A Guide to Holistic Health: The Five Areas – Spiritual

At Selfish Darling, we are huge supporters of holistic health. But for those of you who aren’t quite sure what that means, we have been putting together a guide to holistic health. You can check out our first article where we introduce holistic health here, before reading on about the spiritual aspect.

As we first mention there, the approach to holistic health can be broken down into five sperate areas or aspects. These include:

• Physical
• Mental
• Emotional
• Spiritual
• Social

The idea to the holistic approach to health is that only by having all five of these aspects balanced can we achieve perfect health. All five of them are closely interlinked, so when one of them falls, the other one will, and that is when our health suffers, and we start to feel unwell.

We are not human beings having a spiritual experience. We are spiritual beings having a human experience.” – Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

The spiritual aspect

When we think of spiritual we may be drawn to believe that this means religion. It might do for some of us, but it doesn’t have to. Our spiritual health is more concerned with how we connect to our inner soul and the world around us. For those of us that are religious, this means dedicating time to observe our religion, perhaps through prayer or visiting a house of worship.

But for those of us who aren’t religious, we take care of our spiritual health through other means.

WAYS TO TAKE CARE OF YOUR SPIRITUAL HEALTH

• Meditation: Meditation is a great way of connecting to your inner self. Your thoughts and feelings, or to help you connect to the grander world around you. Learn more about meditation here.
• Get Out in Nature: The natural world is a place of great healing for us. And for many of us during this year, we have turned to it to find solace, inspiration and to nurture our spiritual side. From spending time in the garden, taking long walks through the countryside or the woods, taking a dip in the sea or seeing the lakes, nature has multiple benefits for us.
• Yoga: As well as being great physical exercise, yoga is also a wonderful way to actively nurture your spiritual health. Focused on breathing and connecting with your body, it’s an all-round activity that can be done alone, or with others.
• Connecting: A lot of you might have noticed the growing trend in women’s circles or taking part in sacred ceremonies and rituals. These retreats or groups are fantastic. Not only for connecting us with other people, but as ways to actively take care of your spiritual wellbeing.
• Mindfulness: Dancing, journalism, colouring, gardening, singing; mindful activities help us focus our thoughts and energy, force us to slow down and do something for ourselves.

Other activities

Depending on where you stand regarding spirituality and faith, you might take care of spiritual health through other means. From going on pilgrimages, reading sacred texts, volunteering or finding a faith that connects with you; there are so many ways we can look after our spiritual health.

Make your own Bible. Select and collect all the words and sentences that in all your readings have been to you like the blast of a trumpet.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Why is it important?

Whilst the ideas of physical or mental health seem very obvious to us. The idea of looking after our spiritual aspect, with the same care and attention to the rest of us, might not be so clear.

Feeling good spiritually gives a sense of peace. It connects us to other things or people and can provide a sense of belonging. It is the aspect that helps us to recognise the value of our relationships, how we spend our time and, not meaning to sound too existential, the purpose of our lives.

When we connect with our spiritual aspect we have a closer understanding as to who we really are and what makes us happy. And by nurturing it, and by spending time doing that brings us peace or reflection, this, in turn, benefits us mentally and emotionally. Tying it with our other aspects to keep us at our ideal health.