07/11/2020
A nourishing home environment is an important aspect of holistic health. In fact, it’s one of twelve primary areas of wellness. 🏡 ☀️
Our homes have the potential to support and inspire us, or to drain us. We absorb our environment and it affects our mental and physical health. Of course, our households (i.e. house, apartment, etc) are included within this umbrella, but our neighbourhoods, cities and countries should also be considered.
Like many areas of holistic health, what constitutes a supportive home environment depends on the person. 🤸🏽♂️
A commonality between healthy home environments is they should help us fall into a parasympathetic state. This is when our nervous systems are in “rest and digest” mode; at ease, calm, peaceful. Perhaps inspired, motivated, creative, excited.
The opposite of this is when our sympathetic nervous systems are active, or in “fight or flight”. If our home environments kick start a sympathetic NS response, our cortisol (stress hormone) rises and we may feel anxious, overwhelmed, unsafe or irritated. Maybe we feel like we can’t express ourselves.
Take some time to imagine your ideal home environment. How does it feel? Look? Sound? Smell?
Some ideas for creating a supportive home environment:
• Curate your belongings; get rid of excess things you don’t use. A messy, overcrowded space is a messy, overcrowded mind. ☁️⚡️
• Get house plants to purify the air, boost mood and bring nature indoors. 🌱
• Learn about the power of Feng Shui, the ancient Chinese art of placement, and how it’s used to create balance of positive energy in spaces. 🛋
• Make your space yours. Show your personality and your preferences. If soft neutral colours make you feel serene, go for those. If bright colours and mixed textiles inspire your creativity, decorate as so. Your home is YOUR sanctuary and no Pinterest board can tell you what that should be. 🎨 🖌
What makes a healthy home environment for you? Comment below. 👇🏾
(For me, it’s 27 house plants, a salt lamp every 10 feet, and an ongoing cutting of “stuff”. 🤓)