Public Health and Personal Fitness
Module 9
Holistic Health
12 Courses
The Informed Health Consumer: Making Sense of Health Evidence Platform: FutureLearn Institution: Cardiff University Started: 30/06/2016 Finished: 04/07/2016 Health and Wellbeing in the Ancient World Platform: FutureLearn Institution: The Open University Started: 04/12/2022 Finished: 08/01/2023 Food as Medicine Platform: FutureLearn Institution: Monash University Started: 04/07/2016 Finished: 05/07/2016 Nutrition and Wellbeing Platform: FutureLearn Institution: University of Aberdeen Started: 11/01/2018 Finished: 20/08/2019 Social Wellbeing Platform: FutureLearn Institution: The University of Edinburgh Started: 25/10/2017 Finished: 26/10/2017 Exploring Play: The Importance of Play in Everyday Life Platform: FutureLearn Institution: University of Sheffield Started: 29/09/2014 Finished: 12/01/2016 The Science and Practice of Yoga Platform: edX Institution: University of Texas Arlington Started: 25/10/2017 Finished: 20/08/2019 Yoga Reconsidered Platform: Embodied Philosophy Institution: Embodied Philosophy Started: 16/02/2018 Finished: 20/02/2018 Mindfulness for Wellbeing and Peak Performance Platform: FutureLearn Institution: Monash University Started: 15/09/2015 Finished: 22/06/2016 The Science of Sleep and Dreams Platform: FutureLearn Institution: The Open University Started: 04/12/2022 Finished: 11/12/2022 Self Care and Wellbeing: A Practical Guide for Health and Social Care Platform: FutureLearn Institution: The University of Edinburgh Started: 04/12/2022 Finished: 06/12/2022 International Travel Preparation, Safety and Wellness Platform: Coursera Institution: John Hopkins University Started: 21/09/2018 Finished: 20/08/2019
10 Books
Get Some Headspace Author: Andy Puddicombe Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton Published: 2011 Started: 12/01/2015 Finished: 17/02/2015 Why We Sleep: Unlocking the Power of Sleep and Dreams Authors: Matthew Walker Publisher: Penguin Audio Published: 2017 Started: 22/01/2019 Finished: 24/02/2020 Running with the Pack: Thoughts from the Road on Meaning and Mortality Author: Mark Rowlands Publisher: Granta Books Published: 2014 Started: 31/11/2018 Finished: 09/01/2019 What I Talk About When I Talk About Running Author: Haruki Murakami Publisher: Vintage Published: 2009 Started: 09/08/2019 Finished: 09/08/2019 Running with Sherman: The Donkey with the Heart of a Hero Author: Christopher McDougall Publisher: Random House Audio Published: 2019 Started: 14/11/2019 Finished: 22/11/2019 In Praise of Walking: The new science of how we walk and why it’s good for us Author: Shane O’Mara Publisher: Bodley Head Published: 2019 Started: 10/09/2019 Finished: 14/10/2019 What Doesn't Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength Author: Scott Carney Publisher: Foxtopus, Inc Published: 2017 Started: 04/10/2019 Finished: 05/10/2019 The Wim Hof Method: Activate Your Full Human Potential Author: Wim Hof Publisher: Sounds True Published: 2020 Started: 21/02/2021 Finished: 05/03/2021 Breath: The New Science of a Lost Art Author: James Nestor Publisher: Penguin Published: 2020 Started: 16/01/2021 Finished: 23/01/2021 Just Breathe: Mastering Breathwork for Success in Life, Love, Business, and Beyond Author: Dan Brulé Publisher: Simon & Schuster Published: 2019 Started: 06/02/2021 Finished: 15/02/2021
“The truth is that adhering to just four simple healthy lifestyle factors can have a strong impact on the prevention of chronic diseases: not smoking, not being obese, getting half an hour of exercise a day, and eating healthier – defined as consuming more fruits, veggies, and whole grains and less meat. Those four factors alone were found to account for 78 percent of chronic disease risk. If you start from scratch and manage to tick off all four, you may be able to wipe out more than 90 percent of your risk of developing diabetes, more than 80 percent of your risk of having a heart attack, cut by half your risk of having a stroke, and reduce your overall cancer risk by more than one-third.“
Michael Greger, MD, How Not To Die: Discover the Foods Scientifically Proven to Prevent and Reverse Disease, 2018:7
The physical, psychological, spiritual and social needs of are all considered and cared for in holistic health. Caring for the whole person is based on the belief that being unwell in one aspect of your health affects all aspects of your wellbeing.
A focus on holistic health has always been a part of my MTA Portfolio and the full breadth of my Public Health, Nutrition and Exercise Science concentration developed out of this module.
Early in my undergraduate studies, back in 2009 and 2010, I experienced various physical and psychological health problems. It proved to be a dark period of my life in which my overall condition progressively worsened, but the experience illustrated to me the absolute importance of keeping all aspects of my health in good shape.
As a result, I have increasingly educated myself about health topics, cultivated a whole array of healthy habits and prioritised the maintenance of my health in the design of my life. During my undergraduate studies, my interest in holistic health was only a side focus, but I wanted to make it a key focus of my postgraduate studies.
The contents of this module illustrate that achieving holistic health boils down to three key areas…. fitness, nutrition and wellbeing.
Fitness and nutrition are self-explanatory in terms of getting enough exercise and eating the right foods.
However, wellbeing is much broader, subjective and will vary from person-to-person because it is concerned with an individual’s personal conception of what they consider their ideal form of healthiness and happiness.