Our family doctor, back in Bombay, is an interesting fellow. As far as I can remember, he has always been old. An old, wise doctor. For some reason, whenever we went to consult him for a fever, or some stomach-related issue, he would often ask us, "Is everything ok?" "Is something bothering you?" It was barely ever clear why he did that, until one time he told my mom, "often mental health issues manifest themselves as physical symptoms."

Health is the most misconstrued words of all time. People often only focus on physical health or mental health (separately). But fail to realise that the two are deeply connected. Even in school, health education categorises into two forms - physical training or nutrition. Not to deny that these also form a part of a healthy lifestyle. But, health is a step beyond that.

Our health is affected by everything in our surrounding. Our home, family, work, friends all affect our health. Even the way we look or feel about ourselves play a role in impacting our health. By investing time in creating a peaceful surrounding for our selves, we invest in bettering our health.

What are the main pillars of health?

Investing in creating a sound environment for yourself is the most important part of working on your health. Apart from exercising and eating the right kind of food, it is also important to surround yourself with a comfortable ad peaceful environment.

The Bridge Chronicle explains the importance of the six pillars of health and how it affects us.

Health: Be it mental or physical health - it is imperative to pay attention to these aspects. Being sound mentally is essential for good physical health. Invest time in exercising, meditating or some form of physical activity to keep your body functioning properly. Activities such as Zumba, dancing, and running, are also linked with reducing stress and balancing hormone production.

Self-care: If it isn't too late to form a resolution this year, then, self-care should be your top-most priority. Find time to rest, and do things that make you happy. Take time off from your routine, and spend time relaxing, or pursuing a hobby. Sometimes reflecting on your actions and improving on them can also work wonders in your everyday life. Focus on things that you do every day and incorporate small changes, that could help you make time for self-care.

Food: Eating the right kind of food is equally important for a healthy life. Eating the right type of food, at the right time, and quantity can solve a lot of problems. Altering your diet according to seasons can also help fight seasonal flu. Nutrition helps create a balance between hormone production, and this helps ensure balanced mental health. It also affects your immunity.

Beauty: Everybody likes to feel beautiful. Be it a man or a woman, everyone, wants to look their best at all times. For being healthy, it is equally important to feel that way. Being unhappy with the way we look can play with our mind. It can make us feel upset, and drag us down. Realise this, focusing on our holistic health, will fix all the problems that you might have. Be it your skin, your body, or your hair.

Fitness: To understand fitness, think of your body as a machine. Food is the oil and fitness is the activity, needed to supply the oil to all parts of our body for effective functioning. Unless the oil reaches every part of the machine, the body will not function properly.

Home: The place that you call home should be a place that you feel like coming back to. Even if you live with family or alone, spend time on making your room an extension of who you are or who you want to be. It can happen that the people we live with -- family or friends -- might not always share cordial relations with you. But work towards making things right as this will give you peace.

Understand that your surrounding plays a major impact on your mental and physical health. It is a vicious circle where one thing affects the other. So it is our responsibility to ensure that we surround ourselves with positivity and take care of what matters.

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