The Seventh Pillar: A Case for the (and Your) Inner Life
27th Aug, 2025
I never thought of myself as spiritual. The word didn’t speak to me. Religion? Not for me. Meaning and purpose? That was for poets and philosophers, not doctors.
But somewhere along the way, through loving, losing, ageing, learning, doctoring—and significantly, a yoga practice—something has certainly shifted for me. I didn’t know what to call it at first. I just knew I felt more grounded, whole, secure and connected.
That felt sense—what I now recognise as spiritual connection—has become foundational to how I care for myself and others. It brought a natural alignment to a healthier life, not through willpower but through quiet coherence within.
If this kind of connection can support wellbeing so powerfully, why don’t we talk about it more in medicine? We know lifestyle change shapes both the length and the quality of life—but perhaps what’s missing in our frameworks isn’t another pillar to track, but something that gives context to them all: the health of our inner lives.
Connection as Foundation
Lifestyle medicine calls us to apply a whole-person approach. We rightly champion the six pillars and acknowledge the deeper forces at play: behaviour change science, wider social determinants, and planetary health. We aren’t afraid to go deep, to address the roots.
Someone once asked me which pillar I thought was most important. Sleep might have topped my list once, but now I’d argue for connection, especially when we explore that word in its full depth, not just social support, but to emcompass wholeness, belonging and alignment with something greater than the self.
This internal anchoring supports every other pillar. When we’re spiritually grounded, whether through values, nature, community or creativity, lifestyle change becomes more than compliance; it becomes congruent with who we are.
If we’re serious about root-cause care, we need to ask: does our model include the entire spectrum of connection, including spiritual health? And if not, why not?
Why Don’t We Talk About It?
We often address spirituality in end-of-life care. But transitions—grief, burnout, illness, even midlife—are when people start asking deeper questions. What if we supported spiritual growth not just in crisis but throughout life?
A 2016 JAMA study found that spiritual care in serious illness was associated with improved quality of life and better medical decision-making (Balboni et al., 2016). And yet, a 2022 BMJ Open survey showed that while 74% of patients believed doctors should ask about spiritual beliefs, only 20% of clinicians actually did (Kelly et al., 2022).
Why the gap? Understandably, clinicians worry about overstepping. Spirituality is often conflated with religion, and in secular healthcare settings, it can feel inappropriate to broach the boundaries of personal belief. But spirituality doesn’t have to be religious. The Royal College of Psychiatrists defines it as “the way people find meaning, purpose, and hope in life.” For some that’s faith; for others, it could be service, music, nature, or inner peace.
Spirituality isn’t niche. It’s universal.
My Journey Through Yoga
I’d like to share yoga as an example—my own bridge to deeper connection.
Yoga weaves together many lifestyle pillars—movement, mental wellbeing and community—into daily life. For years, I embraced these elements, happily content with yoga as exercise and breathwork. I avoided its spiritual origins, assuming the benefits to my body and mind were enough.
But the more I practised, dipping into yoga’s spiritual origins, the more the pieces connected. A strong body, calm mind and healthy choices were no longer goals—they became byproducts to inter-connection. What once felt like separate, effortful lifestyle changes became natural extensions of inner alignment.
When we dismiss spiritual inquiry, we risk losing a profound source of wisdom and healing: the unknown, the intangible, the deeply human. If deeper connection is available to us—through yoga or any other path—why not make space for it?
Start With Ourselves – A Reflection for Clinicians
It might feel too much to ask that spiritual inquiry become a routine part of clinical work. But there is an inroad.
Just as our own habits around food, sleep, and movement shape how we support others, our relationship with our inner life affects how we hold space for it in patients. How can we expect to invite others into connection if we ourselves feel disconnected?
Spiritual literacy begins with spiritual curiosity, first for ourselves. How shall we begin? Maybe with questions like:
How do I define spirituality for myself, if at all?
When have I felt most connected, purposeful, or grounded?
What brings me peace?
Do I nurture this part of myself?
How might my spiritual orientation shape how I care for patients?
Final Thoughts
As healthcare professionals, we are more than technicians. We witness and accompany people through life’s most meaningful moments.
Meaning and purpose are no strangers to lifestyle medicine—they already find expression within the pillars of mental wellbeing and social connection. These can be fertile ground where spiritual health grows, often quietly and indirectly. But without intentional attention, this deeper dimension can be overlooked.
Lifestyle medicine offers a powerful, evidence-based path toward whole-person care. Yet without tending to the inner life—ours and that of our patients—we risk missing the deepest root of all. In this privileged space where we work, paying attention to spiritual health can help us return to our inner vocation, even amidst uncertainty and suffering, and not only draw on the knowledge that enables us to fix, reverse, prolong and assist, but also on the transformative power of healing.
Perhaps this is the seventh pillar: not another thing to do, but something to remember.
That holistic health starts within.
References
1. Balboni TA, et al. (2016). Spirituality in serious illness and health care: A review of the evidence and future directions. JAMA. 2016;316(6):519–520. doi:10.1001/jama.2016.10676
2. Timmins F, Caldeira S, Murphy M, Pujol N, Sheaf G, Whelan J.What is spiritual care? Professional perspectives on the concept of spiritual care in the hospital. BMJ Open. 2020;10(12):e042142. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2020-042142
3. Koenig, H. G. (2012). Religion, Spirituality, and Health: The Research and Clinical Implications. ISRN Psychiatry, 2012, 278730
4. Puchalski, C. M., & Ferrell, B. (2010). Making Health Care Whole: Integrating Spirituality into Patient Care. Templeton Press.
Authors Bio
Dr Chang Park is a London-based GP, lifestyle medicine physician, and yoga teacher. With 20 years in medicine and 15 in yoga, she bridges evidence-based care and embodied wisdom to support real, lasting wellbeing. Her work focuses on root causes and the full spectrum of health—physical, mental, emotional, social, and spiritual. She’s a Trustee of the Yoga in Healthcare Alliance, an allied organisation of the BSLM. She teaches Hatha and Restorative Yoga online and in person. Find her at changyoga.org.