to have difficulty eating the required number of fruits and vegetables. But now they start and end each day (even the kids) with a veggie juice. Now my friend feels inspired and hopeful about healthy eating. Just one decision – that’s all it took to get on a richer path to health and well-being.
Your wellness portal, your one decision, might be to stop gossiping and listening to negative people. Imagine the lifestyle change that would invite.
What Does Your Wellness Lifestyle Look Like?
Yes, everyone needs the basic elements to live a healthy, happy life. We all need nutrients, water, physical activity, love and support, and good self-care. But our choices are going to be different and unique and that’s the best news ever. Each person’s life becomes a very personal road map to their health and well-being. It’s like their fingerprint--no lifestyle plan is going to look just like somebody else’s plan.
Our mission at www.WellnessGoneWild.com is to help each individual, to help you, discover what your own personal wellness lifestyle looks like--a life and lifestyle that is really perfect for you (comforting, nurturing, pleasing, sustainable). If your personal wellness plan is tuned to what you love (like, enjoy) and it’s totally you, it’s going to pull you forward instead of making you feeling like you have to push forward to achieve your wellness goals.
Start with the FREE Wellness Pack
If this approach sounds interesting, get the FREE Wellness Pack that contains everything you’ll need to design a simple wellness lifestyle.
Join me and the other wellness journeyers--we’re doing wellness our way and we call it Wellness Gone Wild! Invite your friends and family along for the ride.
Cheryl Miller is a trained life coach, wellness expert, and Mayor of The Ville (www.CherylMillerVille.com). Cheryl takes a kinder, gentler approach to wellness leaving behind guilt and judgment in favor of pleasure, integration, and steady progress. She helps people build nurturing, supportive wellness environments so they can live healthy, happy lives … in this lifetime.
As director of an award-winning wellness program for 80,000 employees and dependents, Cheryl saw first-hand the challenges people faced trying to live a wellness lifestyle in a culture that supports a worseness lifestyle. She’s on a mission to change that by turning wellness on its edge with www.WellnessGoneWild.com. Visit and get the FREE Wellness Pack.