The Six Pillars of Health are Interconnected

One of our defining beliefs at Wellness Garage is that when it comes to your health you have to consider ALL of the six pillars of health.

Over the years, we have provided the clinical evidence to support each lifestyle behaviour individually:

• Nutrition 
• Exercise
• Sleep
• Stress Tolerance
• Relationships
• Purpose

In our coaching programs, we have always stressed that the power of these behaviours lie in the fact that they are interconnected.

Our clinical health counsellor Noral recently created an internal guide for our team showing just how each behavior is impacted by, and impacts each other behaviour.

Take a moment to go through this grid and assess yourself.

(Apologies, but this grid needs to be viewed from a desktop or tablet - it's worth the effort!)

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	Nutrition	Exercise	Sleep	Stress	Relations	Purpose
Nutrition	What are you eating?  Are you eating whole foods? Hydration? Volume? Timing? ​	​ Are you eating for energy? Eating to support your activity level & fitness goals?	Are you timing your eating to optimize sleep & digestion? Are you snacking before bed?	Are you eating when stressed?  What strategies do you have for stress eating? ​How is your gut health?	Who do you eat with?  What is meal time like? Who does the cooking?  What pressure is there to eat a certain way?Home? Work? Social?	What is your relationship w/ food- what purpose does it serve for you? What family, work  & cultural influences are there?
Exercise	Are you getting adequate nutrition for your fitness goals? Adequate food macros, quality & timing?Hydrating for exercise?	What is your exercise strategy?  What are you doing: cardio, strength, functional movement? What are your goals?	How does your exercise affect your sleep? When is the best time for you to exercise to optimize sleep?	Do you find exercising relaxing?  Do you add recovery time? -Do you walk mindfully? Are you getting outside?  Yoga, Thai Chi? ​	​ Who do you exercise with?  Do you incorporate friends & family to share in your activities? Where do coworkers fit in?	What purpose does exercise serve for you?  Is it part of your identity? Do you want to remain fit & healthy for your family or job? ​
Sleep	How does your nutrition affect your sleep?  Timing? Specific foods? What role does alcohol play?	How does your exercise affect your sleep? When is the best time for you to exercise to optimize your sleep? ​	Are you getting adequate sleep?  Do you give yourself enough time to sleep?  Do you have a bedtime ritual? Is your room and  schedule conducive to sleep? Shift work? ​	Do you practice a wind down routine at night? Shut off your device? Schedule sleep into your day to day routine (shift work)?	How does your sleep behaviour fit into the context of your work and family life? Do you need to change anything? What can you do to prioritize sleep?	Sleep is an important fact for health & well being.  Do you value it? Do you prioritize it? Why? Why Not?
Stress	Are you eating when stressed?  What strategies do you have for stress eating?What role does food & nutrition play in your overall well being?	Do you find exercising relaxing?  Do you add recovery time? - Walking mindfully? Getting outside?  Yoga, Thai Chi?  ​	Do you practice a wind down routine at night? Shut off your device before bed. Make your room conducive to sleep?	What strategies do you have for managing stress?  What are your beliefs about stress? Do you practice self care? Self compassion? Do you have hobbies or sports that help you get in the flow? Mindfulness? Meditation? Yoga?	How do you manage conflict in your life to alleviate stress?  What strategies do you use to leave work stressors at work and not bring them home? How do  your relationships support you family, friends, coworkers?	Are you living  in the present in your life? Are you practicing stress recovery with planned  time off, holidays, self care, etc.?
Relations	Who do you eat with?  What is meal time like? Who does the cooking?  What pressure is there to eat a certain way?	Who do you exercise with?  How can you incorporate friends & family to share in your activities?Where do coworkers fit in?	How does your sleep behaviour fit into the context of your work and family life? Do you need to change anything? What can you do to prioritize sleep?	How do you manage conflict in your life to alleviate stress?  What strategies do you use to leave work stress at work and not bring it home?  How do your relationships support you-family, friends, coworkers?	Who is in your life to support you?  Who drains you? What do you do to nurture positive relationships and let go (or compartmentalize) ones that drain you? ​How do you show gratitude?	What purpose do the relationships in your life serve? How do you nurture the important ones? What roles do you play?- parent, coworker, boss, etc.
Purpose	What role does nutrition play in your life? Is it functional? Do you feel better with whole food? Vitality?  ​What work, family, cultural influences affect your food choices?	What role does exercise serve in your life? Do you feel better when you can move carefree & pain free? Do you have goals? How do they shift with age and life circumstances? ​	Sleep is an important fact for health & well being.  Do you value it? Do you prioritize it? Why? Why Not?	Are you living  in the present in your life? Are you practicing stress recovery- time off, holidays, self care, etc? ​	What purpose do the relationships in your life serve? How do you nurture the important ones? What roles do you play?- parent, coworker, boss, etc.  How do roles affect your relationships & actions?	Are you happy with your life?  What are your dreams for your future? What will be your legacy to your family? friends? coworkers?  ​What are you grateful for? What do you want to change? Where does your health fit into the bigger picture?