What does wellness mean to you?

Wellness is a term that’s often used when discussing health. Have you ever stopped to think about what maintaining wellness looks like in your life?

Wellness in a general sense is often described as being”in good health’ or ‘the absence of disease.’ But for most people, wellness is a lot more than that. Wellness is a proactive way of living that encompasses your whole body, not just your physical fitness or a healthy diet. The National Wellness Institute describes wellness using the following 3 themes:

• Wellness is a conscious, self-directed and evolving process of achieving full potential
• Wellness is multidimensional and holistic, encompassing lifestyle, mental and spiritual well-being, and the environment
• Wellness is positive and affirming

Wellness practices often show themselves in all areas of our life. The National Wellness Institute describes wellness with 6 components:

1. Physical
2. Occupational
3. Social
4. Intellectual
5. Spiritual
6. Emotional

Our wellness is constantly evolving based on how we choose to maintain it. Take a few moments to reflect on the 6 components to wellness. What are you doing to nurture each aspect? It’s common to pay more attention to certain areas while letting other areas fall through the cracks. Having a framework to understanding wellness helps us to prioritize these different areas and focus in on the parts of our life we need to give more attention.

For example, perhaps you spend lots of time with your friends and family and feel happy and fulfilled in your work. This suggests that you are taking care of your social and occupational wellness, but do you give this same attention to your emotional or physical wellness? To learn more about the 6 dimensions of wellness, click here.

Tips for Maintaining Wellness

1. Take a moment to reflect on the different aspects to wellness and determine the areas you need to give special attention.
2. Keep wellness activities front of mind and easy to complete.
3. Work on finding balance in your daily life. Especially your work life and personal life.
4. Take advantage of any health benefits you have.
5. Don’t forget to sit back and enjoy life! With days and weeks going by so quickly, take some time every day to enjoy the small moments.

We hope to have inspired you to start thinking about how you can maintain and improve your personal wellness. Maintaining personal wellness can be done in small steps, but can make big differences! What are you going to do today to take care of you?

Are you looking for a way to start your wellness journey? A Personal Health Plan from Saskatchewan Blue Cross offers coverage for health practitioners including naturopaths, chiropractors, massage therapists, physiotherapists, and psychologists.