I become more convinced each day that the majority of problems people bring into psychotherapy or into their medical practitioner’s office reflect to some degree an unbalanced lifestyle. It may not be the only cause of the current problem, but lifestyle issues are often a very active and reversible contributor.

Consider each of the following five areas of your life. By spreading your fingers open with your finger tips resting on a table top like you are making a spider, you can easily visualize these "five legs of a balanced lifestyle". I invite you to ask yourself: Am I giving each area enough attention? Which areas are naturally strong for me? Which seem naturally weaker? Give yourself credit for the strong ones; you have taken care of yourself in these areas. These strong "legs" can support you when hard times arise in some of the other areas of your life.

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Regrettably, many people experiencing significant life adjustment or emotional problems, lean hardest on their weakest leg, perhaps because it seems to be the one causing all the discomfort. For example, a physical illness might lead to giving all of one's attention to their "physical leg" while ignoring the support available from the other four. This misplaced focus may lead to a downward spiral of frustration, exhaustion and a deepening sense of despair. Not a very good place to be putting all of your energy! Better to invest more of yourself in the other, more fully-functioning areas which can help the physical problem heal. It's a rather simple notion: keep the strong parts strong to provide the weak with support and nurturing. The goal is balance and wholeness; mindful attention to all aspects of our body, mind and spirit.

A logical first step on the road to a stress-managing lifestyle is to cultivate greater AWARENESS. The realization that we are not our thoughts or our feelings is an early break-through for many seeking greater self-understanding. As we can be the observer of our thoughts and feelings, there must be a part of us that’s separate and even “above” them. That observing part of ourselves is our true ally in shaping our lifestyle habits. We can let go of negative thoughts and feelings only after we become aware of them and are motivated to let go when we see their true impact on our lives; we can chose a better option. With mindful awareness, we can chose to RESPOND to a given situation in a healthy manner instead of REACTING to it with our old, unhealthy ways.

Meditation is for many, an excellent exercise of this “awareness muscle”. It’s a training discipline for learning to direct our mind’s point of attention; where we’re spending our mental energy at any given moment. It’s a fantastic way of watching our mind at work!! The illustrations that follow represent the power of mindful awareness and how our choices impact the cycle of stress and the resulting recovery & health OR even greater stress & eventual breakdown.