Hi Warriors! I’ve got the next installment of my Wellness Gatekeeping Series for you today. If this is your first time here, welcome, and you can read the intro to the series here. Today, let’s get MORE than Physical, because true wellness involves much more.

I want to start by re-iterating a few of my favorite definitions, because I think it is important to how we understand why wellness means more. Health is the absence of injury or illness. Typically, we think of this as it relates to the physical body. More and more we are applying this idea to mental capacity, but it can go further, too. Wellness is the active pursuit of good health, especially through practices under our control.

A couple of things to note… Health is passive. Illness and injury are things that happen TO us. One day we are okay, the next the ragweed goes berserk and we are “sick” with allergies. One day we are gainfully employed, the next we find out we have been downsized and our Financial Health is injured. Wellness is active. We can DO things to change or modify our circumstances. We may not be healthy by definition, but we can take allergy medication and update our resume.

Second, the things we do to fix our health tend to focus on the particular problem. When an ankle gets twisted, it’s not often that we spend much time worrying about continuing upper body workouts for shoulder mobility. When we shift to a wellness focus, the focus broadens. Exercise becomes a way to alleviate Mental and Emotional Health and connect Socially.

But because we conflate health and wellness and use the terms interchangeably, we have confused what they actually mean. Wellness becomes another word or phrase that implies something about our Physical Health. In fact, this confusion is why I define wellness through the Dimensions and each Dimension is referred to as a health category. We can experience illness or injury in each of these Dimensions.

Because we can experience difficulties in any of these Dimensions, it underscores the difference between health and wellness. We need to stop conflating these concepts. Wellness is a whole person concept. When something affects one Health Dimension, it will inevitably spill over and start affecting others.

Which means that many of the things marketed and sold as wellness aids, are in actuality, health aids. And false ones at that. Sure, that new fancy face mask may give you permission to take fifteen minutes out of your day. But it was marketed and sold to you as a way to improve your under eye circles or wrinkles or hydration or whatever. Read, something about your Physical body. Read, something that isn’t actually sick or injured. The real value of the mask is the time you take for yourself.

Many of the wellness practices that I hype here and, on my Instagram and YouTube channels, are Physical Health based. I’ll reiterate that that is my training. However, the practices that I am encouraging also have many other whole person benefits.

Diet Culture, and its siblings Exercise and Wellness Culture, will tell you that your body size is the indicator of health. Women should be smaller, men should be more muscular, and if you are LGBTQ+ you aren’t enough no matter what you do. And this is what movement and diet is for. To control the body. What BS is this?

Movement is a whole person practice just as wellness is a whole person concept. Your entire body is engaged in movement. Even if you are differently abled, your entire being is present regardless of your individual movement patterns. Movement also engages the mind, which has Mental and Emotional Health benefits. Where and who we encounter also has far reaching implications for Social and Environmental Health. Not to mention that regular movement might be linked to better Financial Health, too.

Diet is also a whole person practice. In fact, diet goes a step further and includes cultural components for many of us. For years Diet Culture has told me, an Italian American who grew up watching my grandfather bake his own bread, that bread is evil. To say nothing of how we demonize culturally relevant (and delicious) foods for persons of color. But guess what? Diet also has Mental, Emotional, Social, and Environmental Health benefits.

By pigeon-holing wellness into a health style definition, we eliminate other possible benefits. The focus narrows and becomes Physical only. Truthfully, the marketers and sellers want this. It is easier to sell something that promises a quick fix for stubborn tummy fat than it is to sell something that promises more energy and alleviates anxiety.

But as coaches, we need to be aware of and well versed in as many of the benefits as possible. The long-term possibilities are often what keep people engaged. It also helps us remember that health (any of the Dimensions) can change in an instant. Working towards wellness just allows us to adapt to those changing circumstances.

I’m wrapping up this series next month and it’s going to be a doozy as I talk access. So, until next time, be well friends!

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