Jenga Blocks of Wellness

by Bequi Livingston

Wellness has become a ‘buzzword’ in today’s society, which can make it confusing, especially in our fire and forestry world.  Here, we take a common-sense approach to what wellness means in simple terms.  

What is wellness? 

I remember becoming a fitness and wellness professional, in the late 1970’s, when the term, wellness, was still a bit of an anomaly.  Back then, there was a lot of talk about health and fitness, but not so much about overall wellbeing.  You were either fit, or unfit, healthy, or unhealthy; with not much discussion in between the grey lines.  

Even more challenging, was coming into the Wildland Fire world, as a seasonal firefighter in 1979, when there was no discussion of wellness, but only of being physically fit enough to take and pass the Step Test, which was the primary fitness test of the times.   However, I knew that there was so much more to this topic and that wellness had to be incorporated as a cornerstone of wildland fire and the Forestry world.  

Needless to say, it boggles my mind, knowing the importance of having a balanced overall wellness program, especially as a wildland firefighter.  However, bringing the wellness conversation up, would bring an onslaught of eye-rolling and secret sneering, behind my back. “What does she know”, they would often say to each other, while laughing. 

Long story short, after years of being in wildland fire, things started to change.  In 1984, I developed my trademark program called, Fireline Fitness, in an attempt to bring the wellness dialogue into the forefront.  It wasn’t until the mid 2000’s, when I became the Southwest Regional Wildfire Operations Health, Safety and Fitness Specialist that it started to click in the wildland fire community.

Here we are, decades later, and the buzz word has now become all about wellness.  Yet, when you talk to people, you get lots of different interpretations and definitions of what wellness means.  How do we take care of our wellbeing, whether a new Forestry employee, wildland firefighter or seasoned retiree?  

Being a person of simplicity and common sense, my intention is to guide you through wellness as a full spectrum approach to wellbeing.  Using simple building blocks, I refer to them as Jenga Blocks,  describing these blocks and what each one represents in a simple way.  Helping you learn how to become the best version of yourself, regardless of where your life finds you now?

For anyone that has played the game of Jenga Blocks, you know how it works.  You start with a stable, balanced foundation and begin stacking the blocks, one-on-one, on top of each other.  Once stacked, you begin to remove them, one-by-one, either removing them completely, or putting the displaced block on the top of the stack.  Once the block is teetering, it’s a matter of who pulls the last block that causes the entire stack to come, falling down, into pieces on the floor. 

I see wellness being much the same.  We start by building a stable, secure foundation, then begin building the blocks, one-by-one, on top of each other until completed.  Each block represents aspects, or pillars, of wellbeing: physical, mental, emotional, relational, and spiritual with the importance of keeping our Jenga Block balanced and healthy.

Read more here to learn about the building blocks of your wellbeing. Feel free to reach us with your questions and request for a group workshop or 1:1 coaching sessions. Email: info@fire-up.net