18 Ways to Thrive in 2026: A Wholistic Wellness Framework for Your Mind, Body, and Spirit

Hello my friends.

Happy New Year.

We are still in the first week of January and man, I hope you enjoyed these holidays as I have.

I was so blessed to have my daughter home and it just felt complete to have all of my kids back under the roof.

We had lots of fun doing really hard puzzles.

They increasingly got more and more difficult but I thought that was so, so much fun to do together and man, you know, just all the typical tradition Christmas things.

And we also celebrated a Hanukkah evening with my sister in law.

Her and her husband did a beautiful job of teaching our kids and myself about celebrating the light.

And it was just a beautiful experience.

So we had a lovely Christmas overall.

So as we are coming into a brand new year, I love this time of year.

I'm always expectant.

I'm.

I enjoy listening, I love listening for a word for this season or year.

And I have my word of the year and I'm excited to share about that maybe future episode.

But today I want to talk to you about holistic wellness.

And I haven't talked about wellness in a long time, but I wanted to hit on this right as a lot of people are refocusing and being more intentional of physically what's going on in their bodies and we're all feeling, even if you're like super turbo and you don't eat a lot of sugar or junk food, that after Christmas sluggishness is real.

So I thought I would hit on the first episode of 2026 on holistic wellness.

And I want to just lay out this scripture that continues to come to mind as I think about holistic wellness.

And it is three John two and out of the amplified it reads, beloved, I pray that in every way keep you may succeed and prosper and be in good health physically, just as I know your soul prospers spiritually.

So friend, we are to continue to thrive in our mind, our body and our spirit.

And so that is what we're gonna talk about today.

And I wanted to give you a list and I was originally just gonna do like 10 things to help improve your wellness or to focus on.

But guys, it kept growing and growing and growing, so bear with me.

I took a lot of notes while I was walking one day and hopefully this all comes together well and helps you build a holistic framework as you're walking into 2026.

And I, I did a list, gosh, a long time ago on what that picture of a holistic wellness is.

So if you wanted to go back and venture back it to episode 36.

That's cr.

This is basically based off of that, but an updated list in 2026.

I'm a few years older.

I've really thought and pondered on this.

And those of you that didn't know, my background is actually in personal training.

I was ACSM certified, and I loved teaching classes at the YMCA and at a private studio and out of my home for many, many years before I. I did anything with podcasting.

So it is the bread and butter, the meat in my bones.

I really enjoy movement.

I enjoy all things challenging.

That's why you'll see me on Instagram.

I've been talking about doing a lot of challenges.

I've done 75 hard three times through.

Um, that was crazy.

And taught myself a lot.

Uh, recently, this past December, I did a 10,000, 10,000 steps and vitamin D every day challenge where I got outside every day and got by 10,000 steps.

I really enjoyed that.

Recently, I just joined on Strava, the app, this little challenge of run the date, where every day you run the miles per what day it is.

So January 1st you run 1.01 miles, and then February 1st you run 2.01 miles.

And you are supposed to run every day as far as their challenge is concerned, but I don't quite think that that's healthy.

So I'm gonna do it every other day or every couple days, along with my walking my sweet dog banner.

Um, and then, of course, my focus is gonna be weight training and continuing to go through that, which you'll hear me talking about that today.

So.

All right, let's go through this list together.

And I.

This is like, imagine me sitting across the table from you, and you're like, kristen, how do I focus on my health this year?

This is.

This is our conversation right now.

All right, so here we go.

Number one, I am going to always start with ask the holy Spirit.

He is the best trainer.

He knows your body better than anyone.

And if you take time to pause and ask him, what is the best way to take care of my body in this season, he will answer you, my friend.

I love, love, love.

John Eldridge explains how we.

When there's pushback of, like, how do I hear God?

Or how does does God really talk to us?

And I, my friend, he absolutely does.

Just like a parent.

Yes, we provide as a parent, but if we just sat there in front of our child and we didn't respond as they were talking to us, that would be weird, right?

So I love how John Eldridge explained that in his new book Every experience.

Jesus, Really?

I highly recommend that book, by the way.

Um, but he will respond to your questions, including your questions around your body, around your health, around your wellness.

Okay, so number one, get quiet.

Ask him what is the best thing for me in this season.

There have been seasons where he has challenged me to push my body.

And there have been seasons when it is, Kristen, I want you to take a nap.

I want you to rest.

I want you to calm your adrenals down.

I need you to bring that cortisol down.

And there have been seasons when there's the challenge every day, girl.

Let's go.

Let's discipline your body.

Self control.

It will submit to you there.

There are seasons for every movement that is needed.

And that brings me to number two, movement.

We.

When I'm talking about movement, I'm talking about walking, I'm talking about weight training, I'm talking about yoga, mobility.

And if you have never started a workout program, I want you to start small.

Walk after lunch on your break, park your car far away from the grocery store entry doors, and create an accountability group.

I've had an account accountability group that I just reached out to.

Gosh, I don't even remember how it started.

I think I reached out to one person, and then we added another person, another person, and another person.

And now we have been together for three years.

We just texted each other over the new year.

And one of the.

The gals that's in that group, she was like, we have been texting each other almost every day for three years about what our workouts were, which is phenomenal.

And you can do that too.

You can reach out to whoever.

And my friends, it doesn't have to be, like, your closest friends.

It can be somebody that you just have similar goals, and that works just fine.

There's also plenty of free options to look at on YouTube.

Glory days of YouTube, man.

If I would have had YouTube available when I was personal training, I would have absolutely loved it.

There are this channel that I'm really loving called Nourish, Move Love, or Sydney Cummings is another one on YouTube that's free.

My philosophy on weight training and movement is more in line with Mind Pump Media.

They're a podcast and a YouTube channel really focusing on weight training correctly and not turbo and giving your body rest in between sets.

So those are some options if you would like to check those out.

All right, number three, Water.

Water, water, water, water, water.

Water is so important.

And you know what else is important?

Electrolytes.

Because you don't want to wash away all of those great minerals inside of your body.

So I love me some element or LMNT or liquid IV is another one.

I like LMNT best because it's got the most electrolytes in it and, and the least amount of weird, like sugar added or chemicals added to it.

So check out Element.

They're awesome.

Definitely my favorite.

I am trying a new one by Thorn Supplement company, but unfortunately they don't have as many electrolytes as, as the element, so we're probably gonna go back to that.

But yes, please drink your water.

Especially if you live in a dry climate, um, you wanna get at least half your body weight in more.

There's a lot that our bodies need to flush out and just steadily drink that water throughout the day.

And instead of grabbing those soft drinks, reach out for that water and electrolytes and it'll be a blessing to your day.

Number four is check your hormones and thyroid.

And I prefer a doctor who's a little bit more functionally minded purely because what I have experienced and many other people have experienced is going to a primary care doctor who is not functionally minded is going to err on the side of reading all of your blood work against the population, which is sickly.

So any of those numbers that might look, quote unquote, normal actually are showing from a functional standpoint that you are not doing well and you need to support your body.

So getting those hormones checked.

I know for me, I'm in perimenopause.

There's a whole slew of things on podcasts, episodes out there that you can listen to on perimenopause, if that's you in that situation.

Bless you.

Or menopause.

Um, it's just a good baseline to make sure that all the things are running properly.

Um, because you could work out and, and, you know, be very consistent with your food and your nutrition and yet not see progress.

And this is something that could be the key contributor to maybe why you're not budging or, or you just feel gross overall.

So just want to put that out there, get your blood work done, get it looked at along with that.

Check your poop.

Yes, your poop smell like poo, but not death.

Right?

That's what we want it to be like.

There's also an amazing chart that I talked about on episode 36 called the Bristol Chart, and it's a ranking system of what your poo looks like, what it's supposed to look like, look like, and you basically want it to be like a type 4 or a type 5.

And the reason why you need to look at your poop is because it shows you what is actually happening inside of your gut.

And your gut is your second brain.

We've all heard that now.

And it's super important that we are taking care of our sweet tummies.

Especially after such a high stress.

It could be great stress, it could be hard stress, it could be you.

You did indulge on the wine, on the cookies, on the whatever else that is there.

And now it's time to rein it.

There's no judgment, absolutely no judgment.

That's just part of the rhythm of life, right?

So now it's coming back.

And how can you support your tummy?

How can you have a productive poop every day?

Every day, my friend.

If you are not pooping every day, you need to make sure you're looking at that because that is important.

Check your fiber, all of the Nutrients, everything.

Number six, probiotics.

Now, probiotics.

I did mention this in episode 36 is important.

However, here's my philosophy on probiotics.

And again, you guys, I. I didn't say this at the beginning, but here's a disclaimer.

I am not a doctor.

I am not a certified trainer anymore.

I am not a certified functional medicine naturopath, any of those things.

This is just a friend talking to you as a friend who has had lots of experience in the naturopath functional training world.

So I want to put that out there.

Probiotics.

Okay?

So what I have learned over the years with probiotics is you do not stay on the same one for longer than three months.

In fact, I actually take a break from probiotics every now and then to give my tummy a break.

And you need to figure out what probiotics work for you.

So that means doing your research, checking it out, see what bacteria your tummy needs in this season of life.

I'll talk more about supplements in a minute too.

On other supplements.

Number seven, meditation and encounters.

Why I mention meditation and just stillness and quietness is because it is so important.

And in this day and life of fast paced social media scrolling.

Consumption, consumption, consumption.

I am guilty, as are most of Americans and people in this world of continuing to have some sort of input all day, every day.

If we're not listening to a podcast like this, we are listening to music or we are watching tv and again, there's no judgment.

But this is where we get to align our intentions.

To pause and to create space to encounter Jesus, to meditate on his word.

There's apps out there like Soul Space, the Pause app by John Eldredge.

There's Headspace.

You could listen to encounters through holistic hearts, any of those places.

Or you can sit in stillness and be quiet.

Ooh.

I tried to do this over November, really intentionally, every day for 15 minutes.

And it was really powerful and really hard.

And it showed me so much about myself of how much my body was uncomfortable with the quiet and how much more I need that in my life.

So I'm going to continue to focus on that myself.

That's one of my intentions this year and this next one.

Holistic wellness on the list is goes hand in hand and it is breath work.

And just in that stillness, practicing breathing and noticing where you're breathing and how deeply you're breathing, you can do the four by four counts.

You can look up how to do breath work, but those go kind of hand in hand.

Number nine is something, as I'm getting older, I am finding is extremely, extremely important.

And this, for me is almost a daily thing, is mobility.

Now, mobility is more than stretching.

It is actually doing joint work.

And somebody else can probably speak.

Actually, I know somebody else can speak wildly way more than I can on mobility.

But I know for me, in the impact that it's had on me, I have a free app through my husband's work that they provide the mobility exercises for me to do.

It has been such a game changer for my hips, for my feet, my knees, my low back, and especially with, um, wanting to continue to weight train, to lift, to run all of those.

I need to have good, strong joints.

And part of that is doing the mobility work.

And my friends, mobility work is boring.

It is so boring.

Um, it is my least favorite to do, but it also has the biggest impact to tag onto that.

I'm going to say pelvic floor therapy.

Mm.

Yep, I went there.

And if you are curious, if you need pelvic floor therapy, I encourage you to go back to listen.

Oh, I can't remember which episode it is, but Dr. Mallory Willis was on here talking about pelvic floor health.

And I encourage you to go back to that.

It is vitally important.

It is.

There is so much freedom in pelvic floor therapy for women out there.

Um, you do not have to leak.

Uh, it's.

It is not.

Our bodies are meant to heal from that.

So I just want to put that out there to find a pelvic floor therapist that you trust and you feel comfortable with and getting help there.

Okay.

Um, that kind of went Hand in hand with mobility.

So, number 10, know your purpose and your vision.

Again, this is gonna be tied in to those things, like your word of the year or your purpose and your vision.

So for someone, it might be, you know, my purpose and my vision is to create a home that my kids feel loved, seen and known and heard.

And that includes going with them on walks.

It includes going to the soccer field and running around.

It includes doing weightlifting with each other.

So just aligning, that usually goes hand in hand.

And when you ask Jesus, like we said at the very beginning, what is best for my body in this season, it's gonna align with the purpose that he has for you.

Number 11 is Asana.

If you have access to an infrared sauna, I highly encourage you to hit up that friend who has one or a gym that has one.

It is wildly helpful to detox, especially after this season.

It has been such a nice place for me to pray, to sit and sweat and read sometimes.

It's also one of my favorite places to get quiet and just meditate and be in the stillness inside of the sauna.

Well, all the while you're detoxing.

So that is really cool to have that.

Um, you can do some research on infrared saunas versus near wait, near and far infrared saunas, um, they both have value.

Also, you can do a steam room as well.

I don't think it's as beneficial internally and in the skin, but steam rooms definitely are helpful as well.

All right, number 12, I said that I would talk on supplements.

Um, so I'm gonna do a brief overview.

I am a big fan of women.

Again, checking your hormone hormones, checking all of your blood work.

If you are low on vitamin D, if you're low on your dhea, any of those, there's tons of great supplements that are third party tested and legit.

It's too much for me to go into here, but like I mentioned in episode 36, I.

There's not many supplements.

Well, what do I want to say about that?

So I love.

Okay, I'm going to give you the brands that I love.

Pure Encapsulation, Thorn, Paleo Valley.

Each of those companies have great products.

Oh, and last one is designed for health.

Each of those have great products for whatever you're low in.

It's a good supplement.

It's not your main thing, but it is a good supplement.

So be sure when you get your blood work to just check, like, where are you at with everything?

Um, your vitamin D levels are really important.

If you're really sluggish, Then I would get those vitamin D levels checks.

Um, and it's really important to do D3 and K2 together.

Uh, again, I am not a functional doctor or, or anyone who is trained in this.

This is just years of having to focus on my own health with autoimmune issues and various health issues that our family has walked through.

So this is strictly my opinion.

Number 13 is get outside, get some that organic vitamin D and fresh air.

You guys, I cannot tell you how good this is for our systems to get outside no matter the weather.

Um, I think I can't remember.

My sister in law shared a Dr. Humerman lab Huberman lab podcast episode talking about how walking and getting outside is like one of the best things you can do to stay healthy during the winter months.

Um, I can link that in the show notes if I can find it.

Um, but just get outside, get some fresh air.

Your mom was right.

Go outside, wear a coat.

Definitely wear a coat and wear a beanie, get some gloves.

But just get outside and get some walking.

Get those that blood pumping through your veins.

Uh, number 14, stay connected to your friends and your family.

Not on social media, but in real life.

So when you go for those walks, go with, go with a friend, go with a neighbor, call a family member, maybe go on a hike, maybe go.

And I had a good friend of mine come over and we walked while we drank coffee.

Um, so that is a great idea.

It's a great way to connect with people.

And I don't know about you, but I love to process while I'm walking.

So I, I find that is one of the precious times of conversations is walking and talking.

So number 15, man, we are getting up there.

This is way more than what I originally did.

Is gratitude just taking time to pause and just being thankful.

And it changes your whole perspective.

As we all know, it's just a good reminder to be thankful in the midst of whatever season you're in.

It is the opening gate to the throne room and just having that thankful heart and a heart of gratitude.

Like I said, even in the midst of grief, even in the midst of hard, even the midst of tears, it opens up our hearts to recognize the joy of the Lord is our strength.

Number 16, laughter.

Okay, I know I dished or dissed.

There we go.

I know I dissed on social media, but I want to put this out there that the gift of watching reels that are funny is, is so awesome in this day and age.

Now, I had to set a timer on my phone because I would get lost in the sauce, looking at reel after reel that my sisters would send or friends would send.

And.

But that is one way to get laughter.

Another way is Netflix or any of those have funny comedians.

Of course, you have to watch who you're watching, and you have discernment to figure out what is okay for you.

There are comedy podcasts.

One of my favorite podcasts to listen to to get a good laugh is a good Hang with Amy Poehler.

Some of those have been really funny and helped me to laugh and then just laugh throughout the day.

Laugh at yourself.

I mean, that's like the biggest laughter, right?

When we look at ourselves and we're like, wow, I take myself too seriously.

So there's 16.

All right, only two more.

You, my friends, I'm sure there's so many more, but this is where I went.

All right, 17.

Feed your soul things that bring life.

So what are you looking at and what are you listening to?

So that could be just being mindful of what you're putting into your.

Into your ears.

I know so many people.

I am not drawn this way, but I know a lot of people who have similar tendencies as I do.

Like, anxious or, like, I tend to go that route if I let my mind go down that way.

Who listen to, like, horror or crime podcasts.

And I don't.

I do not do that.

And that is no way judgy.

There are other things that I do, like, watch Stranger Things that, you know, there are things that you're like, well, should I have done that?

I don't know.

And I actually.

On a side note, I do think Stranger Things has a redeeming quality to it.

So don't hate.

I actually feel like, okay with that anyway.

But I do not listen to, like, true crime.

Um, and.

But I know a lot of people do.

And so it's just being mindful of what you watch and let enter your eyes and your heart.

Um, we actually had something happen over the holiday break where we watched something that was not uplifting for our souls, and we had to go and repent because it was just, yuck.

Um, it was an old movie that we thought was gonna be funny, and then it just was awful.

And so just being mindful, mindful, mindful.

Again, no shame in that.

It's just turning and repenting and being mindful of what's entering your eyes, what's entering your heart, what's entering your ears, and what you're listening to, all those things.

And it actually is about prospering your soul, too, right?

Because the peace is what's anchoring us into thriving in this season.

All right, and then the last one I put on here is getting a counselor, a mentor, or a coach to help you in your wellness journey.

So much of what we carry and what can be a block for us is emotional.

And so I say this because I took time last fall to walk through counseling with a specific goal to help retrain my body to not go down the anxiety path.

I was getting panic attacks every time we traveled anywhere.

And so I met with a somatic therapist, and she helped me calm my body down.

And I can tell you that that has not only helped my emotional intelligence and healing, but it has also helped me physically heal and release and let go of tension that has been there for years.

So.

And obviously with a mentor or coach, that could be a fitness coach, it could be a discipleship, mentor, any of those.

Because, friends, we all need other people to encourage us, to tell us, yes, you can keep going, you can run the race physically, spiritually, all of those things.

So find yourself someone to cheer you on, to do the work with you.

And that is how you can start thinking about your holistic framework as you are planning out your 2026.

And it really means wholehearted wellness.

Actually, let me rephrase that.

2026, I want you to really think about wholehearted wellness.

And it's a picture of peace, which is shalom peace, which actually means complete wholeness.

So that means mind, body, and spirit.

And all of these ways are ways that you can continue to sanctify all parts of who you are.

And I'm going to come back to number one, come back to Jesus, come back to Holy Spirit, Come back to the Father and ask him, what are you calling me to do in this season?

Is it a season of refining, of quiet, of resting, of reigniting, of resetting?

Take time to pause, take time to ask.

All right, friends, this was a fun one for me to do.

I'd love for to hear from you, to hear what you're up to in this 2026 new year and what your focus is going to be.

I'm here if you need me as a support.

We're encourag.

Reach out to me on Instagram.

All right, take care and I'll see you next week.