Wellness

Wellness resources listed here are only ideas to be explored along with your trusted group of doctor(s), which you hopefully selected to be on “Your Healing Team”. Your Healing Team are your medical and paramedical service providers and they should be your cheerleaders too.

They are ideally a source of most up to date information and advice in their area of expertise, but also open to what you have to say, your research and your instinct. It is a partnership with the same goal: your healing!

Suggested Practitioners:

• Integrative medicine doctor in your area
• Naturopath in your area with specialized experience for your needs
• Massage therapist in your area
• Chiropractor in your area
• Acupuncturist in your area
• Psychotherapist or Social Worker in your area
• Energy practitioner in your area
• Nutritionist including detox guidance in your area
• Spiritual adviser

Nutritionist – consider that not all diets are suitable for every health opportunity and for a prolonged period of time. Be open-minded and consult different practitioners, try different protocols and above all, listen to your own body’s response. I have mostly followed an alkaline vegetarian diet but balanced with other food. Alkaline diet is based on eating more vegetables, fruits and cutting back on sugar, alcohol, meat and processed foods. Holistic Wellness Craft is one of the nutritionists that I consulted with and found useful. They believe in incorporating mind and body to heal and promote a natural state of health and wellbeing. They provided suggestions and modifications to my diet that helped my digestion, my energy level and my overall wellbeing.

Communities are so important, being part of a community helps promote our individual wellness. More so, being part of the local community theater, spiritual organization, volunteering for the local shelter or hospital, there are ways to be involved in the community. Helping others in need makes us put our own struggles into perspective. Being part of a few local communities helped me gain a better perspective and positively impacted my healing.

Exercise is very important to help us with our body and our mind. It helps us improve our mood, our sleep and decrease stress and anxiety.  Any kind of movement that you find joyful and is not hurting you is good. I love walking in nature and dancing, some stretching too, but I do not enjoy body weights or other intense exercise, so I don’t push myself to do that. I find qigong daily  routine useful to start my day. However I enjoy the most my walking group time, because it gives me a chance to be in nature, socialize and exercise too.

Healing Arts are creative practices that promote healing, wellness, coping and personal change. Traditional healing arts include music, art, dance/movement, poetry/writing, and drama therapies. You don’t need to join the program to get the benefit of healing arts, start writing, painting, dancing alone or with a group of friends. Volunteer for the local theater group, keep the daily journal of gratitude. Try different things that give you pleasure.

Spirituality is important for our mind and our body as it connects all into great unity and balance. Finding our true purpose in life, healing our identity, finding our own “inner” voice and living our purpose is the greatest fulfillment. I am aiming to get there. Spirituality is not necessarily about being religious. I happen to believe in God, go to church regularly and am trying to live in accordance to Christian life principles and values. Of course, every day is a new day trying to be better at it. My spiritual adviser for me is my priest, when I am in doubt or contemplating different issues, I reach out. My faith and my church community give me  great comfort and peace.