How do you define a healthy lifestyle? Does it involve daily supplements, regular exercise, or mindful meditation? We all have a mental image of what healthy living entails, but would you say your approach to wellness is more holistic or clinical? Another way to phrase this question is to consider the following scenario: when you visit your doctor to cure an illness, do you wish to relieve your symptoms or treat the underlying issue that’s causing them.
What Does Holistic Health Mean?
According to the American Holistic Health Association, there are two common definitions people use when discussing holistic health and wellness: (1) holistic refers to the healing of the “whole person”, who is made up of interdependent parts (e.g. the mind, body, and spirit); or (2) holistic is used as a synonym to mean alternative therapies vs. Western medicine practices.
The truth is, there really isn’t a universal definition for holistic wellness, but having a basic understanding of how it’s used may help you decide if its approach to wellness is the right path forward on your journey to better health.
Living a Holistic Lifestyle
One thing that almost everyone can agree on is that holistic health is a type of lifestyle: “By definition, holistic medicine is about lifestyle changes, noninvasive remedies, and improving the flow of a person’s life-force energy, along with enhancing the body’s own ability to heal itself” (AMC).
In fact, you may unknowingly associate holistic health with natural healing, as this type of wellness journey can include certain lifestyle changes that influence:
- Your diet
- Your physical surroundings
- Your behavior
- Your relationships
- Your exercise routine
- Your approach to treatment
Going back to the scenario of visiting your clinician for an illness, you may decide to pursue alternative methods, such as acupuncture, chiropractic care, naturopathy, and other forms of natural healing rather than prescription medications.
Holistic Health and Wellness at Calli Institute
At The Calli Institute, we recognize that each individual person is unique, and we honor this by taking the time to get to know you as a whole person (mind, body, and spirit). Our philosophy is that the mind consists of an individual’s thoughts, emotions, and mentality while the body is an individual’s physical structure. We also believe that the spirit is an individual’s core values and sense of purpose, and each of these parts is both interconnected and affected by our outside environments.
If you’re curious about holistic health and wellness, we invite you to give us a call or request an appointment today. At Calli, you’ll have the option of individual and group therapy, medication management, and psychological testing to help you on your journey to natural healing. Reach out to us today to learn more!