Recently my ten-year-old told me he wanted to cut down on fried foods, as he had gained a potbelly during the lockdown! We live in times where people are keenly aware of their health and fitness: diets, fasting, exercising, walking, fitness apps, the list goes on. While we have never before had so many ‘healthy’ choices at our disposal, many of us may be overwhelmed or confused by the plethora of options.
When I was younger, health was being able to swim twenty-five laps or run a marathon successfully. Wellness was associated with the exhilaration derived from having achieved those outcomes. As years passed and more portfolios were added to life, I needed a structure of healthy habits amidst the hectic schedules of family and professional life. A list was drawn: the daily number of glasses of water, Omega 3 fatty acids, breathing exercises, gym, and so on.
Initially, this approach worked, but slowly I began to feel something amiss. I did not feel fresh and rejuvenated. As I paused and reflected, I realized I was missing a very important aspect: integrating health and wellness.
Taking care of physical health alone did not automatically lead to wellness. Questions such as, “How would I like my everyday life to be? In what short or long term activities would I like to invest my time and effort? Who do I really want to be?” were also important in defining health and wellness. I began to take structured pauses daily, including activities that genuinely made me happy and eliminating toxic relationships. I learned to be objective of what I expected of myself rather than what the other expected of me, and voila, that completed the puzzle for me.
While health and wellness is a journey requiring a road map, the good news is that each of us can make our road map. In addition to investing time, interest, willpower, and commitment, optimum health and wellness involve :
• Observing and becoming aware of our feelings by educating ourselves with expertise (available freely on the Internet).
• Taking daily action.
• Continuously refining those actions based on the results.
Such investment not only makes us healthy and well, it gently uplifts the quality of work, personal relationships, family, friends, community, and everything else in life.
Dr Viji Balasubramanian
Wellness Mentor–Counsellor
