What Are the Four Spheres of Health and Wellness?

The 'four spheres of health and wellness' is a conceptual framework to better understand how the mind and body connection works. I define the four spheres as emotional, psychological, spiritual, and physical. If we experience stagnation in one or more of the four spheres, then we may feel stuck in one or more areas of our lives. When we are flowing in all four spheres then we can experience more joy, connection and happiness.

So, if you are feeling stuck, try being curious — instead of critical — by asking yourself:

• Where in the four spheres am I feeling stuck?
• Do my actions match my words?
• What's my stress level on a scale from 1–10, and where in my body do I feel the stress?
• What tool from my toolbox might be helpful right now?

Emotional Sphere

We have four primary emotions (happy, sad, anger, fear). We experience all levels of intensity and various forms of these emotions throughout the day. Emotions are fluid, meaning they come and go like waves in an ocean, if we allow them to. If we become aware of our emotions in connection to our thoughts, then we can begin the journey of finding our flow in this sphere.

Try keeping a log of your thoughts and feelings when experiencing a stressor. Breathe and ask yourself: Am I hungry? Tired? Bored? Stressed? If you are feeling suicidal or hopeless or unable to function, call 911 or a national hotline at 988. You are never alone.

Psychological Sphere

Neuroscientists suggest that we have 60,000+ thoughts a day. And many of them aren't even originally ours — they're passed down from parents, caregivers, friends, and teachers: "I'm not smart enough," "I'll never be able to accomplish…" It helps to recognize that our thoughts are real, but not necessarily true.

If you'd like to become more aware of your thoughts, imagine a stop sign in your mind when you react to something, breathe, and ask yourself: What thought did I just have? Is this thought a fact? Do I have evidence to support it? What story am I telling myself right now? Over time you will likely find a pattern in your thinking and will see a connection between your thoughts, feelings, and behavior.

Spiritual Sphere

What is your connection to others? To a Higher Power? To the Universe? When we connect with our spiritual self, we also connect with our energy system. Here we are able to feel compassion and connection to ourselves and others. This can be achieved through energy modalities like EFT and logo-synthesis, and/or meditation, mindfulness and compassion practices, prayer, music, art, and more.

Physical Sphere

Our physical bodies are tangible. The quickest way to reconnect your mind and body is to practice a deep breathing technique: Count four breaths into your nose and breathe out 6 counts through your mouth. Square breathing is another technique — breathe in for 4, hold for 4, breathe out for 4, hold for 4. Add an essential oil of your choice and repeat a mantra to yourself (such as "I let go and go with the flow") and you will be even more grounded.