Balance and Health, The Fundamentals - Part 2: Holistic Health Awareness

Welcome to our Balance and Health series in which we’ll explore the fundamentals for living a balanced life. Part 1 explored different models of balance as it relates to health. Part 2 shares fundamental check points for health awareness and dives deeper into the concept of holistic health and will introduce self-care strategies for quality living.

Basic self-care begins each day with an intentional breath; then ask yourself, “What will benefit my health today?” To answer this question, become aware of balance within daily experiences by using the foundational markers of stress management, diet (or nutrition), and sleep. From there we steady the pace for optimal regulation and ample nourishment. As health improves, we are more apt to engage in a fulfilling lifestyle, in which quality of life increases.

There is much we can do to facilitate balance for ourselves; yet we often can benefit by and outright may need additional support to improve or maintain physical, mental, emotional health and well-being. There’s little question that Emergency Care is necessary for strokes, heart attacks, severe accidents and other potentially life-threatening health conditions. In these cases, we seek help by calling 911. In addition to Emergency Care, there are other tiers of healthcare in which support is significantly useful in achieving goals for increased health and quality living. Everspring Health facilitates care for the three categories represented above the line of Emergency Care. Let’s first consider what we call Foundational Care.

Foundational Care focuses on a range of healthcare needs, such as chronic and acute conditions, illness, disease, cancer care support, pain management, recovery from injuries, pregnancy, healthy aging and longevity and general health maintenance. Having a health advocate to facilitate balance and health in these areas is beneficial and often necessary. Support can be found within integrative medicine practices, bridging comprehensive knowledge of both eastern and western medicine, as well as from primary care physicians and specialists of western medical practices.

Now that we’ve reviewed a basic understanding of Foundational Care, let’s look at the next tier in our model of holistic health. That being, Self Care.

Self-care focuses on the daily actions and practices we engage in to improve and maintain physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual health. As mentioned earlier, mindful management of stress, diet and sleep are significant fundamentals for self-care. It is important to remember that just as balance is relative, so are the practices of self-care. It begins with awareness.

At times, taking care of yourself may be about exercise, nutritious food, meditation, creativity or engaging with community; yet there may be a day in which self-care means staying in bed, drinking water, and reaching out to be reminded that you do indeed have value in being here.

Despite the title, self-care is often achieved when involving the help of others, especially when beginning a new stage of personal development. To discover patterns and learn how to change habits and perspective, we may seek out therapists and counselors, books or pod casts. We may need facilitated relaxation via body work or guided meditation.

As we become more aware of ourselves in relation to our experiences, we can create more space for the thoughts, activities, environments and relationships we recognize as healing and beneficial for our health and well-being.

Ultimately, Self-Care is about trust. We get better at selfcare as we develop trust in our health providers, trust in the process and strategies of healthcare, and begin to trust ourselves. By engaging our body and mind in self-care practices, we achieve greater awareness of ourselves in relation to our environment and community. As such, we are more apt to discover, express and share our unique gifts out in the world and increase our quality of life; and that brings us to the third tier in the model of holistic healthcare, that being, High Performance Care.

High Performance Care addresses more specific goals in life. A common example would be the athlete that needs support for greater endurance as they train, or for speedy recovery from an injury; yet High Performance Care also addresses a broad range of goals as identified by the unique individual on their path in life. For example, the mother, father, teacher, nurse, the executive, artist, student, or public speaker.  

Within life, we face challenges, obstacles, and daily stressors. High Performance Care aims to identify issues that impede progress and optimal function, while at the same time, offer guidance and support toward creative expression and greater life fulfilment.

As you see, there's quite a range in how we engage in the care of our health. As you integrate this holistic understanding, we encourage you to start with the basics. For the next 30 seconds, we invite you to experience a guided, mini-meditation:

Right here, right now, we invite you to close your eyes and welcome in a deep breath.  

On the exhale, decide to relax any tension you may feel in your muscles.  

Gently acknowledge yourself with an accepting, “Hello,” as you are.

Present in this moment, you are valid.

Enjoy a deep breath and when you feel ready, open your eyes.

As you continue about your day, one step at a time, one awareness at a time, discern what self-care practices you can engage in to foster balance and health. Consider the benefits of drinking ample amounts of water. Allow for intentional deep breaths to help regulate stress.  Try going to bed around 10pm each night.

With mindful awareness, you will discover what is of balance and fulfillment within the conditions of the moment. Perhaps you will find balance via a gentle, leisurely walk. One in which you don’t even get your feet wet. On another occasion, you may relish in the crashing force of a wave, splashing and pushing you in directions of discovery and change.

When setting sights on balance in health and life, appreciate the dynamic nature of opposites and the range of experiences in between. With growing awareness of conditions, rhythm, relationship, and patterns, you will begin to identify where you are on the spectrum of balance, as it relates to health and quality of life. Utilize familiar self-care tools and remember to reach out for support.

While forging the path for health and balance, we encourage you to engage with us at Everspring Health. We are your community resource, providing evaluation and strategies for foundational health, offering guidance to establish self-care practices, and facilitating high-performance and specific life goals to help you improve quality of life. Learn more by giving us a call today. Everspring  Health. Foundational healthcare for you!