About the time I was building this website a colleague asked me what my definition of wellness was. I suppose since there are so many people "out there" claiming to be wellness oriented he just wanted to be sure my motives were genuine. And while I provided an answer that I was satisfied with at the time...my true feeling is that there really is no concrete definition of wellness.
While I could relay to you several official definitions (and you can find them listed at the bottom of this page)...the truth of the matter is that while we can lay a foundation for a definition...the actual definition will be different for each individual.
In general I feel that complete wellness is experiencing, with vitality, a joyful existence through healthy fulfillment of the mind, body, and spirit. Mind, body, and spirit are the three main areas of a person that determine overall wellness. However, those three areas can be affected by a multitude of external factors such as, career, societal norms, family, eating habits, exercise habits, "me time" habits (or typically the lack of), environmental factors, sleep habits, genetics, etc.
Unfortunately our 21st Century lifestyle (and the previous 20th Century) has created a world where most of us focus too much on the physical, not only our physical body, but also physical "things" that surround us. Our time is overloaded and our lives are dictated by the clock and our "busy schedules". And even though we don’t think of time as physical it is directly affected by the physical things in our life. For example the time it takes us to landscape our yard so that it makes a good impression on the people who pass buy (instead of doing something we’d rather enjoy). Or the time we spend making money working for someone else, because we need it to buy more physical things. You get the picture.
So, in all essence the key is learning to find and practice balance in our lives. A balance, where we also pay as much attention to taking care of our mind and spirit as we do our physical being. Taking care of our mind means addressing our emotions (fear, anger, regret, worry, etc). For this we need to find outlets that allow us to release emotions. Taking care of our spirit means not only connecting to our Divine Creator but also connecting with the needs of our own spirit. It is my experience that individuals who spend regular time (I guess you could say religious time) doing or experiencing something that brings their soul joy, experience more fulfillment than those who put off their own needs and desires.
Obviously the physical, mental, and spiritual needs of each individual is different. We were made to be unique. So while the definition of Wellness can be generalized into a sentence or two, ultimately, the actual specifics of the definition will be slightly different for each person. So I leave you with the dictionary definitions below…of these I feel that the first one listed best fits the true definition of my intention. As you read through these find what pieces resonate with you as truth, leave out what does not…but while formulating your definition be sure you are addressing all three main components of a human being…Body, Mind, AND Spirit, because if you leave out one dis-ease will manifest. Namaste!
Wellness - a dynamic state of health in which an individual progresses toward a higher level of functioning, achieving an optimum balance between internal and external environments.
Mosby's Medical Dictionary, 8th edition. © 2009, Elsevier.
Wellness - the subjective perception of being optimally healthy.
Jonas: Mosby's Dictionary of Complementary and Alternative Medicine. (c) 2005, Elsevier.
Wellness - Public health. A state of well-being.
McGraw-Hill Concise Dictionary of Modern Medicine. © 2002 by The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc
Wellness - The condition of good physical, mental and emotional health, especially when maintained by an appropriate diet, exercise, and other lifestyle modifications.
The American Heritage® Medical Dictionary Copyright © 2007, 2004 by Houghton Mifflin Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Company.
Wellness - the quality or state of being is good health especially as an actively sought goal Merriam-Webster Dictionary online at… http://209.161.37.11/dictionary/wellness