why wellness works

Very little grows on jagged rock. Be grounded. Be crumbled so wild flowers will come up where you are.

Rumi

I realize I might be contradicting myself here per my last post on being obsessive about wellness, but life has a silly way of being paradoxical like that. Like Rumi’s quote above: be grounded, be crumbled.

During our last celebratory dinner of Fitness + Foolishness Barbados, a few of the retreaters asked me how I defined “wellness.” Instead of listing off my own opinions I asked what it meant to them, and one of them answered confidently: wellness means joy, total happiness, free of burden.

This got me to thinking about what wellness meant to me, why I’ve become so invested in it, and more importantly why it works.

To be free of burden might seem tough to actualize in today’s world, but it doesn’t mean we can’t work on softening our suffering, which is something I believe my walk down wellness lane has taught me how to do.

To me, wellness means taking care of ourselves [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][and each other] in a way that de-clutters the body and mind in continuous pursuit of the truth, and when we feel disconnected, to simply come back without judgement.

I realized that I turned to yoga and nutrition because I felt unhappy and confused, and these were things that made me feel more connected to my Self, others, and the planet. Wellness was and is both a means of accessible control whilst being OK with completely letting go of the reigns.

I would and still do occasionally become frustrated when I feel unpleasant emotions or physical discomfort arise amidst my self-work. Cranky questions come up, like: why do I feel grumpy about my body when I appreciate its abilities through yoga, why do I sometimes struggle with muscle pain or stomach cramps even though I eat so clean and take self-care seriously?

Answer: because I am human, things sometimes happen out of my control, I have feelings, and I am allowed to feel my feelings whether or not I am doing all of the wellness-related work.

Throughout the ups and downs, I’ve reminded myself that wellness is not the cure-all for personal and worldly problems. It does, however, provide incredibly effective and life-changing tools for us to use whether we are feeling awesome, down in the dumps, or [dare I say it] perfectly normal.

Even when it feels like wellness isn’t working, the fact that we are focused on taking care of and uncovering our truest Selves will energetically guide us in the direction we want to go, and how we ultimately want to feel.

As Buddhist Chögyam Trungpa says, “The path is the goal.”

Here are some reasons why I truly believe an investment in wellness works:

• It heals from the inside. Emotionally, nutritionally, spiritually.
• It helps us cultivate a better relationship with our body. Physical activity helps us connect with our breath and move our body in miraculous ways; eating well is of the most intimate tools we have for nourishing and fueling our earthly vehicles.
• It teaches us to care for ourselves in a unique and personal manner, which will ultimately translate to how we interact with and care for others. In this sense it also teaches compassion – when we are invested in whole body health and we “make a mistake,” a wellness-oriented response would not involve beating ourselves up.
• It reveals the gloriousness and healing properties of food, and how simple and delicious eating/cooking whole foods can be [even when it’s cookies]. This is huge when many of us have grown up with associating “tasty” treats with primarily processed eats based on convenience.
• It shows us how to slow down. People were so worried about lack-of-time that they had to label something as “fast-food.” We can choose to create the space we need to nourish – it’s not a race.
• It can result in an overall sense of peace and ease, which can lead to anything from a positive lifestyle shift to weight loss to simply feeling better. Sometimes looking at ourselves from the inside is not so comfortable, but the practice of just noticing or sitting with it is such a powerful means of cultivating acceptance.
• It gets us more in tune with us body, mind and planet, making it more easily accessible to zoom in on and activate our desires. This desire-focused approach can make us less crabby when shit hits the fan [i.e. stuck in traffic, bad weather, confrontation, etc does not mean end of world].

Life will not always go our way, whether it is our health, the wellbeing of a loved one or unrest in another country. I absolutely believe that when we personally commit to this kind of inside-out work it will reveal the tools to lighten the load, to keep as calm as possible and carry on for as long as possible.

What does wellness mean to you, and how do you think it will work for you in terms of guiding you to where you want to go and how you want to feel?

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Photo above by Nicole Sweet in Barbados.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]