Meditation Retreats

What is wellness? | Canberra Weekly

Wellness and illness are like the north and south poles on the continuum of wellbeing. The key definition of wellness is that it is more than the absence of disease. So imagine, if you will, more and more illnesses appearing below the equator as you travel south. But what happens when you travel north?

Right above the equator, you may not feel sick. If you got checked you would get a clean health certificate, but you may or may not be feeling fine. In this area, modern medicine may have little to offer as there is still no disease to fight. Over time, “not feeling good” can become an actual illness, but just waiting for it to happen is certainly not the best we can do.

This is why many people turn to wellness for answers because they want more than just get through. They want to deal with their health and actively work for it. Wellness, like illness, is now big business: juice bars, meditation retreats, detox diets, meditation apps, etc. are mainstream success stories, and some skeptics are better off reluctant to think that people on “false hopes” are better off turning away from mainstream medicine feel. For more and more people, however, the pursuit of wellness makes sense. However, the challenge still remains of navigating through all of the options and finding something that really helps.

How do we know something is good for our wellbeing? Diseases can often be measured objectively, for example through a blood test or a CT scan. Since it is measurable, we can see if it is getting better or worse, and we can critically evaluate the effectiveness of an intervention such as a drug or a surgical procedure. Wellness, on the other hand, is more difficult to assess. We cannot measure our vitality with a blood test. Wellness is also subjective because we cannot easily measure how I feel compared to how you feel. Ultimately, it depends on the individual’s own calculation what he finds helpful. We all value the things that matter to us based on our own experience.

Most of us have an internal barometer of how good we are. It can be compared to a time in your life when you remembered feeling your best, such as when you had more energy, slept well, felt satisfied, and had little stress. We can be complacent about our well-being and only get shocked when we actually get sick. Or we are shaken by life events; the birth of a child, a new job, an important birthday. Whatever the reason, when you feel called to reassess and improve your wellbeing, it is a moment to celebrate.

Continue reading:

Related Articles