Practicing Holistic Health

Posted: February 27, 2024 | Author: Savannah Price | Read Time: 3 minutes

Here at the SUU Health and Wellness Center, we are dedicated to helping you with any challenges you may have. From lists of resources to de-stress items, we at the Health and Wellness Center will do our best to get you what you need! Among our many resources and tools is another approach to health and wellness that often goes overlooked. The study and implementation of holistic health treatments are more than just well rounded healthcare, it’s an opportunity to explore new and exciting practices to improve your overall health, including mental, physical, and spiritual health.

What is holistic health? “Holistic health is an approach to wellness that simultaneously addresses the physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual components of health”. What are the focuses of holistic health? According to St. Catherine's University, there are six main elements that a holistic health practitioner may examine: mind, body, spirit, people, culture, and environment. They may ask questions like “What are the body’s needs for nutrition, sleep, exercise, and rejuvenation?” “How can we connect with the divine, with nature, with ancestors, and with other sources of deep purpose and meaning beyond oneself?” Or “What can one’s culture teach us about living healthily and well?” In many ways, questions like these can help us to step outside of ourselves and find new ways to approach our lifestyle and choices.

So, why do we advocate for holistic health at the SUU Health and Wellness Center? Lately, we have put a lot of energy into focusing on mental health—and for very good reasons! However, there is so much that both visibly and subconsciously impacts our mental health. The Health and Wellness Center wants to bring awareness to these issues, why they’re connected, and how they affect different areas of our health. Instead of focusing on only one part of our health, a well rounded study of holistic health topics can help us to discover ways to help us find alternative treatments that we may not have learned previously. In essence, we want to help you to fill in the gaps of knowledge about potential improvements that can be made in our lives through a holistic approach.

What are some of the resources and topics of holistic health that we have at the Health and Wellness Center? Primarily, we are partnered with SUU Recreation to incite connection between fitness aspects of physical and mental health. We also direct students to SUU Outdoors and the local community to help students discover events that help students get out into nature and try holistic practices such as grounding or earthing, done by “making direct skin contact with the surface of the Earth, such as with bare feet or hands, or with various grounding systems”. We also try to encourage students to connect with others—whether that be the staff of the Health and Wellness center, or others in the center—as connecting with others can greatly improve our attitude and allows us to make new friends! We also have a list of resources for many areas of health like occupational, environmental, and physical—among others, such as financial wellness and academic preparedness—and a calendar of upcoming events on our website. We want our center to be a place to explore and learn more about your health and wellness, to create conversations about holistic health and how we can lift ourselves and each other up.

Southern Utah University is a place of learning and growth, and while we aren’t a class nor do we have all the answers, we have tons of resources to help you grow during your time at SUU. Feel free to stop by the Health and Wellness Center if you have any questions about our services, or even just to make new friends! All are welcome!

Tags: Health and Wellness