Health is often pictured out as taking supplements and doing workouts. So health investments are usually channeled to them. However, physical condition and appearance are just one aspect of it. Other equally pressing health concerns should be given weight. Health that works is holistic.
Looking Good But Sick
To some extent, muscle workouts fight off stress. Especially when one's environment and life situation are favorable. But in another sense, pumping iron and treadmills alone are no match to the ill effects of massive distress when the other aspects of holistic health are ignored. Physical workouts can sometimes even do more harm than good when other holistic health factors are not balanced. There are bodybuilders who register dismally during blood chemistry tests due mostly to over-stress.
Other Aspects of Holistic Health
1. Mental health. Mental stress alone is deadly. What more when partnered with emotional stress? Mental stress triggers chemical reactions that upset natural functions in our body systems, like the immune system. Thus, people with mental stress have their immune defenses down and easily get sick.
Worse, it can lead to overeating that, if unchecked, may cause the blood pressure to abnormally increase. Combine this with a stressful workout and the effect can be lethal. However, with the right attitude and program, workouts can stave off mental stress. Health that works gives due credence to mental strength.
2. Emotional health. Once the emotions take over a person, overeating may set in. Among the tough enemies of fitness is overeating, and among the most powerful fuel of overeating is emotional distress. A single miscalculated weight gain can sometimes ruin an entire slimming program and negate whatever gains one may have.
Lots of body builders can't figure out their inability to reduce weight or flabby fat despite their ardent workouts. It is due to their non-holistic approach to fitness. They workout at the gym but never fix their emotional stress. Few realize this, but a broken marriage or family, for instance, has dire effects in overall health. Holistic health that works keeps emotions under control.
3. Financial health. The need to be financially able cannot be overstressed. Sustained quality health entails lots of expenses, simply put. Healthy food doesn't come cheap, especially organic ones. All-natural health supplements cost a fortune when taken religiously. And they have to be taken thus to get their full benefits. Taking them now and then will not work. Even juicing alone costs plenty.
Furthermore, regular executive check ups are a must for both men and women. Thus, added income generation is crucial to support a quality program for health that works and lasts a lifetime. Moreover, a lack in the family income is another source of distress that can trigger harmful chemical reactions in the body.
4. Spiritual health. This is not about having a religion. It is about connecting to a higher spiritual Source to have peace within oneself. You can have all the religion you want and yet remain spiritually disquieted. The spiritual is really intertwined with the mental and emotional. The three cannot be separated in holistic health. Health that works is holistic.
Some attain gratification in this area by being one with nature. Some by immersing in mystical Eastern cultures. Generally, it is intimacy with God taken to a subliminal level that goes beyond religious rituals and boundaries. Spiritual health explains why tai-chi practitioners possess an incredible source of energy and power which are beyond scientific explanation. God-fearing men in the bible retained excellent health even in ripe old ages. Inner tranquility and composure begets a resilient spirit.
5. Social health. Even powerful animals, like lions, weaken when segregated from their kind. Fellowship is not only inherent in mankind; it is crucial for survival. Mental, emotional and spiritual sanity are hinged on a vigorous social life. Financial triumph is equally dependent on a network of contacts.
Hence, health that works is holistic. It invests equal time, effort, and resources on all its aspects.