Oprah and Holistic Health

Holistic health and wellness is becoming more and more mainstream. When the concept of mind, body, soul connection is freely talked about on Oprah, you know that people are serious about finding a path to health and happiness that works for them. Oprah says that in order to look and feel your best, you have to connect the mind, body and soul. You have to work from the inside out.

This week Oprah started a 21-day cleanse, eliminating animal food, caffeine, sugar, alcohol and gluten. Her guest, Kathy Freston, author of Quantum Wellness: A Practical and Spiritual Guide to Health and Wellness, suggests the cleanse as a way to jump start your journey to health. Her book outlines 8 pillars of wellness:

1. meditation
2. conscious eating
3. exercise
4. visualization
5. spiritual practice
6. self work
7. service
8. fun activities

Kathy says that the most important wellness pillar is conscious eating. What you eat not only affects your personal health but that the food we eat, how it was prepared and where it comes from affects everything around you. What you eat enters your bloodstream, influences your energy and how you relate to others.

Kathy’s 8 pillars of health are similar to the Integrative Nutrition concepts of primary and secondary food. Food is an important form of nourishment, but food is not the only thing that satisfies us. Integrative Nutrition’s unique concept of primary food looks at how physical activity, spirituality, career and relationships nourish our soul. No matter how you break it down, an integrated approach to health and happiness is the way to go.