Defining Wellness & Well-being
As autumn settles in, and with winter just around the corner, public service announcements send reminders about getting a flu shot in an effort to prevent the spread of disease. Our culture reflects a philosophy that emphasizes the avoidance of sickness. However, many people who are not sick would not describe themselves as being optimally well. They may feel chronically fatigued, struggle with stress, be in antagonist relationships, feel anxious or “blue”, or have lost meaning and purpose in their lives, or be financially or even spiritually bankrupt.
According to the IDEA Fitness Journal, Physician H. L. Dunn first used the term wellness as a lifestyle dedicated to elevated states of physical and psychological well-being through a disciplined commitment to self mastery. Author Donald Ardell, Ph.d. defines wellness as “a choice to assume responsibility for the quality of your life”. He applies this to exercise and fitness; nutrition; stress management; critical thinking; meaning and purpose; spirituality; emotional intelligence; play; and effective relationships.
Lifestyle Coach Karen Larsen prefers to use the term well-being and wants each individual to determine what that means to him/her, but agrees that it includes physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of self. She says her bout with cancer taught her to keep a flexible framework that could change along with life changes.
Mindbody fitness trainer Gloria Keeling says, “Wellness is learning to reach past the challenges and limitations and find the joy . . . A lot of wellness is about the tenacity of the human spirit.”
Doctor of integrative medicine, sports rehab and clinical psychology, Megan Scott, Ph.d., claims, “Wellness is not about trying to live up to somebody else’s point of view about what beauty or health are, it’s about living up to ourselves . . . We have an internal guidance system that will keep us well and make quality choices for us, keeping us aligned with our own divine nature. That’s the pure form of wellness.” She recommends yoga, meditation, and energy healing.
In many parts of the world, wellness means staying alive, and having food, clothing, and shelter from day to day. Victor Frankl and several other Holocaust survivors have written about how they maintained inner wellness in the face of the most horrific and de-humanizing conditions. Gloria Keeling sums it up this way, “Well-being . . . Comes only from doing inner, self actualization work. It is inner peace. It’s finding joy in being alive. It comes from finding a way to fully experience the moment, whatever it is, without judgment.”
May your Thanksgiving be blessed with the spirit of well-being. Namaste´.