There are quite a few Pillar Models going around these days. The names of the pillars and the amount of them vary according to the many perspectives on holistic wellness. My focal point is on Nutrition, Plant-Based Nutrition. I have separate pillar for Nutrition and divided it from the Physical pillar to make that distinction. It is important to acknowledge your wellness strength. Everyone is unique and that should be accounted for in the customization of your wellness plan. Holistically speaking, we should strive to be healthy and balanced in all areas of life. We must be aware of and accountable for how these different areas of life affect each other and how we prioritize and manage them at different phases in life. I have seen many Pillar Models but very few with the author’s personal take and advice on them. Below I give you my Pillar Model with a personal touch on how to incorporate it into an easy and enjoyable paradigm for ultimate health and wellness. What’s you wellness strength? What would your pillar model be? I hope you will engage in thoughtful consideration of your best path to a better you.
NUTRITION: This is what I consider the most important pillar. It nurtures our body as well as our readiness to engage in the other pillars of support. I recommend the right amount of daily water intake. This can be found by taking your current weight in pounds and dividing it by two. The quotient is the number ounces of water you should be drinking. If you weigh 150lbs and divide that by two, 75 ounces would be the daily intake of water. This does not include other liquids. I recommend a Whole Food Plant-Based Diet (WFPBD), low in sugar, oil/fats and salt. Stay away from white rice, white potatoes and white flour. Brown, red and black rice are great upgrades as well as yellow, red, orange and purple potatoes and multigrain flour. Also keep the unhealthy vices to a minimum. Alcohol, caffeine, sugary beverages and binging on salty or sweet snacks should be resisted and replaced with healthy options. Also remember, variety is important. Don’t just stick to your same food staples. Mix it up! Try different grains, fruits, vegetables, seeds, legumes and nuts. This is how you build a tolerant and healthy gut with good digestion. B12 and D3 can be taken in supplements or fortified nutritional yeast. Probiotics can be consumed when introducing new foods or weaning off of animal products. I like having one day a week where I can go off diet and enjoy less limits. I don’t always do it but I like knowing that it’s in the plan.
PHYSICAL: This should be made easy and enjoyable. Walking is great. I walk three to five miles a day. I like stretching and doing the thirty minute circuit at the gym. In the summer I like to swim in the pool or go to the beach. I do an hour of continuous movement using water resistance. Try to incorporate exercise into your day. Parking your car at farthest space in the lot and walking, getting off public transportation a stop before your destination and walking are some easy ways to get more steps in. There are many short routines that can have a good effect. I will be posting more of these on my YouTube channel and website. Stress reduction is very important. It is good to have a few methods to rely on. Physical activity that is directed towards release is best, not just rushing around. Rest and restorative sleep are paramount. I do a daily “nap-itation”, as I call it. I take an hour to decompress with a focused meditation followed by a nap. Wear what makes you feel and look good. Being comfortable and confident with your appearance can add strength and buoyancy to your day. Good hygiene is healthy and boosts self-love and self-esteem. Don’t forget sex! Making mutually enjoyable love with your partner or yourself leads to wellness. If you have physical impairments try to work around them. Physical therapists can devise appropriate routines.
EMOTIONAL: Feelings are powerful sources for change. Feelings are fuel! A good idea can quickly deflate without emotional fortification. Emotion is an integral part of manifestation. When we feel strongly about something it adds to our conviction and motivation. Release, from laughter to crying is what we are equipped to do. Don’t judge it. Let it work for you. Understanding and being accountable for your feelings make take some reflection or outside help. Give yourself the time to understand yourself. Build your support team whether it’s family, friends or professional. We all need to vent and trust who we share with. Encourage positive feelings. If you automatically shift to the negative, be accountable and don’t consistently blame things outside of yourself. We create our reality and draw to ourselves the circumstance to prove it to be true. Work on separating your feelings from facts. Some people feel so strongly about something that they identify it as a fact. This can pin them to a negative result. Feelings change, facts do not. We may not be able to change what happens but we can change how we feel and respond. Emotional adaptation proceeds to wellness.
INTELLECTUAL: “The body goes where the mind takes it.” You’ve heard this phrase. Keeping the mind engaged and on positive subjects requires both the use of boundaries and flexibility. When to engage, why and with whom, should be considered. We must pick our debates wisely. Intellectual stimulation, learning, story-telling and collaboration are paths to optimum mental health. Neuroplasticity is something to strive for. We can rewire and reorganize in order to help the brain function differently than it has in the past. Igniting different neural pathways through a variety of sources of stimulation can be fun and fortifying. Music, singing, dance, language, math, art, reading, writing, games and puzzles are all good stimulus. Balance doing these both alone and with others for the best results. I like to play a variety of brain game apps on my phone and switch between them. This allows me to trigger different areas of my brain. Resting, meditating or napping after study helps integrate new knowledge and come up with creative solutions. Sleep on it!
SPIRITUAL: This can be a grey area for many. We value our belief systems but mostly see them as something separate or outside of ourselves. Because of this, spirituality is often detached from wellness. I see it as the glue to all the other areas is this collage of wellness. Defining, strengthening spirituality and engaging in it regularly sets a firm foundation to build your health model on. Expressing gratitude and giving thanks paves the way for future wellbeing. Being spiritually active by yourself and with others can form bonds of trust and feelings of support. There is also a hypothesis that there is a faith gene and that spirituality is passed on through Universal Knowledge. Are we born believers? What can it accomplish? Are faith, belief and spirituality what get us through the toughest times? These are valid points of discussion and discovery.
SOCIAL: The friendships and relationships we nurture and how we nurture them through social interaction is a big part of wellness. Surround yourself with supportive, inspiring people and social events. Weed your social garden of toxic and draining people and obligations. We can not cure or change people who have no clue how toxic they are. We can just wish them well in their evolution and establish our boundaries. Be aware of drama bombs that can be triggered through race, religion and politics. Studies have shown that having good social skills can increase your chances for success more than intelligence. A person can be a warehouse of facts and information but if they lack the social skills to teach and inspire others, it ends with them. The social dynamics we engage in are the testing grounds for the other pillars. Humans are communicators. Our brains are wired to find connections and similarities in what we encounter. Thoughts, feelings, beliefs, recipes, workout tips, environmental concerns and financial tips are exchanged, sifted and sorted through social sieves. We integrate what we connect to and grow from new perspectives. We all need to feel like we belong to something unifying. We can do this through any of and all of the other pillars. Be a part of a group!
ENVIRONMENTAL: Where we are and what we absorb from our environment affects our wellness. Having access to healthy food, water and protection from harsh elements is a good start. Having healthy, comfortable, stimulating and beautiful surroundings can set the stage for better health. Dingy, cluttered and depressing work and home spaces can bring on fatigue and apathy. Frustration and stress can accumulate from fast paced and unorganized settings. You can make healthier choices on where to be and what to be around. Committing and supporting sustainable, eco-friendly methods will bring some love and healing to our planet and health to future generations. I recommend going vegan/plant-based, avoiding single use plastic and unnatural fabrics. Pollutants in every day products such as chemical scents, colors and other ingredients take their toll on the environment and immune system. Go Green! It’s important to have our “go to” places for solace. Nature offers relief! I love watching and supporting wildlife. You can find me lakeside talking to the lake and its inhabitants. I always say, “thank you” to them. Some call me “the goose whisperer”. When I do my goose honk call, they will fly from the far side of the lake to visit and have a healthy snack. The beach, parks, lakesides, gardens and woodlands are great diffusers of stress and anxiety. Museums, restaurants, places of worship, art, music and entertainment venues can provide fun, freshness and inspiration. Variety is the spice of life. Try something new. Create beauty. Go spice things up!
FINANCIAL: This is a challenging one for me. I don’t want to believe that money buys wellness but it sure helps. I know I feel better when all my financial bases are covered. It allows me the assurance to manage the other pillars. How important finance is all depends on how and where you were raised. There are societies where joy and wellness flourish in very low income environments and vice versa. Forming your own, honest relationship to money and possessions is essential. Here in America we are bombarded with advertising that supports a questionable paradigm that success is measured by how much money and how many status symbols and titles we acquired. You do see that pendulum swinging in the other direction these days. “Living small” has a growing popularity. There are quite a few documentaries and series exploring and presenting its benefits. Financial compassion for those in different financial realms is honorable. Donating to charities that touch your heart can make you feel good as well as do good.
I hope that this information will inspire you to create a holistically better life. Feel free to contact me with questions or ideas to improve these pillars. I am here to help you position yourself perfectly on each pillar like the work of holistic wellness art you are. Let’s throw on some togas and walk through these ancient columns that have supported us throughout history! You can book a session in Holistic Wellness Coaching, Guided Crystal Meditation, Astrology or Tarot here. (718) 600-5110. I am also for hire for gatherings. Gift certificates for metaphysical products and services are also available.
Cheers!
Herb Hernandez – Astrologer & Holistic Wellness Coach in Patchogue, NY
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