My practice is focused on chiropractic and nutrition. This means that I’m really good at working with my patients on a physical level—I help get their bodies aligned and properly fed. But I also like to think about other kinds of healing and wellness.
Living a balanced life means achieving wellness on all levels of being.
We have different parts to our being. Our bodies, our emotions, our minds, our spirits—all of these come together to help form our everyday experience of ourselves. We need to nurture all these parts in order to feel balanced within ourselves.
We also have different roles we play in the world. We might be parents, professionals, friends, sons, daughters. We might go to the gym in the morning, work during the day, and veg out on the couch at night.
My point is that we have all these pieces of ourselves and our daily experiences. Sometimes, it can feel like a lot of moving parts to juggle! But it's also an opportunity to practice being centered and mindful with ourselves.
There are two questions I like to ask myself that help me work on staying balanced.
The first is “What have I done for my being today? What have I done for my body? How about my mind and my emotions? What about my spirit?”
This is a chance to check in with how I’m caring for myself. Having a good answer to this question might mean taking a walk, or doing some breathing or meditation. It could mean going to church, or to the farmer’s market or calling a friend. The main thing is to make sure I’m feeding myself on all my levels. When I do this, I tend to feel pretty good!
My second question is “How are my roles working?” Part of why I wanted to become a doctor was that I felt it was a good fit for me—a good role to play. But I think most of us have had jobs, or relationships or habits that weren't such a good fit for us. We cast ourselves in roles where we can’t really play the part, at least not in a way that we enjoy.
It’s important to remember that we always have a choice about whether or not we keep going with something that isn't working. We usually convince ourselves that we don’t, which is how we get stuck in such a situation in the first place. But have a little faith! If you feel like one of your roles really isn’t working, it’s okay to let it go. That’ll open up space for something better.
Taking the time to find balance in ourselves and our lives is a practice that leads to greater health and happiness. It’s a journey, full of trial and error, but one I think is very worth making!