A common misconception about holistic living is that it’s only about diet and exercise. The truth is that holistic living is about viewing yourself as a whole person – mind, body and spirit – and taking care of your entire being from the inside out. When you live a holistic life, you understand that you have bio-individual needs that are different from anyone else’s.

Each area of your holistic health has an impact on the others. Those 12 areas make up what The Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN) refers to as The Circle of Life.

Noting areas that are balanced offers you an opportunity to nurture (and celebrate!) what’s working for you, while actively focusing on areas that feel out of balance can integrate more satisfaction and groundedness into your life.

As you review the 12 areas of holistic living below, consider which areas feel in or out of balance in your life right now. Give yourself grace as this isn’t about getting the circle “right” or “wrong,” but continuing to get to know yourself.

The Circle of Life for Holistic Living

1. Spirituality

Finding meaningful connections that allow you to view life with deeper significance, such as your identity, values, sense of purpose or something else greater than yourself. This isn’t to be confused with religion or dogmatic beliefs and is a more personal experience that can shift over time.

2. Creativity

Self-expression in whatever medium feels right for you such as drawing, kitting, cooking, playing an instrument or dancing. It’s more than just an artistic output or efforts to monetize your hobbies; it can be the ability to make connections between existing ideas or coming up with new solutions to common problems.

3. Finances

Understanding and being in control of your finances in a way that helps you feel grounded, free, comfortable and confident. This is a source of joy or stress for us all and often an essential part of health.

4. Career

Having a career or purpose that nourishes you and compensates you fairly to bring balance, satisfaction and well-being to your life. As most of us spend more than half our lives at work, it’s important to find ways to be fulfilled in this arena.

5. Education

Education can mean exploring traditional formats for acquiring knowledge, like going back to school, taking online courses, as well as nontraditional formats, such as engaging in self-study or staying curious through your experiences to continually grow.

6. Health

Taking care of yourself and your multidimensional health for your mind, body and spirit to improve your overall happiness, health and ability to feel satisfied.

7. Physical Activity

All movement counts. Walking, running, weight lifting, dancing, simple stretches – find a form of physical activity that helps you feel your best without depleting your mental or physical energy.

8. Home Cooking

Sharing food with loved ones, reducing food waste, knowing what ingredients are in your meals, improving your cooking skills and feeding yourself as an act of self-care.

9. Home Environment

Your physical living space, the people you interact with regularly, your neighborhood and your natural surroundings. On a large scale, it’s also your city, state and country. Your home environment includes everything that surrounds you throughout the day and has the potential to energize or drain you.

10. Relationships

Your connection to other human beings who can provide forms of support, a sense of belonging and love.

11. Social Life

Engaging in activities to build new connections, maintain existing friendships, chatting with a stranger or building a sense of belonging in your community.

12. Joy

Joy is the experience of positive emotions through physical expressions or a felt sense of being. This expression is different from happiness, which is based on happenings, and is experienced when you connect with something in alignment with yourself and your values. 

When you’re feeling disconnected from your body and your mind, when you feel like something is missing or out of balance and when you’re not sure whether your efforts are aligned with your values – evaluate your circle of life.

Assessing these 12 areas is your introduction to holistic living – to improving your self-awareness, practicing mindfulness, self-care and community-care, embracing natural remedies and cultivating positive relationships with yourself, others and the environment.

Get a visual representation of your circle

Using this visual, make a list for each area about ways you can improve and ways you’re doing your reasonable best. Remember, this isn’t about right or wrong, but about improving your self-awareness and satisfaction with your life as it is while you continue to make positive changes.

Ask yourself questions such as

• Am I satisfied with my relationships?
• Am I happy in my career?
• Is my health where I want it to be?
• How can I practice spirituality?

Find balance where you feel stuck.