8 Foundations of Wellness
8 Foundations of Wellness
In our journey to achieve optimal wellness, it’s crucial to understand that true health is built on a foundation of interconnected principles. Our approach emphasizes the 8 Foundations of Wellness each playing a vital role in supporting your body’s natural balance and vitality.
By focusing on these 8 Foundations of Wellness, we empower you to take charge of your well-being and create a solid foundation for a healthier, happier life. Our holistic approach ensures that every aspect of your health is addressed, leading to profound and lasting changes.
We must provide our bodies with the raw materials that it UNDERSTANDS how to utilize—nutrient dense, properly prepared whole food as it is found in nature and the macronutrients in the right ratios for optimal energy production. This provides the proper balance and quality of protein, fat, carbohydrate, vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants that your body needs to thrive. The foundational piece here is of course clean, fresh water in amounts sufficient for your body and lifestyle. I focus on personalized nutrition plans that cater to your unique needs, ensuring that you’re fueling your body with what it needs to perform and maintain your optimal Health Span.
Nutrition
The Gut
Gut health is a cornerstone of optimal wellness. The gut is often referred to as your “second brain” for a reason. A happy gut is crucial not just for digestion, but for every function in the entire body. .. Your digestive system isn’t just about processing food—it’s home to trillions of microbes that influence immunity, hormone balance, mood, energy, and inflammation. A healthy gut absorbs nutrients efficiently, supports detoxification, and communicates directly with the brain through the gut-brain axis. When your gut is balanced, your whole system thrives: energy is steadier, mood is brighter, and resilience is stronger. When it’s out of balance, everything from digestion to immunity can falter. Nurturing gut health through real food, stress management, and mindful living lays the foundation for vibrant, whole-body well-being.
We will focus on repairing and restoring your gut health by addressing issues like poor digestion, allergies, inflammation and chronic infections, helping you feel your best from the inside out.
Detoxification/ Elimination
Detoxification isn’t a new science—it’s the body’s natural way of repairing and healing itself. This internal cleansing process happens continuously.
Historically, we weren’t exposed to processed foods, industrial agriculture, or today’s level of pollution. While the liver, kidneys, digestive tract, lungs, and skin naturally detoxify, these systems haven’t evolved fast enough to handle our modern toxic load—and yes, stress is toxic too!
The liver, with over 500 known functions, is our main organ of detoxification and functions as both a storehouse and protector. It filters harmful substances and prepares toxins for elimination. Supporting liver health can profoundly enhance overall well-being—perhaps more than any other single organ.
The elimination pathways must function well so released toxins can exit the body rather than be reabsorbed. These include the colon~lymphatic system~kidneys~skin and respiratory system. Addressing the 8 Foundations supports this natural process—and at times, a guided cleanse or detox program can give our body the extra boost it needs.
Sleep
Deep, consistent, restorative sleep isn’t optional—it’s essential for survival. It’s when the body restores itself, clearing waste, repairing tissues, and rebalancing essential hormones that influence everything from appetite and stress to growth and healing. A full night of uninterrupted sleep is foundational for every aspect of health.
Worldwide, modern cultures are experiencing a sleep crisis. While research shows we need 7-9 hours per night, 35% of adults get less than 6 hours—up from just 2% fifty years ago. Both sleep quantity, and sleep quality matter.
This shift reflects our culture's glorification of productivity over rest and relaxation, with sleep time decreasing as work time has increased. Exposure to blue light from screens after sunset deeply impacts our body’s own natural rhythms. This technology has allowed us to work round-the-clock and override the natural processes that cause us to sleep. Unfortunately, sleeplessness has become the norm and most of us are unaware of the consequences. Nearly 1 in 4 Americans suffer from sleep issues that are in turn linked to health issues such as depression, obesity, diabetes, cardiovascular disease and overall risk of death. There are numerous supportive lifestyle resolutions to sleep challenges!
Movement
Movement is your body's natural medicine, increasing circulation of nutrients and oxygen to cells while removing metabolic waste. This cellular renewal is the foundation of vitality and longevity. Regular movement builds muscle and bone strength, balance and flexibility—creating a resilient body that serves you powerfully through all of life's transitions. Its stress reduction benefits help support the nervous system and balance our hormones.
Unfortunately when it comes to exercise, many of us fall into the "more is better" trap-a trap that so often backfires dramatically. The reason? Excessive exercise/movement is highly stressful, increasing cortisol production and throwing us into a fight or fly so that we don’t die response, the polar opposite of what we are trying to achieve. .
. The beauty of movement lies in its infinite possibilities. Together we will find activities that ignite your joy, create balance and meet you where you are to, making this opportunity beneficial, natural and fun rather than another obligation.
Connection
Connection is Essential, both with One Another and with Nature
Human beings are wired for connection—it's not a luxury, but a biological necessity. Strong social bonds reduce stress hormones, boost immune function, and lower inflammation throughout the body. Studies show that loneliness and social isolation carry health risks comparable to smoking or obesity, increasing vulnerability to heart disease, cognitive decline, and early mortality. Conversely, meaningful relationships provide emotional support, purpose, and resilience during life's challenges. When we feel seen, valued, and connected to others, our nervous systems regulate more effectively, our mental health flourishes, and our bodies function optimally. Connection is food for the body, mind, and soul.
Our connection to nature is timeless. .Humans evolved in the natural world and our relationship with it runs deep. Time in natural settings lowers cortisol, reduces blood pressure and heart rate, and calms the nervous system in ways indoor environments we now call home, cannot replicate. Perhaps because of our modern culture of stress, it seems innate for us to feel comforted and at peace in the natural world. Nature invites us to slow down, breathe deeply, and remember that we are a part of the larger web of life, not separate from it.
De-Stress
We could ALL use some Chill Skills right?
Stress is an inevitable part of life, in fact it can effect us either positively or negatively, but how you manage it makes all the difference. Chronic, long term stress is perhaps the biggest contributor to disease and shortened health span. It can disrupt every aspect of your health, from hormone balance to immune function. Identifying your stressors is the first step and is POWERFUL. Identify what can effectively be removed, and create a comprehensive plan to manage the rest. I will share powerful stress management techniques and nutritional support that quiet your mind, ease your body's stress response and build your natural strength to thrive through challenges
Mindfulness
Mindfulness is the practice of being fully present — noticing your thoughts, emotions, and sensations without judgment. This awareness calms the stress response, supports balanced hormones, and improves digestion, sleep, and emotional resilience. When you tune into your body and mind with curiosity instead of criticism, you make wiser choices about food, movement, and rest. Over time, mindfulness transforms health from a checklist into a relationship — one rooted in awareness, compassion, and connection. Mindfulness doesn’t have to mean sitting cross-legged on a mountaintop! It’s really about pausing to notice and be present in everyday moments. I will provide some simple, evidence-based mindfulness practices that you can use.