One of my favorite statistics to surprise people with is that diet and exercise only account for 15% of a person’s health outcomes. I’m usually met with the response, ‘Wow, I thought it’d be more than that’. I did too. I also thought intermittent fasting and working out every day were health-promoting behaviors. I was wrong. Our modern society over-complicates health and fails to look at the bigger picture. A variety of factors determine a person’s health. Health is not something static that we achieve. It is in constant flux and highly personalized. Here are the 4 bodies of wellbeing and a few examples of how we tend to get them wrong.
Mental Health
‘I’m so bad for eating junk food’. ‘I’m uncomfortably full and so disappointed with myself’. ‘I hate the way my body looks in my swimsuit’. These thoughts all lack self-compassion and have roots in fatphobia. Fatphobia is our intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional fear of fatness. Our culture is wildly ignorant to the fact that bodies come in diverse shapes and sizes. Fatphobic beliefs create daily disruptions to our mental health. They sever our ability to relate to our bodies as the partner we experience life with. This body of health is potentially the one we have the most control over. To improve it, we have to take time to self-reflect. Other behaviors include reading for pleasure, pursuing fun hobbies, and going to therapy.
Emotional Health
How much time do you spend on social media? You might be under the impression that life should always be rainbows, unicorns, and positive vibes only. We are consuming highlight reels at a higher volume than ever before. They confirm the distortion that sadness, anger, anxiety, and depression aren’t a part of the human experience. As a result, many of us are averse to acknowledging, sitting with, and processing our emotions. We’d rather distract, avoid, or numb. Emotions are simply a wave of energy moving through the body. Our thoughts are what create our emotions. There is a simple solution to dealing with the negative ones. Start by acknowledging them and identify what story you’re making them mean about you. Other ways to support emotional health are recognizing your accomplishments, spending time in nature, and detoxing from tech.
Physical Health
Hustle culture is alive and thriving. We often forget that we are human beings, not human doings. When our productivity is how we measure our worth, we neglect our natural need for rest. We set all-or-nothing, perfectionist goals to improve our physical health. Instead, we could accept joyful movement as enough. Exercise doesn’t have to be intense, sweaty, and exhausting to ‘count’. ‘No pain, no gain’ and other similar statements imply we should ignore our body’s signals and push past our limit. Ways to support physical health include eating healthily and regularly, sleeping well, and seeking medical care.
Spiritual Health
While spirituality often has a religious connotation, it can look different for everyone. One thing we can all agree on is that we only have a limited time in our physical form. Connect with the reality that we are mortal beings. It’s a helpful way to remember what’s important in life. Would you rather spend your existence trying to control your food and body? Or would you rather dedicate yourself to something bigger than yourself? People can connect to their spirituality in a variety of ways, some of which are music, art, meditation, or finding inspiration.
I hope you’ll join me on my Self-Care Challenge on Instagram January 10-13. Each day we’ll commit to one behavior that isn’t already a habit. If you’re looking for more ways to incorporate self-care, check out my Yoga for Body Image playlist. It includes 13 videos/115 minutes of intentional movement and meditations that will reconnect you with your body’s innate wisdom.
