At ATO life., we’re all about optimising health. Whether that’s through movement & exercise, nutrition, meditation, sleep or social interaction (to name a few).

Here are some definitions of health by a few published schools of thought:

"Happiness is the highest form of health" - Dalai Lama

 

According to Ayurveda ”holism and balance are key aspects to health - a holistic approach to health involves considering all aspects of the individual’s life, especially diet. Balance is then achieved by constantly adapting to the environment”

 

"Health is a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources as well as physical capacities" (The World Health Organization 1986)

 

Health is "the ability to adapt and self manage in the face of social, physical, and emotional challenges" (The British Medical Journal 2011)

 

"Health is a state of balance, an equilibrium that an individual has established within himself and between himself and his social and physical environment. Health would thus be a dimension of human existence that remains in existence regardless of the presence of diseases, somewhat like the sky that remains in place even when covered with clouds." (Sartorius 2006)

We asked a bunch of people what '“good health” meant to them. This is what they said…

To Jolene "Good health means being able to live to your full potential. It means being well enough to enjoy all aspects of life including mental/emotional wellness, reaching our own physical goals and being able to connect with our environment/society well."

Jolene's husband on the other hand believes that health means "not dying when you're 35"

Julieann (Osteopath) says health is "Good inner-outer body connection. Often we are too much in our heads and use our bodies as a kind of vehicle to rush around. No wonder it gives up sometimes. It's not a mind-body connection we need. It's more like a shut the brain up and give the body some time to breath. Go for a walk, look at the autumn leaves let the beauty of the world reconnect us - blinkin' I sound very hip'. But we are out of touch with our bodies and the world we are designed to be intrinsically part of."

To Leanne "Health is my mental space. A happy place when my health is at its best via food and exercise in my opinion. Health is also spiritual. You need spiritual energy to get to your best health!"

To Joshua "Health means, quality sleep, constant hydration, protein & green diet, and lots of orgasms!"

Charlotte says "Health to me means feeling charged, positive and stable, in both a physical and mental sense. However, as I write this, I'm mainly thinking of ones mental health. I believe that before you can feel physically healthy within your body (and reap the benefits of that) your mind must be in a good, safe and stable condition. It makes sense as to why I don't physically feel good when I'm having a negative mental health day."

Ben says “Health = Three things: 1. Ability to function adequately (mentally and physically) 2. To be pain-free (mentally and physically). 3. Confidence that items 1 and 2 will continue through to old age. Actually the first thing that sprung to mind was that it's a measure of how well I'm doing when I play Mortal Kombat"

To Lisa, "Health is when mind, body and spirit are all working well in tandem to produce the best, and most content human being you can be."

To Hayley "health means living your best life, physically and mentally"

Paul says "Good health means well-being, contentment and happiness"

Rachel thinks that health is all about “Living a happy and enriched life”

DO ANY OF THESE RESONATE WITH YOU?