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A Brick in the Foundation: Environmental Health Back to Enhancing Your Power Supply |
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| by Jennifer Bloome | |||||||||||
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In the article “Laying the Foundation for Wellness,” I described six dimensions
or factors that help us achieve balance in our lives: physical, emotional, social, environmental, spiritual, and
intellectual. When you achieve a balance of these factors, you maintain both good health and quality of life.
Each of you will have your own balance of these factors to maximize your wellness. Over the next several months,
this column will be dedicated to exploring each dimension and how you can use it to improve your health.
This month is dedicated to environmental dimension. From your innermost thoughts that run your inner environment to the actions of others on the other side of the world (or galaxy, if you are a Star Trek fan), every aspect of your environment affects your health. The key to this dimension is identifying what is in your inner and outer environment.
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More from Jennifer Bloome | Close your eyes. Imagine that you are sitting on the end of a dock on a large lake. The sun is bright
and the air is warm so you decide to put your feet in the water. As you watch your feet go into the water, you
notice the gentle ripples that begin to radiate out from your feet; concentric rings, moving farther and farther
away from you as they continue to expand.
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Like the ever-expanding ripples on a still body of water, you can think of your environment as being a set of concentric rings, radiating out around you. Within each of the rings, you interact with that environment with all of your senses. The most inner ring is your internal environment. What are your thoughts, your feelings, your connection to spirit? What is your diet like — what are you putting in your body? What type of toxins might be part of your food? How are you sleeping? Consider the next ring is the room around you. How comfortable do you feel in this room? How is the light? What is your view? How much “stuff” is in there with you? Is the room filled to capacity, are the papers organized, is the color appealing? How is the noise level? Are there any displeasing or pleasing scents?
Why Self-Care? |
Laying the Foundation for Wellness Guilty Pleasures A Brick in the Foundation: Social Support A Brick in the Foundation: Physical Health A Brick in the Foundation: Emotional Health Holiday Markers A Brick in the Foundation: Spirituality A Brick in the Foundation: Intellectual Health
One more ring out represents your home and any surrounding land. What types of toxins might be part of your home —
lead paint, water, chemicals? Is your home in good repair? Are your closets, basements, or attics filled with
unfinished projects, boxes of unused “stuff,” dark and dank? Where is your home located — do you have
quick and easy access to trees and nature, or are you in the middle of an urban setting?
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So, how does your environment affect your overall feeling of wellness? The fact that the information we bring in through our sensory systems affects our health should not be surprising. After all, our bodies are made up of vibrations, as are all other objects, smells, and sounds. If the frequencies are different, our body’s vibrations are thrown off, and we feel as if there is something not quite right. Perhaps the idea that we are all a mass of vibration is a new idea. So, let’s consider something that I think we can all agree is based on vibration: sound. Sounds: Both positively and negatively, sounds make an enormous impact on our lives. Science shows that people living near high noise areas such as airports and heavy traffic have 30% more stress related illnesses. In the same vein, children who were in schools with airplane noise performed poorer on standardized tests than peers without the noise. When we are exposed to music, our bodies naturally seek to come into the same rhythm as the music. Music that has a slower, gentler beat lowers blood pressure. Music that is loud and driving can be stimulating and energizing or can slip over the edge to over stimulating, leaving us unable to concentrate. Another, perhaps even easier aspect of environment to consider is nature. “Nature” is filled with trees, open land, grasses, beaches and water. This is the natural environment where life evolved. Only recently have we covered up the majority of nature with modern conveniences. How important is it to have nature in our lives? The effects of some natural environment factors are easy to assess. Clearly, living next to a nuclear waste site or the town dump will have more unpleasant effects as compared to living in a beautiful beach house with the view of white sand and turquoise blue water. But, on a deeper level, do we need nature? Again, science has started to give us some answers. Researchers have determined that people recovering from abdominal surgery who had views of trees from their hospital room left the hospital faster, required fewer pain medication, and needed fewer medications than their fellow patients who had only a wall in their view. Just including pictures of nature helped heart surgery patients to decrease their anxiety and need for pain medications. Including some form of nature seems to be an extremely important part of our environment. This is not new knowledge. The Chinese have known for centuries how important a role nature plays in our overall wellness. The fundamental basics of the Chinese art of Feng Shui are that your external environment creates your internal environment and that your space is a reflection of your life. These basics apply to everything from your finances to your health to your relationships. In order for your inner environment to be in the best condition possible, Feng Shui teaches us that we should bring as much of nature’s order into our homes as possible. We need a balance of elements to create a balanced life. Every aspect of your environment plays a role in how you feel on a daily basis. Some of the environmental factors are large and noticeable while others are more subtle. Even though you may be more apt to check out your physical and emotional dimensions when you are feeling unwell, taking the time to consider the environment may be well worth your effort. For more information on the resources and studies used in this article, or for more information on Feng Shui, please contact Jennifer Bloome at Jennifer@AnjiOnline.com. | ||||||
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