5 Essential Tips for Living a Holistic Lifestyle
Ho.lis.tic -
Characterized by the belief that the parts of something are interconnected and can be explained only by reference to the whole.
A holistic lifestyle isn’t as out of reach as it may feel. Guided by the 6 foundational pillars of holistic health; spiritual, physical, emotional, social, intellectual, and mental, living a holistic lifestyle is all about how you allow these pillars to affect your mind, body, and soul. To learn more about the depth and details of these pillars, read our post on the 6 Key Pillars of Holistic Health and Why you Need to Know Them.
The definition of holistic is a beautiful reminder of the purpose of enacting a holistic lifestyle. It is not necessarily to find betterment in each individual pillar, but instead to recognize the wholeness of these moving parts of one’s self, and to enact purpose and guidance into fostering an interconnectedness within your soul. Understanding that each pillar changes and guides another can set precedent for your success as your focus zooms out from each day-to-day action and enlightens an overarching guidance of self.
There are many ways that you can shift your focus into finding a holistic lifestyle to live. We believe it starts in moments like this; learning and reading to find a direction that feels right for you. If you’re still searching for some place to get started, we’ve gathered 5 essential tips for living a holistic lifestyle that you can use to propel your own journey in your own way.
1 | Start Small
A holistic lifestyle isn’t something that belongs to you once you seek it. You have to put effort and energy into maintaining your connectedness with yourself. Something that is important in this practice is patience. Start with patience for yourself as you learn to adapt to your intentional and holistic living. Choosing bite-sized efforts to work through and understand will make this process more fulfilling, because you can spend time with each pillar and each feeling while you work through what is right for you. Taking on one process at a time and ensuring your comfort before moving on will build a strong foundation for true wholeness.
2 | Rethink Your Relationship With Your Body
Your body is the vessel that carries you through life’s journeys. When your body feels the shake of dysregulation and imbalance, it will tip the scales of mind, body, and spirit in a way that makes it hard to stay on track with a holistic lifestyle. Rethinking your relationship with your body is more than just movement and care. Although nutrition and exercise are key components to a happy and healthy body, the way your mind aligns with your experiences of food, movement, rest, energy, pain, etc. is integral to remaining grounded in a holistic way of life. If your body has the ability to fuel you generously and calmly, it will have an impact on your mental and spiritual capacity, holding you up during hard days.
Your mind also has a profound influence on your body. To rethink your relationship with your body is to understand its preciousness and its purpose and tend to its needs as you would any thought or feeling. Mental activity such as meditation has the power to actively change how your brain is wired, translating to your body and soul that you are rewiring what your body means to you and how you expect it to nourish you through growth.
3 | Be proactive in your growth
Once you start, you won’t want to stop. Although we encourage taking it slow and small, be mindful to not fizzle out of new practices or ways that you can implement holistic intentions in your day-to-day life. Things like hobbies, routines, and processes can continue to push you in the direction of understanding and actualizing your version of a holistic lifestyle, so continue to seek those things out.
Cultivating your holistic lifestyle will involve a lot of inner work and in-depth understanding of your wants and needs. As you explore your inner world, you’ll understand that a holistic lifestyle is a transformation of your perception and understanding of the “how”, “why”, and “what” of everyday life. You will start to untie knots of misunderstanding, and clear your mind for further growth. If you feel stuck in one area, whether it is because you are struggling with finding yourself or feel like you have peaked in that pillar, look to one of the other pillars of holistic health for a new area to guide explorative growth.
4 | Discover Your Purpose
What inspired you to start leading a holistic lifestyle in the first place? Really dig into this and understand your intentions. Was your energy previously being wasted on worry? Did you feel drawn to a life of simplicity and peace? Whatever it may be, hold your purpose close to your heart and study it.
It is within you to find an authentic harmony for your whole self, the balance of mind, body, and spirit that uplift your highest self. Trusting wholeheartedly in your journey, and in your spiritual guidance that curates an intentional path, you can find your purpose in the day-to-day practice of living a holistic lifestyle.
Don’t be afraid of change. Change is often growth. Digging deeper into your guiding purposes, whether it be spirituality or intentions, can bring ease to the process. We recommend exploring an exercise in values; looking at the many values within life, and deciding which ones resonate with your soul the most. What values does your heart seek to uphold for eternity? Understanding this will act as a compass towards your intentions, and doing this exercise often will help reiterate your purpose or change fluidly as you explore your inner self.
5 | Find a community of like minded people
Hey, it’s us! When you find like minded people to spend your time and energy with, you become further engrossed in the actions and intentions of a holistic lifestyle in all the best ways. Finding people who understand your journey will help you stay motivated and continue to build out your toolkit for living a holistic lifestyle. You can help motivate each other to be the best versions of yourselves while also having someone to lean on for support, inspiration, and acceptance.
These are the people that will help you find your balance. It will bring gratitude to your doorstep and fill your life with abundance, because you can understand others and feel understood yourself — one of life’s greatest pleasures.
A holistic lifestyle, although rooted in simplicity and ease, takes consistent work to maintain. It doesn’t look like work in the ways that we know, but instead is a calm movement towards a brighter and better life each and every day. Sharing this journey with you, Aligned One Wellness is happy to be your community, confidant, caregiver, and supporter through your exploration of mind, body, and spirit.