For those seeking better overall wellbeing in 2022, it may not be enough to maintain a nutritious diet, a healthy mind and a strong body. 

Deciphering who we are — beyond the letters of our names — poses a challenge that some may be resolving to face in the year ahead. 

Resources available in the area provide community members with a wide array of approaches to finding oneself spiritually. 

Trying out yoga and meditation is an option that may benefit those on the path toward self-discovery, said Cathy Hauck, whose business — The Infinity Studio — provides classes to teach these practices.

“When you get into the practice of yoga and meditation … it helps support your spiritual health and your whole overall well-being by focusing on the present moment, and we do that through the breath,” Hauck said. “...Finding that calm in yourself” happens naturally.

“You’re not worried about what happened, you’re not worried about where you’re going,” during the set amount of time you’ve dedicated to the practice, Hauck said. “It allows you to let go of the other things … to find some peace and calm.” 

While her yoga classes aren’t completely quiet, there is no talking about outside stress, Hauck said. The focus is on the movements, the breath, and on lying still at the end. 

Reiki — another Infinity Studio offering, which Hauck describes as a form of energy healing therapy that aims to promote well-being by balancing out the body’s energy’s centers — is an additional method of seeking release from the negative emotions, feelings and thoughts that people may tend to hold onto.

Relaxing and letting go of what no longer serves us can foster positive feelings of spiritual lightness, Hauck said.

Relieving stress that comes with the fast pace of modern-day life is one potential benefit of taking the time for a personal practice like yoga, meditation or Pilates. 

Stress relief is also a goal of receiving a service such as reiki, raindrop therapy — which uses essential oils in the pursuit of balancing the body — or massage therapy, said Melissa Kieler, who offers these through her business, Healing Notes LLC in Monroe. 

She hopes that clients will feel spiritually empowered when they set aside time for their own wellness. 

Some offerings, such as Angel Card reading, seek to coach people on their life path when they are confronted with difficult choices. 

“Most people know the decision that they need to make, deep down; they’re just unwilling to make it” — whether it’s moving on from one job to start another or leaving a relationship, for instance. Practitioners such as herself attempt to help people find their way, using cards as a tool to assist them in the task, Kieler said. 

“I’m a huge believer in self-care,” said Kieler, who recommends that those seeking to find themselves spiritually in the new year make a commitment to themselves. 

Along with taking time for oneself, to those seeking improved spiritual health in 2022, Hauck advises finding a place that provides a person with a feeling of connectedness. Some may choose to take part in something like a yoga or meditation class to achieve that end, and others might seek another setting that allows for spiritual self-discovery, such as a church.

To those who are looking to religion to find themselves spiritually in the new year, the recommendation of Deacon Steve Fischer of Cornerstone AFLC — a Free Lutheran, Bible-based church — is to “open the Bible and start reading.”

“Your soul receives nourishment and comfort from reading the word of God … He’s provided that for you,” Fischer added. “...The Bible itself (may) look intimidating (to some) because of the size, but there’s many books inside the Bible … (so) you don’t have to read a lot each day. Just take a chapter at a time; take a chapter a day.”

Cornerstone AFLC Council President Jeff Isely recommends that locals pick a Bible-based church to attend.

“For us, the Bible’s the truth, and that’s what you want. That’s what we preach and that’s what we stand by — the truth,” Isely said.

“There’s something really special about having a church family,” Fischer said. The members are always there to support each other. “It’s like our second family … There is something to be said for having that support network.”

The minister of the Monroe Church of Christ, Derek Glover, sees attending a church that makes a person feel cared for as one important part of the equation to improving spiritual health.

Joining a welcoming community of faith may help those who are seeking to find themselves spiritually, considering that “part of our identity is our community,” Glover said. 

But “probably the most transformative thing” happens when people deepen their faith via a personal relationship with God, through Jesus, Glover added. 

Along with attending church, Glover recommends reading the Gospels, praying regularly, and seeking out answers to religious questions when they arise to those hoping to better their spiritual health in 2022. 

The “busy lifestyles that we all lead” may sometimes disconnect us from our faith, Isely said. 

The stress of finding meaning and significance in this fast-paced world generally becomes easier to cope with if “you know that God loves you and Jesus loves you” unconditionally, Glover said, adding that wielding this knowledge of one’s self-worth may reduce a person’s risk of developing something like an addiction to the approval of others.

Some people might feel like they “have to be ‘good enough’ to have a relationship with God, and that’s not what the Bible teaches at all,” Glover said. 

There is no heavenly scorecard keeping track of our ‘good’ versus our ‘bad’ deeds, Glover added. Those hoping to better their spiritual health must “break out of a transactional understanding of God,” and realize that they are good enough to grow and find themselves through faith in the year ahead.