The Way to Wellness
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The Way to Wellness

The Way to Wellness

I was recently asked, “What is a wellness journey?”

From my perspective, a wellness journey is when you raise your level of consciousness so that you become more aware of your personal needs. We all know what makes us feel recharged and what makes us feel drained. The biggest challenge is honoring those feelings often enough.

Because of the many roles we women take on, our stress levels can become chronic or excessive without us even realizing it. So much so that we don’t even recognize the negative effects on our bodies. The Cleveland Clinic shares that a personal wellness plan with built-in periods of recovery and self-care can help women manage stress and empower themselves to make healthy life changes.

Self-awareness helps us to know when to say, “NO!”

It’s when you find a balance or blend that keeps your physical, mental, and emotional wellbeing a priority. There is meaning and value in your relationships, stress levels are low, work and leisure time compliment each other, and you have a deep spiritual connection. Wellness tends to be more about physical health, whereas wellbeing is more of a holistic whole-life experience that has a deeper focus on your personal needs.

In mid-December, my doctor said that my cholesterol was high and that I have hypothyroidism. A second auto-immune disorder, on top of diabetes. Apparently, once you have one auto-immune disorder, it is common to get a second or even third one. 

I am not a fan of medication. I believe that the body has the power to heal itself with proper rest and nutrition. I asked my doctor if she was certain I needed thyroid medication and cholesterol meds. She suggested more testing and I got serious about my nutrition. My additional testing came back clear but later blood work still showed thyroid issues.

Through nutrition and exercise, I was able to lower my cholesterol numbers by 30+ points. To honor and value my beliefs, I checked with my team of holistic professionals. The result: continue to reduce cholesterol with nutrition and exercise and I started taking medication for my thyroid.

As I write this article, I just finished running my third 5K since January. Increasing my movement was part of my wellness strategy for 2020.  Not only have I completed three races, I have also walked an additional 9 miles for a total of 18.6 miles in a little over four weeks. I know that doesn’t sound like a lot, but I’m so excited to have stuck with it…thanks to my good friend Paula for being an accountability partner in this process. It makes such a difference when you know someone is counting on you to show up.

 

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