
Nutrition, moving your body/exercise, mental health, spirituality. It can sound so simple but when we try to live this out, it can feel overwhelming and even unattainable at times.
Simplicity is where it’s at – and this is what S.A.G.E. is all about.
When we can stay clear and present to the simple truths that come from science, progress and your good old fashioned personal sense of what works for you, you can go so much further.
We keep it simple here at S.A.G.E. and we also know that simple doesn’t mean easy. Repeatedly coming back to the basics and simplicity of holistic health is a practice and one that is done best in community with other like-minded, caring and compassionate folx.
So how do you simply live a holistically balanced life?
Let’s talk about the word “balance” first of all.
Here at S.A.G.E., we perceive balance as something to strive for and not an end-destination. Life is a process, and as we continue to change over time, grow, and uncover new levels of who we are becoming, we will at times feel balanced and then lots of times feel like we are just struggling to get by and feeling all the feels and frustrations of what’s going on to create imbalance in our lives.
Seeking for balance can sometimes feel like perfectionism and the common denominator is that they both are just not possible – at least not for an extended amount of time. We may settle into a balanced state for a bit after lots of work and seeking and trying, only to find ourselves being toppled over again by the next challenge, obstacle or issue that unfolds in our life.
This is the human condition.
When we say “holistically balanced life” we are really referring to the work in progress toward the vision, hope and goal for what we imagine our best life can be…and it’s going to be different for everyone. What is our best holistic life might be completely opposite someone else’s, because we are all led by different value systems with different priorities and different challenges that we are working through. Living holistically, means that we don’t give up on that vision of ourselves and we allow it to guide us as we continuously work toward what we envision as balance.
And work it is! Here at S.A.G.E., we embrace that challenge, which is why we have gone to such great lengths to set ourselves up as a place to provide education in addition to services and why we work so hard to build community with other local holistically minded healers (if you’re a holistic healer in OC, join our HHOC program here ) as a way to better serve you. We want you to be in charge of your holistic life and we are here to be Guides along the way. We believe that, ultimately, you are the expert of what is working for you and what is not and we refer to other holistically minded trusted colleagues for the services that we feel would benefit you the most when needed.
So, back to that question…how do you simply live a holistically balanced life?
The S.A.G.E. Method guides us here as we utilize the 4 holistic pillars of nutrition, body movement/exercise, mental health and spirituality and allow an honest check-in with ourselves to see where we are. When we get Still, increase our Awareness, allow ourselves to be Guided and Educated about these 4 holistic pillars, we are going to uncover the spots that need our loving attention and care.
We know that when you attend to all four of these holistic pillars of wellness, that you will fast track yourself to higher levels of fulfillment in your life.
Consider an orchestra, and each section of the orchestra has their own part. Each of those sections of the orchestra would be great on their own; the music would still be satisfying and enjoyable to listen to, however, when all of the sections of the orchestra are playing together, in harmony, it completely changes the experience into something so much more beautiful sounding.
This is how the pillars of wellness operate. For example, mental health alone is an incredible entry point into your overall wellbeing. You can make so much personal progress and change with a therapist. Holistically speaking, if you were to incorporate body movement/exercise into your life on any level (even just a short walk once a day), you are going to dramatically improve your overall wellness because of how inter-connected our bodies and minds are. And this is the same for each of these pillars and how they relate to one another. Again, the way these pillars of wellness relate to one another will be different for each person, and figuring that out is your process.
When you look at all of these pillars, it can feel overwhelming to try and work on all of these areas. If that is happening for you, we encourage you to scale back, simplify and begin with one pillar that you are most drawn to. Remember…this is a practice and a lifestyle…and not one where you’re going to just “get it” but one where you’ll be continuously working at it – so remember, you’re doing it just right.
We will be sharing more education about holistic living and how-to’s for integrating all of this with a big dose of self-compassion. We know you’re all about self-growth which is why you’ve read this far on the blog and even why you’re on our website in the first place. We welcome you with open arms to the community of S.A.G.E. and are so glad that you found your place to dig into all of the richness that life has to offer when you are working toward that best, holistically balanced, version of you.