Jinmee Graham is a Community Health Education Specialist as a Master of Public Health and doctoral student of Naturopathic Medicine at Bastyr University. In July, she conducted a Holistic Health Workshop in Seattle, Washington under the theme of “Family and Health” after she was inspired by the Peace Begins in the Home global campaign. Initiated by the women’s division of Global Peace Foundation (GPF), the campaign has developed international programs to provide awareness, resources, and education on family health and community leadership.
Graham stood before a group of more than twenty participants to guide them on ways to lead healthy lifestyles to support building happy and healthy homes.
Throughout the workshop, she was able to share her passion and motivation for developing new ways to approach health and wellness, emphasizing that health is not limited to the state of our physical bodies alone, but also includes mental, emotional and spiritual components which all influence each other. Graham believes that when people are able to realize their full potential in health, they can also achieve their full potential in all other aspects of their life. During the presentation, she said, “I believe that the state of one person’s health can impact the overall state of health in their family, community, and ultimately our world.”
Through Graham’s inspirational presentation and accompanying workbook for attendees, participants learned more about the different components of health and assessed their current state of physical, mental/emotional, and spiritual health and reflected on how to improve. By including her own personal experiences and real-life examples throughout the presentation, participants testified that the concepts addressed were much more relatable, understandable and enjoyable to learn.
“The more we collectively understand what constitutes health and how to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit, the more likely we are to thrive as a positively functioning global community.”
One participant stated that she enjoyed “learning about what kinds of steps we can make to improve our health for ourselves and for our family with a different perspective than before.” Among others, these lessons included the impact of effective breathing, journaling, and investing in personal relationships and character development on one’s overall health. Workshop participants shared their appreciation for having time to interact with their personal health workbooks and reflect on their own lives, learning more about various practical health tips to use every day.
From the feedback and evaluation received from participants, Graham is continuing to develop content for future workshops, focusing on sharing the information with diverse target groups. The goal is to continue refining our educational programs to allow space for more people to challenge themselves to improve and maintain good health going forward. Through this work, Graham hopes to empower others to reach their full potential and become positive, contributing members in society by leading healthy lives. Indeed, Graham emphasizes, “The more we collectively understand what constitutes health and how to maintain a healthy mind, body and spirit, the more likely we are to thrive as a positively functioning global community.”
Learn more about the Peace Begins in the Home campaign