WHAT DOES "VITALITY" REALLY MEAN?
Vitality- the state of being strong and active; energy.
I remember when I first started using this word as my “one-word” intention. That was when I was recuperating after all the treatments and made a firm resolve to invite more vitality into my life.
Interestingly enough, it was also when I got introduced to PERMA+V model which is the core of Dr. Martin Seligman's Wellbeing Theory. It is an acronym that defines the factors that contribute to a person's well-being and happiness.
P- positive emotions like optimism, happiness and life-satisfaction
Emotions are contagious, and having positive emotional states fosters stronger and better relationships.
E- engagement and crafting more flow experiences
We are flooded with positive neurotransmitters and hormones when doing activities that meet our needs for engagement. These are moments where we find ourselves “in the flow” or blissfully immersed in certain tasks or with specific people.
R- relationships that are authentic, meaningful, and life-enhancing
We are hardwired to bond and connect with others. As social creatures, healthy relationships, and connections are vital for us. Belonging with others that make us feel safe, valued, and appreciated is all part of the human experience.
M- meaning in pursuit of purpose, passion, and fulfillment
We need to have a sense of meaning and purpose. Our well-being is enriched when we are in service of “something bigger than ourselves” and are connected to a deeper purpose in life.
A- achievement and accomplishments through inspired action
We pursue achievement, competence, and success in different domains/fields in our lives. Recognizing and celebrating our accomplishments, no matter how small they might seem can boost our confidence and motivation. Setting achievable goals, getting valuable feedback, or mastering a behavior, all of these give us a sense of pride and increase our self-esteem.
V- vitality that is optimal wellness, strong, healthy bodies
The V for Vitality (Physical Health and Wellness) was added by Emiliya Zhivotovskaya and Louis Alloro, founders of the Flourishing Center and Certified Program in Applied Positive Psychology. It involves caring for the body through sleep, movement, hydration, proper nutrition, stress reduction, and energy management.
Nowadays, I am reconnecting to what vitality means for me. The past few weeks I realized how easily my energy dwindled. There were even days when I could not engage anymore because my energy was so drained that the only way to care for myself was to rest.
Those were the days that got me both worried and grateful. Worried that I just couldn’t manage my energy and that it meant saying no to people and responsibilities. Grateful that I can listen to what my body is saying and have the opportunity to rest when needed.
The last one around rest is crucial. I wrote in a blog a few years ago about rest being a collective responsibility. Wherein I wrote:
For us to be able to hold space for each other in this collective responsibility of rest, we need to give space to the historical healing of our personal and collective traumas that propel us to selflessly do more, give more, produce more. In this deep, exploratory and soul-searching manner, can we truly begin to slowly relax the system and with it, encourage restoration in others as well.
For me, what allows me to just sink into rest is knowing that:
I can adjust my time and my work and that would not impact us drastically, especially when it comes to our daily living expenses. Even though there are repercussions around my finances given that I work as a “one-person company”, I am still able to rest as much as I can because I also have a partner who provides for us and shares the responsibility of making sure that our basic needs are met.
There will be movement in the household even if I sleep. I am grateful that my husband and our two teenagers are very involved in getting the house running and in order. It might not be the details of how I would like it to be, but it’s manageable. I know that our home won’t turn topsy-turvy while I am sleeping or that the kids and our dog won’t be attended to.
People around me understand my “no”. I have built such an amazing circle of connections that they are aware not only of my current medical situation but also cognizant of the fact that if I say no it means me saying yes to a deeper need. People around me (even virtual collaborations and friends) are used to hearing me check in with myself and attune to what needs nourishing and caring for at the moment. They are also informed that if ever I say no, it means that there is something “alive in the moment” that needs tending to. To have relationships where I don’t need to mask how I show up is a massive blessing!
This is why I firmly believe that rest as a way to reconnect with one’s vitality is a collective effort. It is part of our responsibility as a community to ensure that people who need rest, restoration, and regeneration are allowed the space, time, and resources to do so. It also means that healing on an individual level is healing through the collective.
OUR COLLECTIVE BREATH
When thinking about rest and vitality, my mind goes to the Filipino term “ginhawa”. One of the thought leaders and matriarchs that inspires me is Leny Strobel. In her article “Ginhawa/Breath: Wholeness and Wellness in Filipino and Filipino American Experience she expresses how “Ginhawa, as a concept about wellness and wellbeing, intersects with and connects to the conceptualization of Filipino personhood in Sikolohiyang Pilipino/Filipino psychology. Ginhawa is always embedded in culture and community. Ginhawa manifests in the body’s vitality (sigla), ease in dealing with life (gaan), life potency (gana), joy (ligaya) — and all of these are embedded in intra and interpersonal relationships as explained in the psychology of Kapwa (shared inner self, unity of the self with the other).”
According to Filipino Psychologist, Lyra Verzosa, “The word “Ginhawa” is both a noun and a verb in Bisaya (Cebuano). It can refer to our which is our breath or the act of breathing. “Ginhawa” is a more powerful concept than “well-being” or “wellness” with its integration of the physical, social, emotional and spiritual. Disasters and catastrophes affect our ginhawa by reducing our hininga (breath). Thus, our distress is described by words like “paghahabol-hininga” (literally a chasing after the breath), naghihingalo (panting for breath), buntong-hininga (sighing), kapos sa hininga (running out of breath), all possibly ending with huling hininga (last breath). Ginhawa can be defined as a breath of life, and can be used to remind people that there is life, even after the worst of disasters.”
This concept of “ginhawa” as our breath of life that affects our living (pagsasabuhay), our movement (daloy), our joy (ligaya), and our embodiment of life potency or spirit (gana) is so rich that it makes me advocate even more on the importance of care and setting ecologies of care.
My capacity to attend to my healing through rest and recuperation is made possible by the relationships I have with those around me.
My capacity to recenter my breath and focus on what would give me ginhawa is made possible by the love and care of those around me.
Our ginhawa is embedded in our relationships, our culture, and our communities.
Our vitality is intertwined.
INVITATION TO THINK ABOUT VITALITY
Here is another Understand and Explore worksheet for you to explore vitality.