Secrets To Leading A Balanced Life: Jordan Daly On Wellbeing

Wellness and wellbeing. Two words often used interchangeably to describe health. However, if you consider the definitions, there is a subtle, albeit noteworthy difference:

Wellness \ˈwel-nəs\ (n) the quality or state of being in good health especially as an actively sought goal

Wellbeing \ˈwel-ˈbē-iŋ\ (n) the state of being happy, healthy, or prosperous

If, like us, you had to read the definitions again, scratching your head before achieving an aha moment, you'll get why the difference is so important. Wellness describes the quality of your health, whereas wellbeing is more holistic — how we can measure happiness in relation to our health. In other words, wellbeing takes other indicators into consideration for assessing overall wellness.

Jordan Daly has a wealth of experience in the corporate world with immense success as an influential marketer for startups to Fortune 500 companies — Burberry, Mattel, Ralph Lauren to name a few. Following a trip to Nicaragua, she found a passion for humanitarian projects — applying her accumulated knowledge to assist NGOs in growth and strategy. During which time she completed Yoga Teacher Training and began to teach in studios in both New York and Los Angeles.

Who better to help understand and articulate the wellness-wellbeing puzzle? We were fortunate enough to sit down with Jordan and discuss her view of the holistic approach — how wellness can work harmoniously together with other factors to help us lead more balanced lives.

"I feel like my entire life is my hobby at this stage. I have come to realize that the entire thing is just one big experiment. And it has taken all of the pressure off feeling like there is some specific thing I am 'supposed' to be doing, achieving or getting to something.

So I would say my idea around wellbeing means completely owning my life. This is different for everyone. For me at this moment, it means choosing to live and use my skillset in an environment where there is need and a lack of support and resources for people to self realize... Which is essentially moving me further toward self realization.

This entire journey here is an experiment. I believe your personality creates your personal reality. In essence the quantum field allows us to create our life exactly how we are thinking and talking about it. We have a choice to operate from the belief that everything is happening TO us or that everything is happening FOR us. And I choose the latter. 

This does not mean life is all unicorns and rainbows, but instead to be a lover of what is — even when that can be super challenging and painful. Reactivity is a very un-evolved response and sends the body into fight or flight mode, which contracts the Central Nervous System. Doing this on a regular basis causes all of your organs (the skin being the largest) to react. This is when we can most expect breakouts, rashes or some other skin condition to flare up. 

When we have an ailment it is our body giving us information to check in emotionally. 'Heal Your Body' by Louise Hay is a must-read for anyone wishing to delve deeper into the subject.

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There's a correlation between wellness and diet, for sure. But again, you can eat the cleanest food and use the purist of products but if you are not living in integrity or supporting yourself emotionally those things are band aids.

It's like the person who has never smoked, getting diagnosed with lung cancer. I'm offering a very simplistic explanation here, but the lungs are responsible for expanding and taking in breath and life.

When we carry around unresolved grief or or trauma for our entire life, we are not able to truly take a deep breath.  This builds and builds and when we continue to push it down and not release or process, the body creates physical ailments to try and get us to pay attention...

I am currently in Thessaloniki on an economic development project. And thereare 12 Refugee camps of people who got in a boat because the options were to either stay and risk death or leave and risk the same to try and find something better. 

I am not trying to be a masochist, but again shifting perspective at a base level is where we begin to remove stress and anxiety.

Every trip that most of us take should be looked at as a privilege. Shifting to a place of being grateful to get on a plane, to fly to another city or continent, to discover, to connect with friends or family. 

The first thing I do whenever I start to feel stressed is to stop whatever I am doing. 

Find stillness. 

Place my hand on my heart and hand on belly and breathe in really deep and then exhale. 

I will usually sit down and meditate if there is any possible place to do so. 

I always have a notebook with me, so that when I begin spinning in my mind I can just begin writing, stream of consciousness to get it out. 

To unwind after work, usually I will put on headphones and find a body of water to go and sit by or jump into.

And if that is not available, I think we underestimate the action of washing our face after a full day.

Wash your face, put on some Vitality Nourishing Facial Oil, light a candle and sit in stillness."

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Vitality Nourishing Facial Oil is a couture blend of 10 therapeutic oils derived from flowers and botanicals. This dry oil illuminates and tightens without clogging pores. Leaves your skin hydrated and glowing and relieves stress, a much needed two for one bonus.