A holistic framework to nurture every aspect of your health and wellbeing.
It's all a matter of balance.
I used to believe that being healthy simply meant exercising and eating well. However, life learning and experience has taught me that it entails so much more. To be the healthiest version of ourselves - and this is unique to each one of us - we need to adopt a wider holistic approach to health.
Although each of these pillars have their own primary focus and qualities, just as all things in life, they are not wholly separate from each other; there is an interconnectedness where one impacts another and the balance will shift, ebbing and flowing as we navigate life.
My 7-pillared approach provides a framework upon which to address the areas of our life that underpin our health and wellness. When we fully embrace such an approach to foster balance, we are in essence, allowing a deepening of the fusion of mind, body & spirit... and this is where the magic happens.
"By working on ourselves first, the ripple effect around us can be monumental."
- Lisa PictonEat for You
There is a direct correlation between our nutritional intake and our health. You are quite literally what you eat; food is more than just calories or energy to fuel our bodies, it communicates, directs and regulates every function in our body. A nutrient-rich diet will curate the environment for our magical inner universe to thrive, promoting an optimal level of health.
Food plays a vital role in our health. What we eat can influence overall wellbeing. A balanced nutritional approach may support your body's natural processes, helping to create the environment for your body to thrive when nourished appropriately.
My preferred approach is a non-restrictive 80:20 (ish) approach to eating whereby we establish strong foundations to include health-supporting, nutrient-rich foods whilst limiting ultra-processed foods. Equally I advocate giving ourselves permission to not be perfect, to savour the joy in our indulgences and the connection from social eating, without shaming.
Move for You
Exercise and movement are another keystone to health and longevity, playing a vital role in our overall health and positively impacting many of our body systems. Many proverbs spoken centuries ago by ancient philosophers recognise the importance of embodying movement for its benefits on mind, body and spirit - and this feels more important than ever in a sedentary, high stress society.
Regular movement is associated with numerous health benefits. If we can find a way to move daily in a way that you enjoy and energises you, it may become a great lever for supporting long-term wellbeing. If this can be done outdoors in nature, we can further enhance the physical and psychological benefits.
By combining cardio and strength training, we may create a powerful duo to support our overall health - with potential benefits for cardiovascular fitness, cognitive wellbeing, mood, and sleep quality when part of a balanced lifestyle.
"If you are in a bad mood, go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk." ~ Hippocrates
Rest & Digest
Rest and relaxation are such an important pillar to health but one which is so often overlooked. In today's modern world with the external stresses of life and poor lifestyle choices, we can spend too much time in a state of fight or flight. Although it has a purpose from an evolutionary perspective, it is not conducive to good health for our nervous system to be in overdrive.
We are elemental beings and just like in the cycles and rhythms in the natural world, we need to take time to deeply relax every day to get our nervous system into a state of rest and digest for our body to function properly. Deep breathing, meditation, grounding in nature, energy healing, and activities like yoga are shown to reduce physical and psychological stress.
A restful quality night's sleep is important for overall health. It impacts many aspects of our wellbeing as it is a time for our body to rest and recuperate. Good sleep hygiene is key for the body, mind and spirit, supporting cognitive function, mood stability, stress management, and natural body rhythms.
There is no truer message than in the well-known Zen Proverb: if you don't have time to meditate for 15 mins then you should meditate for an hour.
Follow Nature's Way
Toxin exposure through ingested products or environmental toxins affects our body systems - this is why I advocate a naturopathic approach to health and include this as one of my pillars to supporting optimal health and wellness.
Making more natural lifestyle choices may support overall wellbeing. It all starts with an intention and then the awareness of which areas in our life leave us open to less beneficial exposures that we can then take steps to limit or eliminate completely.
This can mean finding more natural alternatives to chemical-laden products, paying attention to what our skin absorbs through personal hygiene and skincare, making better choices with our food and drink, and being open to practices that support overall health and wellbeing.
It is also important to be mindful not only of what you expose your physical body to, but also any form of exposure that is disruptive and negatively impactful to your emotional and spiritual well-being: what you watch, what you listen to, what you read, the people you connect to, the places you spend time in, even the way you speak to yourself.
Live for You
Our spiritual wellness is a measure of our connection to ourselves, to everyone and to all things; it is a soul-led way of living that I believe to be an important keystone in our lives, fostering and encouraging a deepening interconnectedness in all of life.
Spiritual wellbeing is not borne of religion - spirit is another word for energy. Our bodies, just like all physical structures, are 99.9% empty space vibrating at an incredibly high speed frequency and surrounded by our own energetic field (our aura). This rapidly vibrating space is like an energetic 'matrix' with its own energy centres (our chakras) that underpin our physical bodies.
It is important that we balance, nurture, nourish and protect this system of subtle energies sacred to us. The mind, body, spirit elements for holistic wellness are not separate from one another - one influences the other - and so we must optimise each and recognise the interconnectedness if we are to live our most healthy and vibrant life.
Working with a practitioner in an energy healing modality is a great way to honour this aspect, and there are spiritual wellness practices we can weave into our lives that will nourish our spirit through addressing our internal dialogue, releasing anything vibrating at a low frequency, and practising tuning in to the higher frequencies of joy, love and gratitude.
Set Your Mind Free
Creative expression is an essential aspect of our emotional and psychological wellbeing and therefore has an important impact on our health. Whatever our belief system, as human beings we are an expression of co-creation. On an energetic level, creativity particularly resonates with the sacral chakra - our emotional, sexual, connection and creativity centre.
Creativity expresses itself in the opposite way to depression; whereas depression translates as being in a state of 'deep rest' and is an expression of stuck, stagnant energy, creativity is all about movement and flow which works best when we bring joy and pleasure into our lives.
We can experience imbalance and blockages when we store emotions and feelings of past hurt and unworthiness, also when our lives become all about duty and responsibility. We need to nurture and nourish our body not just with what it needs to survive on a physical level, but with what we need for it to thrive on an emotional level too - by allowing and enjoying the fanciful whims and pleasures in life!
Creative expression can take many forms: dancing, painting, baking, gardening, writing, photography, or flying a kite! It can be any kind of project or idea you want to bring to life. We are all creative - we just need to set our minds free.
Connect with Your Soul Family
Connecting with people who share the same moral compass and who raise each other up has the power to contribute to a higher level of wellbeing. A feeling of isolation and a lack of connection and belonging is linked to poor mental health and associated illness.
I believe that an important pillar to health and wellness is feeling part of a supportive, like-minded community who "see" one another and champion each other as they journey through life.
Energy is contagious, and a great way to support personal growth is to surround yourself with people who reflect who you want to be and how you want to feel. People who inspire you. Those people who will lift you higher and help to propel you forward on your life path.
"In my mind's eye, I often draw parallels between our journey to becoming higher versions of ourselves with the notion of paddling along the course of a river from its source to the sea; the scenery and landscape is ever-changing, depending on which point we are at. The course is carved and shaped and may split along the way, but we are always heading in the right direction. Sometimes we may choose the fast flowing path, paddling eagerly towards a short term destination or excitedly harnessing a surge of motivation, and sometimes we choose the gentler flow, but still a rhythm that maintains a level of momentum to keep us on course."
- Lisa Picton, Higher Health Alchemy CoachThe seven pillars offer a framework for transformation. My programmes provide the guidance and support to help you address each pillar and become the highest version of yourself.