WELLNESS
INGREDIENTS
Of Wellness
T
his month, Parvati Magazine spoke with Angie Bucu, a Hong Kong-based wellness researcher and teacher who manages the Ingredients of Wellness blog.
Parvati Magazine: How did the field of wellness research come about and what drew you
to it? What do you ultimately want to be able to do with this research and how do you see
it benefiting the world?
Angie Bucu: Research played a significant role in all subjects throughout the Master of Wellness program (MOW) I took. Learning about the many different dimensions and paths that
make up wellness ignited my desire to learn even more about this new field of work and
research. By the time I came to do my research project I felt sure that researching and writing about wellness was what I would do professionally.
As a tutor of Mindbody Wellness for university students, I am interested in how mind-body
techniques can help us not only shift our emotions and attitudes to create well-being in
ourselves, but also to shift people’s attitudes and behaviors towards our environment and
how we interact with it and within it.
Wellness, as a field of study and work, is still relatively new. It considers the holistic interrelationship between the various dimensions of wellness - physical, psychological, emotional,
social, environmental and occupational being the few I focus on. I feel that it needs more
voices and experts looking into this holistic approach, to discuss and debate how the interrelationship can create more balance and wellbeing in our lives, those we interact with,
WELLNESS
and the environments in
which we interact.
urban environments and
hospitals.
PMAG: Have you found a
connection between nature and human wellness?
How can we make the
most of this connection?
My advice for maintaining this connection is to
just be in nature as often
as you can, daily if possible, and be mindful and
present when you are
there. Use your senses,
be silent, and meditate if
you can or choose. And
above all find something
that you are in awe of. I
keep a daily gratitude
journal and find that at
least one thing I am grateful for each day IS related
to nature.
AB: Unequivocally yes!
There is a significant body
of research on the effect
that being in nature and
connecting with nature
has on our wellbeing, our
physical and emotional
health, how we interact
socially, and so on. I have
recently been looking into
research that suggests
that when children interact and play in nature
they are more likely to
care about the environment as they grow older,
than those children who
do not have exposure to
or access to nature on a
regular basis. This is important work for childhood
development and environmental education programs. The use of nature
in healing spaces is also
an area of significant research and why we now
see more green spaces in
PMAG: What has been
your favorite moment so
far in the research you’re
doing?
AB: I think the most rewarding work is the MindBody Wellness course that
I tutor. Most of our undergraduate students take
this course to support their
own health and wellbeing whilst at University. We
see that a large majority
of the students find profound shifts in their emotional and physical wellbeing, which then has a
knock-on effect on how
they handle their studies,
jobs, social relationships
and so on. Many have
not used these therapies
and techniques before,
and they are amazed at
the rapid benefits they
can and do experience.
Most go on to continue
using these techniques
after the course.
PMAG: What is the intention with your blog “Ingredients of Wellness”?
AB: The blog is intended to be a platform to
share relevant wellness
research, articles, tips,
news, interviews and musings about wellness and
the various dimensions of
wellness. Finding out how
choices toward a wellness paradigm… a wellness approach to living
life… can contribute to
positive health and wellbeing. It is my intention to
provide readers with tools
and knowledge to realize the shift from one of
reacting to illness and disease to one of creating a
life of wellness.
Angie Bucu holds a Master of Wellness, is an Independent Wellness
Researcher and a tutor of Mindbody Wellness. Having swapped a career in
accounting and professional services for a life and career in Wellness, Angie
shares research and knowledge on the various dimensions of Wellness
including mindbody, physical, emotional, nutritional, environmental, social
and workplace wellness. She regularly shares research, news and views
on her blog Ingredients of Wellness, writes for various print and online
publications, and is a Hong Kong distributor of Miessence, the world’s
leading certified organic skincare and personal care range, certified to
food grade standards, through her business Organic Care HK.