The 7 Dimensions of Wellness in a Nutshell

August is Wellness Month and we’ve put together an overview of the 7 Dimensions of Wellness.

Consider designing your own wellness program for August with good planning and a goal to sustain and build on it!

We’ve also provided a fillable Wellness Month Calendar that you can print out to use and we created a month of daily suggestions to inspire you. There’s other tools described available for your use that might help too.

What are a few of the dimensions below that you might like to work on? How can you apply changes successfully on a daily or weekly basis in order to make a habit of them?


1. PHYSICAL WELLNESS

Move more and eat better.

Tips and suggestions:

• Exercise daily.
• Control your meal portions.
• Eat healthy foods/avoid processed and junk foods.
• Get adequate rest.
• Protect yourself against injuries.
• Learn to recognize early signs of illness.
• Use alcohol in moderation or not at all.
• Stop smoking and protect yourself from second-hand smoke.

Without physical health, it is more difficult to be mentally and emotionally healthy, so the two key components are to exercise and eat well. Improving physical wellness involves personal responsibility and often leads to the psychological benefits of enhanced self-esteem, self-control, determination, and a sense of purpose.

Another important element — we think very important in your wellness practice — is to use mindfulness to manage your compulsions and obsessions that drive bad habits. In fact, if you can’t necessarily add good behaviors during Wellness Month, start by mindfully trying to remove bad behaviors.


2. EMOTIONAL WELLNESS

Develop mindfulness and optimism skills.

Tips and suggestions:

• Tune-in to your thoughts and feelings.
• Cultivate an optimistic attitude.
• Seek and provide support.
• Learn time management skills.
• Learn meditation and mindfulness techniques.
• Learn stress management techniques.
• Deal with anger constructively.
• Accept and forgive yourself.

Emotional wellness is by nature a dynamic state that fluctuates along with your other six dimensions of wellness. It is important to develop a positive outlook on life and surround ourselves with positive people. Uniquely, time management is an important factor of emotional wellness, allowing time for ourselves and minimizing stress-induced situations.

Practicing mindfulness helps to really be present in the moment so you don’t jump onto the wrong emotional train. Expressing your feelings of love, gratitude, and other positive feelings can help alleviate alienation. During Wellness Month you might pick just a few negative habits to weaken, using your own daily prayers to reinforce your efforts.


3. INTELLECTUAL WELLNESS

Stimulate and inspire your brain.

Tips and suggestions:

• Take a course or workshop.
• Teach others.
• Learn or perfect a foreign language.
• Seek out people who challenge you intellectually.
• Read books and watch more educational programs.
• Attend museums, exhibits, and theater.
• Travel and explore other cultures.

The intellectual dimension encourages learning, growth, and creativity. An active and open mind leads to a life filled with curiosity, passion, and purpose. Just as our bodies need motivation and exercise, so too our minds. If we are not intellectually stimulated, life can be mundane and this can lead to depression and resentment.

Tied to our emotional wellness, it is easy to compare and judge ourselves if we don’t feel intellectually competent or aren’t comfortable with and made peace with our own capacity. To ensure our personal maximum intellectual wellness we can take advantages of available resources to find new hobbies, read, take a course — simply keep learning!


4. SOCIAL WELLNESS

Cultivate friendships and contribute to community.

Tips and suggestions:

• Cultivate healthy relationships.
• Contact old friends and make new friends.
• Get involved.
• Contribute to your community.
• Share your talents and skills.
• Communicate your thoughts, feelings and ideas.

Personal connections contribute to a long and fulfilling life — whether they are family, friends, community groups, or even global connections. When you nurture relationships you create healthy support networks, contribute to the greater good, and builds a sense of belonging.

This means practicing good communication skills and developing intimacy with others. Social wellness also includes showing respect for others as well as yourself. An active social life can be incredibly stimulating and conducive to positive changes in all seven dimensions of wellness.


5. SPIRITUAL WELLNESS

Nourish your soul and open your heart.

Tips and suggestions:

• Explore your spiritual core.
• Spend time alone to reflect.
• Meditate regularly.
• Take pauses to pay attention to your breath.
• Be inquisitive and curious.
• Try to be fully present in all you do.
• Listen with your heart and live by your principles.
• Allow yourself and those around you the freedom to be who they are.
• See opportunities for growth in the challenges life brings you.

When we develop a set of guiding beliefs and principles it gives a sense of meaning and purpose to our life. Keeping an open mind in a spirit-centered life may bring up thoughts of despair, fear, and doubt as we grow, but out of it can come joy, happiness, and wisdom.

It is important to spend quiet time each day, reflecting or meditating, or simply pausing to take a few minutes to breathe properly. Spiritual wellness includes developing a deep appreciation for the depth and expanse of life and natural forces of the universe.


6. ENVIRONMENTAL WELLNESS

Love and care for the planet.

Tips and suggestions:

• Stop your junk mail.
• Conserve water and other resources.
• Minimize chemical use.
• Reduce, reuse, recycle.
• Rethink your living space.

To be environmentally well we need to be aware of the delicate state of the earth and the effects our daily habits have on the physical world. When we help to take responsibility for the health of the planet we can bring a sense of accomplishment and well-being into our own life.

It is also important to be aware of our home environment — how the materials and objects we choose to surround us have an effect on environmental wellness. The more we get out into nature mindfully the more we will understand this. We need to remember that we are an integral part of the environment and that caring for the environment is self-care.


7. VOCATIONAL WELLNESS

Use and give your skills.

Tips and suggestions:

• Explore a variety of vocation options.
• Create a vision for your future.
• Choose a career that suits your personality, interests and talents.
• Be open to change and learn new skills.
• Balance work with life.
• Learn to budget your lifestyle with your vocation compensation.
• Use unemployment or retirement to hone your skills or develop new ones.
• Volunteer your vocational skills if you aren’t fulfilled at work.

This dimension of wellness focuses on enriching your life and that of others by sharing your special gifts, skills, and talents. Our job may not fulfill us, we may be unemployed or retired, but there are always ways to use our skills, knowledge, and passion in other meaningful ways to serve our family and society, and to enhance our self-esteem.

Vocational wellness also involves preparing, planning, and creating a positive attitude to reshape your personal goals at work. Whether through work, parenting, or volunteering, you can make a strong impact and reap the health benefits of adding purpose to your life.

Are you inspired yet? Ready to fill out your Wellness Calendar? Let’s get started together!


If these tools, tips, and teachings we’ve compiled are helpful to you, would you consider making a small donation to Newark Center for Meditative Culture? We are a New Jersey 501(c)(3) non-profit organization. Your tax-deductible donations make it possible for us to continue delivering life-changing programs to the Greater Newark community and beyond.

 


Yoga-Meditation Course: 7 Chakras — Meditation, Mantras & Movement

An online yoga-meditation course where we’ll talk about each chakra, meditate on it, and move through it. Beginner to intermediate students.

Taught by ELLA MONCUR

STARTS MONDAY, AUGUST 10TH
OPTIONAL: Attend 4, 5, or 6 Sessions

ENROLL NOW

Dates Mondays, August 10, 17, 24, 31 & September 14, 21

Time 6:00pm to 7:00pm

Platform: NCMC ZOOM

Fee Scale: $45 for 4, $50 for 5, $55 for 6

Supplies Needed Please use a yoga mat. Have water available. No need to wear yoga clothes if you don’t have. Instead wear loose or stretchy pants (not jeans).

Objective Talk about each chakra, meditate on it, and move through it.

Course Each session will open with an overview and discussion of the energy center of focus, followed by an active yoga flow specifically geared to asanas that will help to open these centers, and ending with a healing meditation using vibrational sound music specific to each chakra as well as a mantra used as the centering thought for the meditation.

Curriculum

Week 1 ROOT CHAKRA has a direct correlation to our adrenal glands. This chakra is all about our physical identity, safety and security and ability to ground.

Week 2 SACRAL CHAKRA is associated with orange and has a direct correlation to the gonads, testes and ovaries. It is all about creativity, how we navigate through our personal relationships and intimacy.

Week 3 SOLAR PLEXUS has a direct correlation to digestion, the pancreas and liver. It is about our personal power, will power, self-esteem, mental focus and sense of belonging and purpose.

Week 4 HEART CHAKRA is correlated to our immune system and systemic allergies. It is about our ability to trust, forgive, love, and patience and compassion for all living.

Week 5 THROAT CHAKRA is correlated to our thyroid, ears, sinus, allergies. It relates to self-expression, communication and ability to live and speak our truth.

Week 6 THIRD EYE & CROWN CHAKRA Our Third Eye is about connection to our intuition and guidance to live in alignment with our higher self. The Crown Chakra is the absolute knowing, connection to spirituality, integration of oneness.

ENROLL NOW


Teacher Bio-Note
Ella Moncur is a Registered Nurse, Health and Fitness Coach, Personal Trainer, Yoga Instructor, and Holistic Practitioner. She is the owner and founder of Just Be Holistic Health & Wellness https://www.justbenlh.com/ and is a Guest Instructor with NCMC.


A fee-based program of Newark Center for Meditative Culture a New Jersey 501(c)(3) non-profit organization.


Be Still Monday Zoom Sessions Continue: Enroll with Links Below

Mondays, May 18, June 1, and June 8: Enroll in as many FREE Zoom sessions as you like. You must register to access Meeting ID and Password:

10:00 AM Sessions
ENROLL AT: https://bit.ly/3bf8MTp
5/11 Re-Connecting with the Natural World (Cornelia)
5/18 Taking a Pause for Deep Relaxation (Andrea)
6/1 Chair Yoga: You Are Creator of Your Experience 1 (Ella)
6/8 Light Yoga: You Are Creator of Your Experience 2 (Ella)

1:00 PM Sessions
ENROLL AT: https://bit.ly/2WBvmQQ
5/11 Meditative Resurrection of the Daily Constitutional (Kazi)
5/18 Yoga: Relax & Renew — Making the Mind-Body Connection (Fadja)
6/1 Yoga: The Breath — Elevator and Regenerator (Fadja)
6/8 Re-Connecting with Our Inner Wellness (Cornelia)

7:00 PM Sessions
ENROLL AT: https://tinyurl.com/y8dafpmx
5/11 Building a Mindful Community (Kamilah & Andrea)
5/18 Mindfully Managed Stress: Using Your Toolbox (Kamilah)
6/1 Mindful Household Budgeting Workshop (Andrew)
6/8 Plant Spirit Meditation Medicine: Stress Resilience (Kazi)

Contact us at info@newarkmeditation.org with any questions.


FREE ON YOUTUBE: Distance Practice Offerings in April

For Stress Resilience, Well-Being, and Practice Development (Includes a Spanish-Language Offering)

Stress Resilience Meditation Series
Postings on Wednesdays 4/15, 4/22, 4/29, 5/6

A free series of four short talks with guided meditations (10 minutes each). Giving clear and concise advice, reflections, and effective simple-to-do meditations, teacher Kazi will emphasize the concerns of stress on health and how meditation and mindfulness can help you meet the challenges of your day with strength, patience, and wisdom. No registration required.
Subscribe to our YouTube Channel to get video post notifications.


Mindfulness Meditation & Qigong for Well-Being Workshop
Postings on 4/16 & 4/23

In this free two-part workshop (approx. 1/2 hour each), teacher Khalil Maasi will show you quick and simple methods that you can integrate into your daily regimen to boost your well-being.
Simple REGISTRATION REQUIRED to get ACCESS LINK to premier video. 


Mini-Meditaciones Guidas Básicas
Postings on Martes y Jueves 4/14, 4/16, 4/21, 4/23, 4/28, 4/30, 5/5, 5/7.

Una serie gratis de ocho charlas cortas y meditaciones guiadas (15 minutos cada uno) en español para no meditadores y principiantes enseñado por J. Javier Cruz que presentarán prácticas básicas de meditación y atención plena. El contenido será apropiado para adolescentes a través de personas de la tercera edad para ayudar a traer tranquilidad, reducir el miedo, reducir el estrés y abrir el corazón. Mire en grupos o solo. Se pueden proporcionar folletos en español.
No se requiere registro.
Suscribirse a nuestro canal de YouTube para recibir notificaciones sobre publicaciones de video.

¡Nuevo! Sección de Prácticas en Español en nuestro sitio web con hojas de práctica de meditación para individuos y familias.


Muscle-Tendon Changing Qigong for Wellness Workshop
Postings on Thursdays 4/30 & 5/7

In this free two-part workshop (1/2 hour each), teacher Shaka Georges will introduce you to Muscle-Tendon Changing Qigong through a series of exercises that coordinate with the breath. When practiced consistently they can enhance physical health and mental well-being dramatically. This form of exercise can be a key element to strengthen muscles and tendons and to promote strength and flexibility, energy and stamina, and balance and coordination of the body.
Simple REGISTRATION REQUIRED to get ACCESS LINK to premier video. 


Yoga for Creativity & Prosperity: 6 Week Course starts April 20th

Guest Instructor Fadja Robert-Carr (See bio at registration site)
Limited Seating Up to 12 students.
Level Beginning to Intermediate
Dates Mondays, April 20 to June 01 (No class on May 25.)
Time 6:00pm to 7:15pm
Course Fee $60 paid in advance online. (Refunds only until 4/2.)
Location 2 Park Place, Newark, NJ

ENROLL ncmc-yoga-creativity.eventbrite.com

Description This course addresses the sensory human holistically. Foundational exercises give people an experience of clarity, lightness and connectedness. The exercises and asana sequences are interspersed with talks on accessing creative energy and developing an attitude of prosperity. The kriyas and exercises are selected to clear the aura and activate the energy field, with a focus on the pranic body and breathwork. We explore where in our energy systems we manifest creative energy and ways to align and activate those energies in our daily practices. The series draws on asana, breathwork, meditation and select kundalini kriyas.

Objective Yoga Exercises to Increase Physical Vitality, Mental Focus, and Concentration.

Curriculum

Week 1 Self-Awareness and Breath
Week 2 The Sensory Human
Week 3 Focus and Concentration
Week 4 Flexibility and Alignment
Week 5 Foundational Posture
Week 6 Stress-Management

ENROLL ncmc-yoga-creativity.eventbrite.com

A fee-based program of Newark Center for Meditative Culture.

Contact us with questions at info@newarkmeditation.org


Tai Chi & Qi Gong: A Path to Health & Wellness starts Wednesday, March 25

6-WEEK COURSE

Visiting Teacher Shaka Georges (See bio at registration site.) Limited Space Up to 12 students.
Dates Wednesdays, March 25 to April 29 (3/25,4/1, 4/8, 4/15, 4/22, 4/29)
Time 6:30pm to 7:45pm
Level Beginning to Intermediate
Course Fee $60 paid in advance online. (Refund up to 4/28)
Location NCMC, 2 Park Place, Newark, NJ 07102

ENROLL NOW: ncmc-taichi-qigong.eventbrite.com

Description Tai Chi is known as “meditation in motion.” The practice of Tai Chi emphasizes the awareness of our body, mind, and the world around us, as well as the interaction of the three systems. Tai Chi teaches you to pay attention to your movements and the transition of your movements. This allows you to remain cognizant and engaged as you carry on your day to day activities. You are therefore more likely to avoid dysfunctional habits such as poor posture and movements that may lead to falls or painful muscles. Additionally, studies have shown that this focus improves your mental health. The thinking, mindfulness, or awareness required and bolstered by Tai Chi has been shown to improve your cognitive ability and actually make your brain grow!

Objective To help develop an active lifestyle in order to improve health and wellness.

Curriculum        

Week 1 Breath and Posture: Practice of deep breathing and walking meditation.
Week 2 Relaxation and Movement: Standing meditation and Wave Hands Like Cloud.
Week 3 Qigong Exercise: Practice of the 8 Pieces of Brocade and the Muscle/Tendon Changing.
Week 4 Opening of Tai Chi: Breakdown of the Tai Chi form into individual postures.
Week 5 Tai Chi Short Form: The practice of the 37-Movement Short Form.
Week 6 Putting It all Together:
In-depth performance of the Short Form.

ENROLL NOW: ncmc-taichi-qigong.eventbrite.com

A fee-based program of Newark Center for Meditative Culture.

Contact us with questions at info@newarkmeditation.org.


REVIEW: A Day of Firsts — The First Retreat in Our First Home

ON SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 23rd we held our first retreat in our first home at 2 Park Place. The topic was Community-Building with Clarity & Compassion. You can see from the faces of the students that it was a wonderful experience! It was fitting that Rebecca Li led the retreat as she has been supporting programs with NCMC since 2012.

We are grateful to her for dharma and meditation teachings as practiced by Dharma Drum, to Leslie of I’m So Yoga for her yoga session, and to Kathryn Davis of Heart of Mind Radio for her qigong session.

And what a great team of volunteers we had! Thank you to Ella and Ivette for their retreat day support, to Tenisha for social media promotions, and to her daughter Ariyan for the fantastic photos. We are grateful for the delicious vegan meal, a kind donation prepared by a veteran caterer, Vijaya Dharmapuri.

A special thanks to Jennifer, General Coordinator; Vijay, Food Coordinator; and Javier, Deputy Coordinator, as well as to Andrea, our Treasurer, for registration coordination.

The students were awesome, engaged, and attentive — comprehending with keen awareness the powerful yet invisible dynamics of community.

See more photos in our Retreat Album on Facebook.


DAY-LONG RETREAT: Community Building with Clarity & Compassion

Led by teacher REBECCA LI with Kathryn Davis & Leslie.

MEDITATION | MINDFULNESS | YOGA | QIGONG | DHARMA TALK | DISCUSSION | VEGGIE LUNCH

Sunday, February 23, 2020
Newark Center for Meditative Culture, 2  Park Place, Newark, NJ

REGISTER NOW! (Link will take you to Eventbrite.)

Choose Full or Half Day Participation:
Full-day: 10:00am-4:30pm
Half-day: 10:00am-2:00pm -or- 12:30pm-4:30pm

A donation-based Program, suggested:
Adults
$30 full / $20 half
Students 18+ $20 full / $15 half
Youths 7-17 Free accompanied by adult.

In this day-long retreat, the invisible yet powerful dynamics in community life are discussed, encouraging practitioners to cultivate a keen awareness of them to engage in community life with wisdom and compassion. Dharma and meditation teacher Rebecca Li will lead this retreat that will include guided meditation, mindful movement practice, dharma talk, and discussion. As well, Leslie will lead a gentle yoga session in the morning while Kathryn Davis will lead a flowing qigong session in the afternoon.

Appropriate for beginners and experienced participants. Youths aged 7-17 who can sit quietly are welcome to attend with adults for free. Vegetarian lunch included. Wheelchair access, ground floor.

REGISTER NOW!   (Link will take you to Eventbrite.)

For inquiries contact us at info@newarkmeditation.org.

A donation-based program of Newark Center for Meditative Culture.


Why meditate? … Why tie your shoes?

Like many things we do regularly, as monotonous as they might appear, there is always a purpose. We choose good purposes and bad purposes. To develop mindfulness and meditation can open your eyes to what is truly in front of you and help you to make good choices. It is proven to reduce stress and bring more focus to your mind. Done in community it expands to our ever-evolving culture and can result in a more collective peace of mind. You might even tie your shoes more skillfully, and as if for the first time.

Weekly Meditation & Mindful Movement | Tuesdays, 6:30 to 7:45pm | 2 Park Place, Newark, NJ | Donation-based, Youths free. | Translations in Español and Português available. Family friendly. | There will be no class on Nov. 26th.

SIGN UP • REGISTRATE AHORA

 


Meditation & Mindful Movement Classes: 10-Week Series

Tuesdays 6:30pm to 7:45pm
2 Park Place, Newark NJ

In this 10-week series you will learn and practice with J. Javier Cruz and Jennifer Becher both meditation and mindfulness along with mindful movement and how to integrate the practice into your daily life to bring less stress and more love and peace into it. Family friendly. Bring youths who can sit quietly. There will be no class on Nov. 26th.

DONATION-BASED (donate what you can and when you can).
For more information: info@newarkmeditation.org