The Circle of Wellness

Are you well? At the heart of that casual question, asked in everyday conversation, lies the secret to living a life of optimum balance and vitality.

If you could taste wellness, what would it be like? Perhaps like the first bite of a crispy, green apple. If you could smell it, it might smell like a rainy day, or a fresh loaf of farm style bread.

If wellness had a sound, it would probably be like a purring cat, and if you could touch it, it would feel like soft, green grass under bare feet.

But you can't taste, touch, hear or smell wellness. What you can do is feel it, in the all round glow of good health, zest and contentment that gives you the confidence to savour life to the full.

Far more than the simple absence of illness, wellness is a state of body and mind in perfect equilibrium. That noble and elusive ideal that goes all the way back to the Ancient Romans, whose prescription for the good life was 'mens sana in corpore sano', (a healthy mind in a healthy body).

Today we speak blithely about the body, mind connection, in an age when even the most humble spa or beauty salon takes pride in proclaiming itself a Wellness Center. But what does wellness really mean in practice, and how do you go about achieving it?

For one thing, wellness is the cornerstone of the Bodybuilding Lifestyle, which promotes and rewards healthier living in all its many facets. Wellness, and bodybuilding is a way for people to get more out of life. There's a lot more to it than just the physical aspect. Wellness is physical wellbeing, mental wellbeing, and social wellbeing, all wrapped up in one.

But being well doesn't mean you have to be perfect in every department. Wellness is a step by step process rather than an ultimate goal. There is never an optimal wellness level. Whatever you do to improve your wellness is better than nothing. It's an individual, ongoing process that each person must look at in their own setting.