What is Wholesome Living?
Wholesome Living is a lifestyle, a way of living wholesomely and holistically. There are many different aspects of wholesome living, and it’s difficult to separate them into organized categories, because they all overlap and are so intimately interconnected with each other. While the images below give somewhat of an overview of some key components of wholesome living, it still doesn’t do justice to explain how different aspects truly impact and affect each other. Everything in our lives is connected.
Let's address the elephant in the room...
The state of our world is in a place unlike anything in our recent memories. Earth’s ecological, human, environmental, social, health, educational, and political systems are in a severe state of crisis. There is a heightened level of fear that plagues our communities about every possible topic the news and media covers.
We are in such a state of panic, that we have lost sight of the bigger picture of why we’re here. We have lost sight of what it means to tune into ourselves and feel our emotions. To think about why we feel the way we do. and process them, as a way to learn more about ourselves and grow. To learn how to self-regulate and co-regulate when we’re feeling triggered, so we don’t take it out on others. To be understanding and empathetic of others and their perspectives and experiences – and to be able to listen from a neutral, non-judgmental place (even if you don’t agree, and it is okay to not agree). To understand that what our world needs is unity, even though everything we see and hear is doing the complete opposite of that. To realize that we don’t live in a vacuum, and that everything we think, feel, say, and do affects our communities and our world. To work through our own fears so that we can truly lead from pure, unconditional love. And with Wholesome Living… we can.
Who is Wholesome Living for?
Wholesome Living is not just for one specific group of people – this is available to everyone, no matter your age, background, experience, or any other identification factors. This lifestyle is ready and available to anyone who is open-minded and wants to continue to better themselves, those around them, their communities, and our world. Something unique and special about this lifestyle is that it is not a one-size-fits-all prescription. Not everything here will resonate with everyone, and that’s okay. In fact, that’s expected. We are all so unique and different and are in so many different places in our lives – and differences make our world so beautiful and fascinating. Maybe some things resonate with you now, and maybe some things don’t. Maybe some things will resonate with you 2 weeks, 5 months, 7 years from now. Maybe some things that once resonated with you no longer will after some period of time. Maybe some things will never resonate with you. This just means that you are in different places along your journey. This is all okay. Simply take what resonates, and leave what doesn’t.
How can I practice wholesome living?
A good place to start is by following Wholesome Living on social media and our blog posts. We post on our social media platforms (like Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter) most days of the week. We post on YouTube, our blog, and podcasts at least once a week. We are also active on our Patreon and on our Check out the image below to see where and how to find us!
Another great way to practice wholesome living is by checking out our resources page here to start exploring our suggested resources for learning about and practicing this lifestyle. Our resources page is a living resource and continues to be updated regularly.
Can I use Wholesome Living in my school, classroom, or other place of education?
Absolutely! In fact, that’s where and how Wholesome Living was born (more on that at the end of this post). Wholesome Living has also been proven to be very effective in the classroom environment. There are so many benefits of wholesome living for students, educators, and schools as a whole.
Think about it… Teaching has taken a massive hit over these past few years. Educators are leaving the profession at unprecedented numbers. They feel overworked, underpaid, unsupported, like students don’t listen, like student behaviors are becoming increasingly inappropriate, disrespected, confused … the list goes on, and it can feel overwhelming!
This leaves you, your classroom, your school, in a constant state of flux, uncertainty, stress, and frustration. As you know, this is not a healthy (or sustainable) way for a school environment to feel. And, of course, that’s not what you want. That’s not what we want.
We want educators to be and feel vibrant and eager about their teaching career and working with their students. We want educators to enjoy a healthy work-life balance. We want educators to engage in healthy relationships with their students. We want educators to use mindful and sustainable classroom management practices. We want educators to remember why they became teachers to begin with.
We want smiles to light up on our students’ faces when they’re learning and engaging with their learning environment. We want students to crave their education and learning about new and exciting things. We want students to feel nurtured and supported, as well as feel fully seen, heard, and understood. We want students to be equipped with all of the mindfulness tools necessary to live a wholesome life.
We want administrators to feel confident and secure about the wellbeing of their educational institutions. We want administrators to understand how to effectively communicate and exchange feedback with their staff in a genuine and empathetic way. We want administrators to feel supported by their community and for them to understand that they’re doing the best they can.
We want passion for education, overall well-being, and wholesome living to ooze out of all of our pores. If this is something that you want too, then Wholesome Living is the place for you. Check out our course, “An Introduction to the Mindful Classroom,” here, and keep an eye out for future courses (that are already in the making!). Wholesome Living also works directly with schools in the form of professional development sessions, school visits, and classroom visits (virtual and in-person). Please feel free to fill out our google form here, if you’d like to work with us.
How was Wholesome Living created?
Back in 2014 I was studying ancient/world history at NYU as a graduate student. I had, and still have, a profound love for history (I was on the path to getting a PhD in ancient history, specifically in daily life, goddesses, cultural connections, the role of the Mediterranean sea in the sharing of cultures, and more … yet, this is another story for another time). One of the biggest things that draws me to history is the interconnectedness of everything. Nothing exists in a vacuum. Everything is so intricately connected to everything else. And, to me, that is nothing short of absolutely fascinating and beautiful. And it was during my time at NYU when I started to see more and more of this interconnectedness – not just in history, but in all aspects of our lives today. It was at that moment when I started brainstorming different ways to show this interconnectedness to others and to bring these teachings into schools and to people in general.
After graduating from NYU, I decided to go into teaching – my teaching career began. I never set out to become a teacher, but I knew that this “interconnectedness” and this “wholesome lifestyle” was really important, and education seemed to be a natural way to start sharing this. Long story short, everything that Wholesome Living is – all of the content we post and share, all of the resources and teachings that I share from other people, all of the content in my courses, and everything that I teach in my professional development sessions and school and classroom visits started in my classroom. They have been my personal teaching practices for years. And, according to data, my students and myself have experienced drastic personal, educational, and professional benefits in and out of the classroom setting. Then, the schools I’ve worked at over the years have utilized me to lead professional development sessions and to support/mentor their teachers, as a result of the data and results they’ve witnessed firsthand. This is how Wholesome Living was born.
It is now time that I expand and deepen my reach as I help and support as many people as I possibly can. It is time that we, ourselves, start to live wholesome lives. It is time that we teach our students and children how to live wholesome lives. We owe it to ourselves, to our world, and our future generations to come.
How can you use wholesome living in your everyday life?
