The 5 Pillars of Women’s Holistic Health
Low energy, painful periods, headaches, bloating – these are all signs that your health and potentially your hormones are out of balance.
Many women struggle with these issues, often without realizing that they are interconnected manifestations of underlying imbalance.
Nourishing your mind and body goes beyond just what you eat.
At the core of women’s holistic health are five foundational pillars:
Nourishment
Movement
Rest & sleep
Mindfulness
Clean living
Let's explore each of these pillars in-depth to understand how they can help you heal your mind, body, and hormones naturally.
1. NOURISHMENT
A balanced diet of macronutrients — carbohydrates, proteins, and fats — is foundational. Incorporating complex carbs, quality proteins, and healthy fats ensures that your body receives the essential nutrients it needs to thrive. Macros fuel your body’s functions, everything from immunity to tissue repair, muscle growth, hormone production, nutrient absorption, and more.
Micronutrients — vitamins and minerals — are essential for various physiological processes, including immune function, energy production, and cellular repair. Certain micronutrients are especially key for women’s health (like iron, for example). Deficiencies in essential micronutrients can come up as symptoms like fatigue, low mood, anxiety, and menstrual cycle abnormalities.
A diet rich in nutrient-dense foods is the foundation of mind-body health, supporting women’s health at every stage of life.
2. MOVEMENT
Movement is medicine for both body and mind. Movement isn't just about burning calories; it’s about honoring and celebrating the incredible capabilities of your body.
A healthy relationship with movement is one that prioritizes joy and self-expression over strict rules or expectations. The key is to find activities that bring you joy and fulfillment. Choose activities that make you feel good both physically and mentally.
Listening to your body is also essential when it comes to movement. Pay attention to your body's cues. If something doesn't feel right, don't push through pain or discomfort—instead, modify the activity or choose a different form of movement that feels better for you. Pushing yourself too hard or overexercising can lead to burnout, injury, and increased stress levels. Listen to your body's signals and give yourself permission to rest when needed.
By incorporating joyful movement into your daily life and resting as needed, you can nurture your mind, body, and soul.
3. REST & SLEEP
Quality rest and sleep are both essential for your holistic health. Rest and sleep work together to calm your nervous system and deeply heal your mind and body.
Your nervous system operates through two main branches: sympathetic (the "fight or flight" response) and parasympathetic (the "rest and digest" response). Lack of rest and sleep can shift the body into a stress state and prolonged activation of the sympathetic nervous system. Over time, this results in an imbalance marked by symptoms like elevated heart rate, hypertension, digestive disturbances, muscular tension, and impaired immune function.
On the other hand, making time for rest and sleep acts as a powerful antidote to the detrimental effects of chronic stress on the nervous system. Restful activities and deep, quality sleep help shift your body into the parasympathetic nervous system, which triggers a cascade of physiological responses that promote restoration and healing throughout the body: metabolism, hormones, immune function, brain health, and emotional stability (to name a few).
As you can see, the profound healing potential of rest and sleep are essential on your path to mind-body health.
4. MINDFULNESS
Mindfulness is simply being fully present in the moment, allowing yourself to tune into your thoughts and emotions with kindness and curiosity. It’s also an extremely effective way to reduce stress and boost your mood.
Use mindfulness as a stress management tool by bringing your attention to the present moment. From there, observe your thoughts, feelings, and sensations without judgment or attachment. This non-reactive awareness enables you to respond to stressors from a place of clarity and calm, rather than reacting impulsively or becoming overwhelmed.
Incorporating mindfulness into your daily routine doesn't have to be complicated or time-consuming. There are countless tools and techniques to help you drop more deeply into mindfulness.
From a holistic health perspective, mindfulness supports many levels of wellness. By cultivating more mindfulness in your daily life, you can create a solid foundation for the deeper layers of your wellbeing.
5. CLEAN LIVING
Clean living is a fundamental pillar of women's holistic health that encompasses many aspects of daily life, including food choices, product usage, and environmental considerations. At its core, clean living involves reducing exposure to toxins and harmful substances that can negatively impact your health.
It begins with mindful food choices that prioritize nutrient-dense, whole foods over processed and chemically-laden options. On top of that, many conventional personal care products, household cleaners, and cosmetics contain harmful chemicals and synthetic additives that can disrupt hormonal balance, irritate the skin, and contribute to long-term health issues. It’s also important to reduce toxins in both your home and external environment – including clean air and water, reducing plastic consumption, and supporting sustainable practices.
Reducing toxins through clean living practices has profound effects on women's holistic and hormonal health on many levels.
Holistic Balance
If you’re ready to explore these deeper layers of your holistic health, I invite you to join Holistic Balance — a virtual program I designed to walk you through women's foundational holistic health.
Inside the course, we move step-by-step through each of the five pillars of women’s health — empowering you to nourish your body, create a movement practice you love, prioritize restful sleep, reduce stress through mindfulness, and embrace non-toxic clean living practices.
You'll learn how to naturally heal the root cause of your symptoms through nutrition, lifestyle, and natural remedies.
