More than 160 people discovered new ways to revamp their physical and spiritual health at a retreat, “An Invitation to Christ-Centered Wellness Inspired by the Saints,” held at the Basilica of St. Mary in Alexandria Oct. 13-14.
The retreat was hosted by Reform Wellness, a functional medicine and holistic wellness practice and apostolate rooted in the Catholic faith. Headquartered in Alexandria, Reform has served more than 10,000 people in more than 30 countries through online courses, parish programs, webinars and in-person retreats.
The retreat began Friday night with an introduction from Reform’s founder and CEO Jackie Mulligan, adoration and a meditation led by Father Barry Braum, one of the apostolate’s spiritual advisers. The next day began with Mass celebrated by Father Braum. Participants gathered at the basilica’s Lyceum for treats and talks by Mulligan and Dr. Bridget Vander Woude, chief wellness officer and naturopathic doctor.
Mulligan began her talk with a disclaimer that Christ “does not want us to be complacent. There is no one formula to be healthy and to get to heaven.” Just as you try new forms of prayer in your spiritual life, she said, you should discover new ways of being healthy. “Wholeness and holiness doesn’t happen on accident: It happens with intentionality,” she said.
The first step to wellness is a meditative examination of your current physical and spiritual health, Mulligan said. Once you make an honest assessment, she said, bring any shortcomings to Christ in prayer. “He may illuminate areas of your life that need major reform. And that is not to be judged, but it’s also not to be overhauled all at once,” she said.
In making this self-assessment, Mulligan told the attendees to ask themselves what is at the center of their well-being, and who or what is at the center of their lives. She told them to place Christ at the center of their lives, including everyday mundane decisions.
“I am so grateful for the examples of the saints, because truly, the saints were just like us. They were normal people who fell in love with the Lord, they knew they needed to change their lives, and they radically did in ways that were vastly different, totally unique to them, because they wanted to go to heaven,” she said.
Vander Woude presented Reform’s nine wellness pillars: faith, sleep, stress management, functional movement, nutrition, personal growth, play, community and space. The three pillars to address first are faith, sleep and nutrition, she added.
The wellness pillars are very intuitive, “but the reality is that most of us are not doing them,” she said.
Vander Woude walked participants through filling out a “health bank account” for their current state of physical and spiritual wellness. Audience members wrote down “deposits” for healthy behaviors and “withdrawals” for unhealthy behaviors. She then asked the audience to give themselves a rating from one to 10 on how they feel physically.
People should repeat this practice at least monthly to reevaluate the state of their bodies, she said.
After conducting this analysis, Vander Woude said formation and creating consistent habits for faith, sleep and nutrition are the next steps. Several good habits include beginning each day with a half hour of prayer, eating whole foods and striving to sleep nearly eight hours every night. “It’s very simple and might be a little bit boring to live in formation, but that is where we find the freedom,” she said.
“I think sometimes we forget, especially in our modern world, that we are not designed to live in chaos. We are not designed to live in a constant state of fear, anxiety and fight-or-flight,” Vander Woude added.
After a short break, participants engaged in a Q&A with Mulligan and Vander Woude. They returned to the basilica, where Father Braum led them in Eucharistic adoration. He delivered a meditation on the parable of the sower, discussing the ways the faithful often hear and reject God’s word. He encouraged adorers to be fully and mentally present at Mass, read Scripture frequently and guard against modern obsessions and anxieties that distract from spiritual growth.
“We must discern what we take in,” Father Braum said. “What goes into the heart is what will come out. And what we place in the heart is what will be made manifest in our words, in our actions, even unconsciously.”
The retreat concluded with refreshments and fellowship. Ana Maria Ringel, a parishioner of the basilica, said that she had already been following Reform on social media when she heard about the retreat. “I really like how they integrate mind, body and spirit,” she said. “I never thought to incorporate Jesus into all my daily activities and that it can be so simple.”
