Tis the season to be jolly, Fa la la la la la la la! It’s that time of year again, the time to share love, gifts, and holiday cheer! As you can see, I absolutely love this season. Partially because of the delicious food, but mostly because it tends to draw people together. Last week, I was in Toys“R”Us shopping for gifts for work and unfortunately, I wasn’t aware of the anxiety that comes along with searching for the right toy in a place with a gazillion toys. My perfectionist tendencies didn’t help much, keeping me in the store for hours trying to find the best toy for each child with the best online review on a non-profit program budget! Before I knew it, I rushed to the front of store in search for snacks.  I needed some sugar right away! Ignoring the possible stomach ache that would result from consuming them, I skipped over all the healthy snacks and settled for a can of Pringles and a bag of Airheads.  As I settled my nerves and continued shopping, I thought about some of the factors that could potentially affect our wellness this time of year. This encouraged me to share eight tips that could help us stay well not just physically, but holistically this holiday season.

“Umm, where is the real food?” asked the husband as he helped his wife unpack the groceries. It was somewhat entertaining watching the wife try to explain that the fruits, veggies, healthy grains, and meats purchased from her trip to the local farmer’s market were actually some of the closest things to real food these days. The husband was not convinced! He went on complaining about how hungry he would be for the next couple of weeks because his wife decided to bring rabbit food home from the store. Have you ever heard the seemingly gross, but true statement, “your stool is a good indicator of your overall health?” Well I think its safe to say, our minds are a good indicator of our overall well-being.

“I am starting to cultivate a healthier lifestyle. I am drinking more water and have cut fried chicken,  […] out of diet.”  Recently I had a friend share these words with me and honestly I can’t tell you which ones touched my heart the most, hearing someone communicate my brand or hearing that they were beginning a path to wellness. Definitely the latter lol!! However, after this conversation, I began to think about how much of our understanding of health and wellness focuses on the physical body. Eating a more nutritious diet is only half a step in the journey of cultivating a healthier lifestyle. I keep a picture of the Eight Dimensions of Wellness set as the screensaver on my phone to remind me that the goal is to live the best quality of life possible and to accomplish this, I must cultivate not only my physical body, but other aspects of who I am as well. I wish I would have, without bursting my friends bubble, kindly continued the conversation by introducing some of the other aspects of wellness that may contribute to his journey. But like the saying goes, its better late than never. So here goes..