Written by: Ciara Jean Roberts, Executive Contributor
Executive Contributors at Brainz Magazine are handpicked and invited to contribute because of their knowledge and valuable insight within their area of expertise.
This idea of a wellbeing fund came to me after working for a long time in private banking. How we invest our money, or ‘wealth management’ as it is often referred to in a private banking sense, is important.
Well, actually... how we are investing in our health is also crucial. How about our ‘health management’? What credits have been building up to create a meaningful wellbeing fund?
If the investment has been little, or even zero, when a crisis comes along there are no meaningful reserves to draw upon. And so we develop a negative value in our wellbeing fund, which is much harder to recover from – especially if we have the expectation that the solutions lie solely in pharmaceuticals.
A bit like starting the day with a strong cup of coffee – you are immediately putting your body in a hydration deficit. From that place, it will have to work much harder and already be in stimulation mode. If we instead, say, start the day with hot water and lemon, and then have the coffee with a small bit of food, so it doesn’t spike a potential adrenaline surge, this is much better. What feels kinder?
It’s all about understanding how our patterns grow or deplete the wellbeing fund. The one rule is – there are no rules. Only ways of diving in and exploring the kaleidoscope of being human.
The wellbeing fund will vary depending on your life stage and individual circumstances. It is not a linear situation, as life is always changing. It is dynamic and fluid, not rigid.
How might your Wellbeing Fund be at the moment?
Nutrition
Food is information for our cells. So it matters significantly what information goes in. My one tip is to eat real food, ditch the ultra processed. This matters too for our relationship with our living planet. We cannot be so divorced from how food arrives to our doors and in turn onto our plates. Let it be simple. Because it is.
Sleep
We download our day when we sleep. Allowing the mist of sleep to descend. Sleep deprivation poses serious consequences to our whole health. It’s crazy we live in a world that sells sleep technology when it is the most basic of needs. Allow yourself to sleep and know you are worthy of a good night’s rest. What we focus on amplifies so if you do have sleep issues, and yes this is unfortunately very common, the first step is to notice tension in your body. Let your way in, be the body. If you could figure this out in a thought based way, you would have long ago. In essence, we need to remind ourselves of the relaxation response. It may have been long over-ridden. It’s all about integrity, harmony and accessing that inner equilibrium.
Finances
Financial security. Money is one of the biggest causes of dispute, ill feeling and worry. It’s important to highlight that money is a requirement for basic needs, beyond that it can actually create so many more problems. I love the French translation ‘L’argent ne faisait pas le bonheur’. In English we tend to say ‘Money can’t buy you love, or ‘Money can’t buy happiness’. In the French translation, it uses the verb faire – to make/to do – so in essence alludes to money not making you happiness. Money doesn’t make happiness. It’s a difference. Words matter. How might this be in your native language? We enrich one another by such sharing.
Movement
As a yoga teacher with a burgeoning love of somatic embodiment – movement is what we are made for ‒ by intricate and highly efficient design. How much movement do you have in your day? It can be easy to get caught in the ‘exercise’ trap. e.g must do one hour of intense cardio-vascular activity a day. That’s great to have dedication and commitment – it’s also key to remember we create health in all the ways we move (and don’t), including how aware we are of our breathing and our postural changes in anything we do – whether it’s nestling down for some great sex, slithering into a hot bath or putting on our clothes. Movement is freedom. In this way – we become far more gracious and appreciative for the innate and incredible wisdom of our bodies. Movement is indeed medicine.
Support
Just as our ropey muscles and their relationship with our living bone tissue, creates support ‒ we as humans, yearn for connection and need to feel supported. Safe. Loved. Warm. We know the impact when we are lonely, feel misunderstood, unloved or isolated. We might call this our social nervous system. Or being a drop in the ocean of the all as is often referenced in the non-dualistic tantric teachings. Support also very much includes nature – the wisdom of a thousand year oak tree, the solace of a calm lake and the moon mirroring her luminescence, wrapped up in blankets with a lover gazing up at the stars on a wintry night. These reminders connect us back into the hum of the hive. Like bees we love to cross-pollinate, share ideas, sing and dance together. Do we have a dear friend who cares to ask us ‘What ails thee’? And is there to truly listen to the response.
Purpose
In the many years of working one to one and in groups with people – with their bodies breathing, moving, talking about patterns in their lives, one of the most compelling things that stands out for me ‒ is those that have a sense of purpose, fuels a life well lived more than anything. Known as dharma in yoga. Purpose. This certainly resonates in my own life, stepping away from banking ten years ago after my first kidney transplant was failing ‒ to tread the path I know I was meant to. I had to feel the depths of despair and difficulty in order to discover all the many ways to heal and then share this with others. This fuels me profoundly and is always an ongoing enquiry with myself and how that then percolates out into the world though my work. And provides ballast in the times that feel sad, anxious or wildly irritating. Because we are human after all.
It’s a process. Know that it’s messy, awkward and crazy making along the way – and that’s all part of the fun and depth. It’s also incredibly rewarding, evolving and can spark so many new friendships and encounters.
I remember meeting my first kidney transplant surgeon a few years ago to talk about my first book – over 20 years on from when he had been the skilled holder of the scalpel back in 1997. Him now a senior member of the surgical team, performing thousands of surgeries to date, often on call, decades of compromised sleep, little time felt to be had for exercise – yet his sense of fulfilment and purpose, did not even need to be voiced. It was present and palpable in his very being.
We are each here for the fleeting moment. A blink in the cosmic eye. A flight of delight in this human skin.
What might you feel needs attending to – for the sake of your unique Wellbeing Fund. What needs replenishing. What needs remembering? I’m cheering you on.
Ciara Jean Roberts, Executive Contributor Brainz Magazine
Ciara Roberts is a writer, yoga facilitator and nutritional therapist, with a pioneering spirit to create true and lasting change across the landscapes of holistic healthcare and medicine. Founder of Wholly Aligned, an innovator, quester and cross-pollinator, borne from the lessons and adventures with her kidneys, which failed at age 14. Charting several years at a young age on dialysis, two kidney transplants and a treasure chest of tools, she is uniquely placed as an insider/outsider to effect change in the current embedded systems. Stepping away from banking in 2012, she has dedicated her life to helping others awaken their inner physician and reclaim their innate sense of wholeness.
