Living a Holistic Life
"Nature does not hurry yet everything is accomplished” Lao Tzu
Our health is comprised of much more than merely food or exercise. Health comprises all the aspects of who we are – emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and physically. Like the spiritual life, health is not a destination, it is a journey - an earth journey of progress, not perfection, of learning and of growing, of embracing the flaws of being human, yet knowing to where and to whom we belong, to our creator. We will find ourselves returning to that place of refuge again and again, for our spirit naturally needs our omnipotent and omniscience God. Our spirit and our soul need our creator just as much as our physical selves need the sun and the rain.
God created man from the dust of the ground. It is no wonder that we have a connection to earths natural elements. Our bodies crave to return to natural roots – to the calm – to the purity – to the essence of our selves undiluted by the power and stain of this world. Steadfastness, Determination, and Inner Strength - these are all words that come to my mind when I think about the life we can grow towards and lead.
More than symptomatic relief is required to achieve health. Holistic health means taking care of the whole person. It is based on holism – the understanding that all parts are made up of the whole. This is where parts and concerns of the body are analyzed in relationship to the whole organism. Holistic beauty is directly in line with holistic health and requires beauty maintenance throughout the aging process. For both men and woman, we know that health goes much further than the skin. Health encompasses everything that makes us who we are. Yet at the same time, the health that we achieve and maintain on the inside of us will undoubtedly reflect on the outside of our body.
A Holistic Mind
In holistic beauty, inner beauty is addressed as part with personality and mental health. We may very well be excellent in a certain skill, or have gorgeous skin, but what is the condition of our mind? How do we behave? How are we thinking on a moment to moment basis? Are we rushed? Disturbed? Irritated? Depressed? Stressed? How are we sleeping? Health can even be affected by how we walk and by how we talk to ourselves and about others. Its affected by the degree we have ability to live life in a state of calm, or perhaps we are disconnected from reality. These are all ways in which our beauty can either be strengthened or weakened. We will inwardly and outwardly reap what we sew.
To remain in the reminder that everything we do in life and everything we are completes the “whole.” Nothing is separate. Everything is interconnected. The more we think like this, the more care we can put into all of the tasks of the day, even down to where is our mind as we are cutting vegetables? Is the mind taking a moment to perceive that its cutting vegetables and learning to enjoy this process of cutting and putting ones heart energy into preparing a meal or is the mind on something else irrelevant of what the body is doing? Being in touch with our minds, our movement, our thoughts, our selves, our creator, our fellowman – essentially being connected to life, can bring some great changes inwardly and will reflect outwardly in beauty.
A Holistic Body
Before we talk about skin, which is inevitable when talking about beauty, lets make note that beauty maintenance isn't just about the skin. Is our mind beautiful? What are we putting into it and what are we getting out of it? Creating space in our lives to reflect and nurture our mind is going to be well worth the effort in years to come. Now our skin, to remain healthy, has to do with healthy regeneration of cells and resistance to environmental stress and free radical damage. There are many ways we can connect ourselves back to the natural elements of life, elements that are full of life giving properties that help us to grow into healthy, mature beings inside and out. Essential oils are just one way we connect ourselves back to nature and are considered a holistic therapy because they contain multi-therapeutic properties. They help to correct or regulate imbalances in the body, simultaneously. Speaking for holistic beauty, they not only can help with skin problems but also with the cause of the skin problems. Using herbs and whole foods as medicine is another way. Food should be free of artificial preservatives and care items should be free of toxic chemicals.
Taking time to drink warm water during the cold seasons, closing the eyes during moments of stress, taking time to smell something pleasant like a plant based facial cream or homemade dessert, setting up your food in a nice bowl being mindfully thankful for it and resting while eating it, not being excessive in our eating and learning to listen to our bodies needs, and listening to others with understanding are just some ways we can bring ourselves back to a place of wholeness.
Spending time outdoors among the oxygen giving trees is another way we can connect ourselves back to our natural elements. Our body gives out carbon dioxide because we do not need it but the plants do for its health and the plants and trees give out oxygen, because it does not need it, but we do need it for our health - It is an amazing exchange between us and nature. On a human to human level, we need one another to add nurture and uplifting care along life's journey, forgiving one another, learning to give and receive love, and allowing each other to grow.
When our mind is on these beautiful, gentle reasons for life, we will find ourselves living more holistically. A holistic mind is a gentle mind and a gentle mind leads to controllable stress levels and an enjoyment for life. When we become aware of how we help sustain one another, we become much more connected to living whole.
Establishing Holistic Beauty Goals
For many of us, goals are needed to really see improvement. A holistic beauty goal is the desired outcome of treatment. For any treatment to be successful, there must be a well-defined therapeutic goal. A simply defined goal could be wanting to reduce wrinkles. Correcting dry skin is too vague. Instead, the question of what health issues is causing dry skin would be a holistic approach to this type of skin need. The goal would then be redefined to include working on regenerating the skins lipid barrier function that has resulted in dry skin. The holistic approach to treating the dry skin goes further than just putting moisturizer on the skin. The Rx could include reducing stress which could be directly affecting the lipid barrier of the skin. It is here that we see holism come into practice.
If one desires, one could start their holistic journey with the help of a holistic practitioner. A holistic practitioner plays many roles and responsibilities, one being they make it known that health and healing is the responsibility of the client, because he or she is the only one that is fully in charge of themselves and their choices. Any person who is only looking for a quick superficial fix, such as say Botox, has not yet come to understand or perhaps desire holistic beauty maintenance. The practitioner is compassionate and supportive, and primarily educates, informs, and makes relevant suggestions for beauty and health which may include diet and nutrition, emotional issues, exercise, lifestyle, medical concerns, environment and allergies; the primary things that affect health and beauty. The holistic practitioner helps to heal the whole person, not just a symptom. Skin and beauty are affected by lifestyle choices including diet and nutrition as well as exercise.
Emotional health contributes to skin and beauty as well as the proper functioning of our organs and cells. Whether one lives in a balanced emotional state or lives a life of high stress or doesn’t know how to deal with stress, are factors that contribute to the overall inner and outer health of a person. Stress is a large cause of excess inflammation in the body. Chronic inflammation has been shown to be the cause of many diseases include heart disease and cancer.
Holistic is Simplistic
Living a holistically centered life is not meant to be another added pressure. In fact, a holistic life is one free of added pressure - being free of the weight of unnecessary cares of the world, being centered back into the gentle and loving place God created us to be in and offering that gentleness and love to all of his creation, man and animal. This is a journey, a lifestyle one doesn’t attain but rather one that a person grows deeper into. There is always more to learn and lots of room to grow because it is your life and your holistic lifestyle. Seek the things that speak to you, ways of living and doing things that resonate with the heart and soul God has created inside of YOU. We are all very dynamic beings, ever evolving on earth’s journey.
Understanding ourselves and learning about ourselves through the growing years and through life’s changing circumstances takes time and energy. Being patient with ourselves and loving ourselves as we grow and change and mature, fail and fall and pick ourselves back up again and again, are very important in life to be able to do. Knowing how to deal with our own emotions, obstacles and any circumstance we may find ourselves in is what sets apart someone who is able to continue their journey with strength with someone who ends up quitting. Spending time time in nature, closing my eyes and meditating on the thoughts God has about me, are ways that bring me the most satisfied feeling inside – truly holistic – truly whole. Why not go after more of the things that will also bring wholeness to our lives? Hearing, seeing, thinking and consuming things that are holistically healing to us. This is where health begins…
This is just touching on the surface of holistic living. Taking time to evaluate our lives to see where there can be improvements, can help a great deal. Learning to live in the moment, enjoying one another, not being so rushed or irritated or offended, loving ourselves through our own flaws and being patient through it, will allow us to extend the same to others. Disciplining ourselves in our thoughts, food, and exercise is ever important to our health. If you’ve ever been sick enough where you couldn’t leave the bed, you have most definitely experienced the appreciation of health. It’s when you no longer have it that you come to realize how great it really is.
Health is a precious gift and once it’s gone it can be difficult to get back, though not impossible. Restoring one’s health takes a personal will and consistency. Our bodies are always fighting for our survival and well-being. Remembering that health is more than what appears on the outside, but what is going on inside of us that really makes a big difference to longevity. Anti-aging is a lie and a dishonor to life. Aging is a beautiful, natural, and unavoidable process in all of nature. Here is the real treasure: To feel young while yet old, and only a handful of people will get to experience it. Why not start now, to make small changes in our life that will help us to have this child like inner strength in the years to come.
On this journey together,
Kari