What does being WELL mean?

Wellness has many dimensions. Physical 'wellness' is generally the first we think of. Suitable levels of fitness, body weight, muscle strength and flexibility, good nutrition, sleep and postural wellness are all important in living 'well'. But let's not forget mental 'wellness'. The ability to handle stress, control negative thinking and recognise and understand our emotions are very important if you wish to live a productive and satisfying life. And then we have relationship 'wellness' which takes into account our need for meaningful and lasting connections with others and the ability to communicate with people in all areas of our lives - at home, at work, in friendships and the people we come in contact with on a daily basis. Let's not forget organizational 'wellness' where mentoring and coaching programs can improve the culture and attitude of the people who spend a large proportion of their life at work.

Last week I had the privilege of spending three days with the team of lecturers from RMIT who I will be joining in teaching the Masters of Wellness program this year. I listened with interest to them describe their course content and had a chance to reflect on where wellness coaching fitted in. Ranging from positive psychology to permaculture, food science to wellness assessment, intuitive healing, eastern anatomy and yoga to mention a few, it really brought home to me the depth of the concept of wellenss. When I am asked my work, I explain that I coach people to help them achieve 'optimal mental and physical health' which gives me some boundaries to operate around. But the reality is that wellness pervades every area of our personal and professional life so the boundaries are imaginary. When we consider community wellness and global wellness, we start to realise just where this area of learning can stretch to.

So where do we as wellness coaches draw the line and do we need to draw the line?

I have noticed over the years that when a person desires change in one area of their life, such as let's say 'increased fitness' or 'weight loss', and they write a vision around what they want in this area, it often expands to include other changes that they hadn't previously thought of. It's as if the question 'why do I want to be lighter?' stirs up the motivation to improve other areas such as professional satisfaction or improvements in relationships. It may be simply to have a less 'cluttered' existence. This is what makes wellness coaching endlessly fascinating and rewarding.