eating whole, non-processed foods

Nourishment is defined as: the food or other substances necessary for growth, health, function, performance, and good condition. A human being can thrive on a number of different diets – so long as they are products of nature as opposed to industry. The answer to, ’What should I eat?’ is not answered through specific health foods or singular items; rather, it is about your pattern of nutritional intake and values. It is about providing your system with the specific nutrients required for optimal wellbeing.

moving your body in the ways it’s able

Movement helps to calm us, connect us, and calibrate us. Our bodies have an inherent need to move, and there are psychological, physiological, biochemical, and immunological mechanisms that support our overall fitness. Being active in our physical body serves to connect our interdependent aspects of mind, body, & spirit. Movement also serves as a protective factor, reducing our aggregate risk for many chronic diseases.

getting consistent, sufficient restorative sleep and overall rest

When we sleep, we withdraw from the sensory stimulation of the waking world. Sleep is a structural support, it is our maintenance, our regeneration, our recharge, and our place of ultimate healing. It impacts all aspects of our mental, physical, emotional, social, and spiritual selves. Sleep is also where we process and consolidate our experiences, and where our bodies grow during our development. Recovery is productivity.

being capable of doing hard things & regulating

Between stimulus and response, there is a space. Resilience is about growing our ability to choose our response, to lean into healthy challenges, and handle negative stressors. Growing our resiliency means cultivating our ability to navigate stress. When we are triggered or activated by internal or external variables, we leave our equilibrium. How we handle activation and return to balance is resilience. It is about increasing our capacity to adaptively negotiate challenging experiences.

engaging the mind, practicing awareness, & accessing flow

When we engage the power of our mind, we can process our experiences and transform them into wisdom. Our attention is our most precious resource, and we can use it to improve the quality of our lives by paying attention to what we think, how we think, and how we feel. We can also leverage the power of conscious choice to cultivate self-awareness, practice mindfulness, regulate our nervous system, and promote flow states. This is the work of cultivating attention for both the present moment and for the activities, feelings, and experiences that captivate your being.

cultivating respectful & healthy interactions with ourselves and others

We are social beings: connection is why we are here and it is what brings meaning and purpose to our lives, and in the absence of relationship there is suffering. Relationships are a fundamental need for every human being. The goal is to interact respectfully with ourselves and with others, nurturing authenticity, belonging, love, and connection. Relationships begin with self-care, with intentional stewardship of one’s gifts and limits, and, through this, self-care unlocks true belonging.

feeling a sense of meaning or connection to something greater than ourselves

Our purpose is tied to our ability to encourage the vital and sacred in our lives. Another name for this pursuit is spiritual care. Ideas of vitality are associated with experiences when people feel alive and are living fully. The sacred is that which is regarded with great respect and reverence, and it is deeper than what is simply ‘important.’ Cultivating meaningful lives and asking questions of purpose are spiritual pursuits that possess a wide impact. Making space for what is important gives us the opportunity to build a better world; a world where people are seen, valued, and heard. It is in this world that deep healing and connection is possible.