Our priorities have shifted from mind, body and soul to medication, busyness and selfies. How we look has come to overrule how we feel which, increasingly, seems to be a global sense of discomfort and unwellness. Isn’t it time that you, the real you, became a priority in your own life?

If you listen to your body when it whispers, you won’t have to hear it scream.

– Proverb

Perhaps you’ve heard this answer or perhaps you’ve given it when someone asks: “How are you?”  There’s that raising of the eyebrows, the sigh and, finally, the reply: “Fine. Fine. I’m just so busy!” It seems that busyness has become the business of the 21st century. We are always connected, we are always responsive and, with thousands of apps to make our lives easier, we seem to have less time than ever.

Why wellness matters

The Global Wellness Institute defines wellness as the “active pursuit of activities, choices and lifestyles that lead to a state of holistic health”. Two words clearly stand out from the industry norm of fitness and diet that is so often associated with wellness: “choices” and “holistic”. For us, wellness is not something that happens but a conscious, evolving choice to work towards a sense of rounded wellbeing. And, secondly, a holistic approach to wellness incorporates more than just physical wellness.

At Kwendalo, we have a philosophy of wellness that encompasses six key dimensions: physical, mental, environmental, social, spiritual, and emotional wellness. Often, we use this example to illustrate the value of holistic wellness to our guests: Imagine your wellness as a six-legged table. If one leg is weak, the table is wobbly. If two are weak, the table is downright unstable and puts pressure on the other legs to remain upright, but if three legs are weak, it’s possible that the table could collapse. Yes, that’s avocado toast and rooibos tea spilled all over the floor! But there’s no use crying over spilled tea when we can get to work on strengthening the existing legs, and the weak ones, leading to balance, harmony and wellness. 

Prevention is better than cure

If we continue with the table metaphor: what if we were to work continuously and gently to keep the legs of our wellness table strong, to keep our table balanced?  Would that be preferable to a constantly wobbly table that never feels quite settled?

Carpentry aside, we live in the cutting age of prevention, and also the cutting age of distraction. There are a multitude of lifestyle diseases that seem to be growing in the Western World: heart disease, childhood obesity, mental illness, age-related conditions, and a growing array of addictions. We are harried and buffeted by the demands of modern life – feeling out of balance and unwell. We are feeling disconnected from our surroundings, our food and each other. We have stopped growing and started simply surviving. Does that sound familiar?

Kwendalo is a place where we aim to address that feeling of unwellness and disconnected-ness. We feel that every person needs to invest in prevention and aim to maintain harmony within the body, mind, soul, and environment. To facilitate this, Kwendalo has been designed for you to feel healthy, happy, and curious throughout your stay; to rejuvenate and be inspired, to find new experiences, learn new things, grow as we grow and take it all home with you.

Book your stay at Kwendalo!

Author: Dr.  Dr John Cavill, DBA – Kwendalo Founder