Nicole Brar

Fitness Instructor & Nutritionist

What Does It Mean For Wellness To Be Holistic?

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what does it mean for wellness to be holistic

The words “holistic” and “wellness” are thrown around a lot these days. But what does it actually mean for wellness to be holistic?

Holistic wellness is an alternative approach to health. It considers the complete person, not just physical health and symptoms. It focuses on physical, emotional, mental and spiritual well-being.

Rather than just treating symptoms, the goal of holistic wellness is to balance all aspects of someone’s life. Think thriving rather than just surviving. Everything in your life from the place you live to your income to your social circle affects your overall health. This approach aims to address it all.

Here are five key elements that make wellness holistic:

5 Things That Make Wellness Holistic

Integrating mental and physical health

Your mind and body are intrinsically connected. Holistic wellness acknowledges how mental health affects physical health and vice versa. Practices like yoga and meditation are ideal to support both aspects. 

Emphasis on prevention

Typically, people only focus on health after something is already wrong with them. We treat the symptoms instead of preventing them from occurring in the first place.

Holistic health prioritizes prevention through a healthy lifestyle, including:

It views maintaining overall health as a proactive rather than reactive practice.

Consideration of environmental and social factors

Your environment and social life has a direct impact on your health. If your home stresses you out, that negatively affects your health. If you experience social isolation (aka loneliness), you are more at risk for negative health problems. If you work too much, you will also experience the negative effects of stress.

Holistic wellness encourages a work-life balance and cultivates relationships that support personal health.

Use of alternative medicine

This isn’t to say that you shouldn’t see a regular doctor – you should. At the same time, holistic wellness incorporates alternative medicine for extra support. It treats the whole person rather than just the symptoms. This can include:

  • Acupuncture
  • Herbal remedies
  • Holistic doctor consultations
  • Massage or reiki

Focus on all aspects of life

Practicing holistic wellness is about more than just physical health. It includes:

  • emotional stability
  • financial health
  • personal fulfillment

Integrating holistic practices means looking at the bigger picture of one’s life. This includes sleep, exercising, and mindfulness to foster resilience and happiness.

How Often Should You Be Doing Yoga?

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Many people who start taking yoga classes find that they really enjoy the practice and want to incorporate it more into their daily lives. It provides deep relaxation and is an amazing way to stay fit and healthy. But how often should you really be doing yoga? Some people do yoga every single day, but as a beginner, you want to make sure you don’t over-exert yourself.

As a virtual reality fitness and yoga instructor, Nicole Brar teaches all branches of yoga, including hatha, bhakti, jana and hot yoga. Read on to learn more about how often you should be practicing yoga each week.

How often you should practice yoga depends on the style of yoga and your current fitness level. If you are new to yoga, you may be surprised at just how much it works out your muscles. Beginners may find that they can only do one session a week at first and slowly add in more sessions throughout the week.

It also depends on what other physical activities you do outside of yoga. If you are really active at the gym, you probably don’t need to do really intense yoga sessions every day.

Some styles of yoga are more physically demanding than others. It is perfectly fine to do yoga every day if you want to. Just make sure that one or two days a week is more relaxed. Yoga is all about listening to your body, so don’t push yourself harder than you can handle. Yes, yoga can be a really intense workout, but it doesn’t have to be all the time. It’s also about meditation and relaxation.

5 Beginner Yoga Tips

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5 beginner yoga tips nicole brar

Starting a yoga practice is an amazing way to exercise your body, improve your overall fitness, and have some quality ‘you’ time. When you first begin yoga, it can be really intimidating, especially when you see other people getting into crazy poses. Fear not, because everyone starts their yoga journey somewhere.

As a fitness instructor and nutritionist, Nicole Brar is on a mission to help people achieve their health and fitness goals. She provides instruction in all branches of yoga, including hatha, bhakti, jana and hot yoga. Today she shares 5 yoga tips for beginners. 

  1. Find a good yoga instructor. Yes, it is true that there are a lot of great online tutorials, but going to an in-person class is really valuable because an instructor can correct your posture if you’re not quite in the right position (which is common for beginners).
  2. You don’t necessarily need to take a “beginner” specific class. Pretty much any position in yoga can be modified to suit whatever level you are at, including if you have certain physical limitations. If you’re worried, just talk to your instructor about it.
  3. Let go of your expectations, and start exactly where you are. It is perfectly fine if you can’t touch your toes or do the super intense version of the poses. What really matters with yoga is being able to connect with your body.
  4. Make sure you have the right equipment. All you really need to practice yoga is a non-slip mat, comfortable clothes, and maybe some straps, blankets, and blocks. Depending on where you take your yoga class, these things may be provided for you. 
  5. Take it slow and don’t try to rush. Yoga is as much about meditation and mindfulness as it is about exercise.