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Wellness is trendy. It gets a lot of attention these days.

But what is it, really? And if it's so worth having, how can we incorporate it into our already complicated lives?

"For me, wellness is physical, psychological, and spiritual," explains Dr. Badri Rickhi, a psychiatrist by training, and the Research Chair of Calgary's Canadian Institute of Natural and Integrative Medicine (CINIM), a research centre specializing in the evaluation of complementary therapies.

Wellness as a continuum

Wellness experts may use terms such as harmony or attunement to describe wellness, while in research, people report they consider themselves well if they have peace of mind, a feeling of hope or faith, and also, comfort with their own body.

"People may have a physical problem but think of themselves as feeling well," Dr. Rickhi says. "Wellness is satisfaction with the state that one is in."

Despite its potential to be labeled as yet another unattainable goal, wellness doesn't actually mean perfection. It's more of a continuum, than an absolute: a state of mind and being, instead of a status you need to attain.

Small steps can be meaningful

Everyone can create wellness, Dr. Rickhi adds. It doesn't have to be complicated, and it doesn't have to cost anything. The place to start is with our choices, taking small steps like drinking more water, or getting out for a walk after dinner instead of watching TV.

"Use different resources, so you make sure all your eggs are not in the same basket," advises Dr. Rickhi. "The more tools you have in your toolbox, the better."

Wellness has different aspects

All three branches of wellness are replete with potential tools. Creating wellness can mean focusing on practices that benefit one, or all of the three dimensions—body, mind and spirit.

• Water. Studies in hydration show most people don't get enough healthy liquids - especially water.
  
  "What people will notice if they are drinking enough water is initially, they feel no difference," says Dr. Rickhi. "But on the days when you forget to drink enough water, you notice you are missing it. It's indefinable, but it's there. People have stopped listening to the cues within their bodies," Dr. Rickhi laments.



• Healthy eating. Eating well, with a focus on seasonal foods is an important part of wellness. Think watermelon and cucumber in the summer and root vegetables in the winter.



• Healthful touch. Regular bodywork such as massage contributes to wellness. So does a foot rub, or even soaking in a tub with a few drops of lavender oil.



• Physical activity. When looking at activity level from a wellness perspective, more doesn't necessarily mean better.
  
  "We're affected by the culture that we live in—we're taught that exercise is great," says Dr. Rickhi. "So when will you know you are "better?" When you are doing 100 pushups a day? There is a competitive idea that more exercise is better, but how much exercise is enough?
  
  "If you are sedentary, increase your activity a little," suggests Dr. Rickhi. "Active people used to climbing mountains on the weekend could take time out, to rest and repair."
  
  Changing a habit for example drinking more water every day, getting off the bus two stops early and walking the rest of the way home or parking a short walk away from your destination can be hard. "It's usually difficult to get it going," acknowledges Dr. Rickhi. "I tell people, choose something, and do it for 21 days straight. Then it comes naturally, and it's not a sacrifice."

Satisfaction with the state that one is in proves elusive for many of us. Stress is a prime culprit. Engaged in the complexities of 21^st century existence, we live in the thrall of our sympathetic nervous systems—the seat of the adrenalin rush, otherwise known as fight or flight.

• Taking time to recharge. When we find time for true serenity, we experience what Harvard University researcher Dr. Herbert Benson famously described in the '60s as the relaxation response—profound changes in our bodies and minds including metabolism, blood pressure, heart rate, brain waves, and even the rate of our breathing. All of these activities in the body are controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system - control centre for the rest and repair aspects of the nervous system.
  
  Clinical studies have shown that changes in physiological processes controlled by the parasympathetic nervous system can help counteract the impacts of stress. For example, mind/body based stress reduction programs have demonstrated improvement in health conditions including hypertension, cardiac arrhythmias, pain, insomnia, allergies, premenstrual syndrome, menopausal symptoms and infertility.
  
  "Think of the horse out to pasture grazing," says Dr. Rickhi. "That's when the body repairs itself. I think the human body's natural default position is the parasympathetic. In our society, that has changed completely. People who are high functioning, and say, "Oh, I thrive on stress," are living in a way that pushes their default position to the sympathetic system, which is where the wear and tear takes place."



• Being fully present in our bodies and our lives. "As we become very scientifically progressive, we have a tendency to forget about our nature," reflects Dr. Steven Aung, an Edmonton-based family and geriatric physician, who recently received the Order of Canada in recognition of his work integrating Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and conventional medicine.
  
  Adapting to nature involves attunement—being present in your context, and in the world around you, instead of dashing through life in a preoccupied state, according to Dr. Aung.
  
  "Engage the senses," he says. "Let your ears hear the birds, hear the wind fluttering the leaves. Let your eyes see the blue sky, your tongue taste different tastes, your skin feel the warmth of the sun. In TCM, sensory experiences influence meridians (energy pathways in the body) and physiological processes. People are aware of their own bodies, but they don't know what's happening to the body from this perspective. The body suffers when it is not adapted to nature."
  
  Symptoms of this suffering are widespread. Drs. Aung and Rickhi cite the prevalence of depression, as well as physical signs of excessive stress, such as poor circulation, and lots of coughs and colds, as proof of bodies and lives out of balance.

Complementary therapies can play an important role in wellness

"Nobody has perfect health that I am aware of," says Dr. Rickhi, "but between perfect health and where you start to become ill, is wellness. That is where complementary and alternative therapies work the best."

"Traditional Medicines (such as TCM, Ayurveda and Tibetan Medicine) can give guidance to people in need of help," says Dr. Aung. With their emphasis on balance, and assisting the natural ability of the body to heal, practices drawn from these traditions, such as yoga, meditation, progressive relaxation, Qi Gong, and Tai Chi are recommended year-round.

"We need activity that is regenerative and repairs us," agrees Dr. Rickhi. Canadians familiar with complementary health practices and therapies would seem to agree. Half of people surveyed who report using complementary and alternative health care say they do so for wellness.

Well, how am I doing?

Though diagnostic tests can give you various measures, your own sense of how you are doing is the most important indicator of your wellness.

"I have found from my own observations and from research," says Dr. Rickhi, "that there is a high correlation between self-evaluation and objective measurements. People know themselves the best." Those little How am I doing quizzes in popular magazines can be good ways to take inventory, he adds. There are many examples of online quizzes as well.

From Dr. Aung's perspective, you know you are doing well, if you're doing good. Strongly influenced by the Buddhist tradition of his native Burma, he sees happiness and wellness as being attained by helping other people's wellbeing. "In the bigger picture," he says, "individual harmony leads to universal healing."

Compassion and wellness are closely connected

From Eastern and spiritual perspectives, "your intention is very important, no matter what you do," says Dr. Aung. Compassion for self, and for others, has long been thought to be good, and good for you, and there is growing evidence to support it - enough to interest Dr. Rickhi in doing a randomized control trial on spiritual themes which include compassion.

Dr. Rickhi's research centre in Calgary has conducted a study examining the impact of spiritual (but non-religious) practice, including progressive relaxation and meditation, on emotional distress. A second study, evaluating the impact of the same kind of spiritual practice on depression, is currently recruiting participants in the Calgary region.

Participants in the first study who took on the progressive relaxation and meditation practices involved in the program found they took more responsibility for themselves. At the same time, they found they felt more spiritual, in terms of showing concern for their fellow human beings, key elements, from Dr. Rickhi's perspective, in true wellness.

In high summer, as we are now, it's easier to be spacious in yourself, and with others. Most of us feel healthier, more vital, and energetic. But it can't be summer all the time for every body, says Dr. Rickhi.

"You prepare yourself for wellness," he observes. "You prepare for your relationship with your fellow human beings as well, cultivating kindness, compassion and gratitude. These are all healthful tools that you don't have to pay someone to get a response from. You have a role and a responsibility in influencing your environment as well."

Both Dr. Aung and Dr. Rickhi emphasize this theme of individual responsibility as the primary means of achieving wellness.

"Taking care of yourself in a way that makes yourself well, and other people happy, is one of the most important things you can do as a human being," says Dr. Aung, who cites author Leo Tolstoy when he says the purpose of life is to perfect oneself. In wellness, perfecting oneself doesn't mean being perfect—it means being the best you that you can.