Be Still and Live

#03: Five to Thrive: The Simple Rhythms That Heal Stress, Burnout, and Overwhelm

• Gillian Gabryluk • Season 1 • Episode 3

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What if thriving isn’t about doing more, but protecting a few simple rhythms that carry everything else?

In this episode of Be Still and Live, Gillian Gabryluk, founder of Sileo Health & Wellness, shares her framework called Five to Thrive, five grounding pillars that turn a hurried, noisy life into one that feels calm, whole, and deeply human.

We start with a truth most of us feel but rarely name: chronic stress, rising illness, restless sleep, and connection that feels unattainable. Then we explore a hopeful alternative, lifestyle medicine,  the small, daily choices that can prevent and even improve conditions like high blood pressure, anxiety, burnout, and fatigue.

Each pillar offers a gentle invitation:
Stillness - five quiet minutes to calm your nervous system.
Nourishment - simple, whole-food meals that feed your energy, not your stress.
Movement - natural, everyday ways to move your body with joy.
Sleep - screen-free wind-downs that create real rest.
Community - replacing scrolling with belonging and creative connection.

The heart of this episode is a mindset shift: schedule your pillars first, then let the rest of life arrange around them. It’s not selfish, it’s sustainable. Small steps - a slow breakfast, a walk after lunch, an early bedtime, dinner with friends - begin to rebuild your sense of stability and joy.

By returning to rhythms we were designed for, we create lives that feel lighter and homes that feel peaceful again.

New here? Start with episodes 1-3: “Take Back Your Life”, "From Hustle to Healing", and “5 to Thrive.”

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SPEAKER_00:

So many people feel like living well is a chore. Because that's what's become normal. If your days feel full, but your heart longs for more meaning, you're not alone. Between the screens, the schedules, and the never-ending noise, it's easy to lose your sense of peace. But what if the way forward isn't found in doing more, but in learning to slow down, to simplify, to be still. Welcome to Be Still and Live, a podcast for individuals, couples, and families longing for calm connection and a more meaningful way to live. I'm Jillian, speaker, coach, and founder of Soleil Health and Wellness. And I'm here to help you create space for stillness and step into a life that feels whole and good again. Hello and welcome back to Be Still and Live. This is episode three, and it'll likely be the last of the solo episodes for now because I'm so eager to get some guests onto the show. Today I want to give you something really practical, the framework that has carried me through both the hardest and the most joyful seasons of life. I call it Five to Thrive. So to start, I just want to talk about the reality of the world we live in, just to capture kind of what people are experiencing today. Over 76% of adults now live with at least one chronic condition, and more than half live with two or more. Chronic disease makes up 90% of America's$4.9 trillion healthcare spending each year. And globally, more than 1 billion people are living with a mental health condition. These aren't just numbers, these are people. And they reflect the exhaustion, the stress, and the silent suffering so many of us are carrying. This is an example of a physiological response to a culture that is not allowing us to thrive. And here's the truth: much of these issues are completely preventable and even reversible when we return to rhythms that we were designed for. The research shows that consistent lifestyle practices, not medication, can help prevent or manage some of the most prevalent health and wellness issues. These issues include heart disease and high blood pressure, type two diabetes and obesity, depression and anxiety, certain cancers, cognitive decline and dementia, and autoimmune and inflammatory conditions. That's the power of lifestyle medicine. Lifestyle medicine is exactly what it sounds like. It's the way you live, it's the rhythm that you practice day in and day out. And it's exactly what Five to Thrive is built on. But here's the problem: what used to be woven naturally into daily life has now become optional, negotiable, or even a chore. So many people feel like living well is a chore because that's what's become normal. Think about it. Sleep was once honored, and now it's kind of pushed aside as if exhaustion is a badge of honor. Food that was once prepared and shared in a kitchen that was bustling with family members and scents and music is now fast, rushed, or skipped altogether. Movement that was once built into daily life has now been replaced with sitting for hours and then maybe squeezing in a workout if we can. It's like last priority on the list. And stillness was once a part of prayer or reflection and rhythm, but it now feels foreign. And we're actually uncomfortable with moments of silence to the point that we're always reaching for the next distraction. And last but not least, community. Community was once the center of life. And now it's been replaced by endless scrolling and surface-level connection that leaves us feeling empty and alone. We've drifted so far from our foundation, and it's costing us our health, our relationships, and our joy. But the good news is thriving doesn't have to be complicated. It was never meant to be complicated. It shouldn't be complicated. It comes down to five simple, non-negotiable pillars, rhythms I've had to return to again and again in my own life. Every time I honor them, I move back towards balance. And I want to share them with you today because they are accessible to everybody. They are something that you can integrate in your day-to-day. It's a practice that you can make a rhythm in your own day, in your own week, so that you can work towards a life that feels healthy and well, that feels vibrant and like you're thriving. The first and the foundation of everything that I do is stillness. The reason I called my business Sileo Health and Wellness is because Sileo is the Latin word for be still. As I worked with my clients and reflected on my own life and just observed the world around me, I realized that so many of the issues that we deal with start with a lack of stillness. We seem to just be moving ahead, full speed, with our blinders up, most of us not even knowing what direction we're moving in. Stillness means slowing down, pausing, reflecting, thinking about the choices that we're making, understanding if they align with our values, and then moving forward. It means creating space to breathe, to quiet the noise around you, to reset your nervous system. Without stillness, we live in a reactive state. And this is what we're seeing in our culture today. There's so many people who are just reacting to what they're seeing in front of them, reacting to what they believe is true instead of pausing and reflecting on what they know is true. When we react, we're not present to enjoy the moment that's right in front of us. Number two is nourishment. Nourishment. It's not a diet. Food is our medicine, food is our fuel. It nourishes our body. It's not supposed to stress our body. And eating isn't supposed to be stressful. This isn't about restriction or diets. It's about giving our bodies the energy and care they need to thrive. And it's as simple as sticking to whole natural foods at least 80% of the time. Third, we have movement. And I use the word movement in my program because exercise has this negative connotation, right? Movement is not punishment. We were created to move, it's not an obsession. Just moving our bodies the way they were designed to is the natural rhythm of life. I'm talking about walking, stretching, playing, and enjoying moving our body throughout our day. Movement isn't something that is intended to be stopped when we turn a certain age. We are supposed to continue moving until our last days. Fourth, we have quality sleep. And I also include quality rest here. This is the most underrated pillar. We don't really do a great job of resting because even when we take that pause and we feel like we're resting, we're often stimulating ourselves in some way in front of, you know, a Netflix show or in front of our phone. Quality rest means we are removing ourselves from those distractions and we are allowing ourselves to rest, to experience that peace. We're allowing ourselves to take that break from the screens at least an hour before bed so that we can prepare ourselves to rest and have a quality sleep. Sleep is repair, it's restoration, it's integration. And without it, the rest crumbles. Talk to anybody who has dealt with insomnia. When you don't have sleep, you simply can't function. And last but not least, meaningful community, connection. And I also like to add in creativity. We can't thrive alone. And we can't thrive when we're so focused on all of the to-dos and we never allow ourselves to create. We can't thrive when we're constantly consuming and not allowing ourselves to create. We were created to create. And we can't thrive alone. We need people who see us. We need people who support us and walk alongside us in both joy and struggle. So here's the shift that changed everything for me. These cannot be extras that we squeeze in when life allows. These are the pillars. The rest of life gets scheduled around the pillars. The pillars get scheduled first. The rest of life gets scheduled around them. If we don't have time for stillness, true nourishment, movement, quality sleep, and community, then it's not a scheduling problem. It's a simplifying problem. Something else has to go. Our schedules are so packed full because we're pursuing the things we've been told we should pursue, the things that we have to pursue. But when we pause and take a step back, we realize that we have a choice. We don't have to pursue all of these things. And we need to choose to put the pillars of health and wellness first. This isn't selfish. The studies are so clear. These rhythms are the most proactive way to prevent disease, mental health issues, and the most foundational way to heal from it. Imagine this. Just take a moment to imagine this. Imagine a culture where these were non-negotiable, where families built their days around these rhythms instead of squeezing them into the margins, where schools honored stillness and movement and nourishment, where workplaces valued rest and community and encouraged their employees to put these pillars of health and wellness first. How different would our health look? Our joy, our future, our hope, our optimism. We were created to thrive, not just survive. Don't believe that lie. We were not created to just survive. You were created to thrive. And the five to thrive is the simplest way I know to return to that. So here's my gentle challenge for you this week. Choose just one pillar to honor first. Maybe five minutes of stillness in your morning. Maybe moving your body in a way that feels good, not forced. If you like walking, go for a walk. Better yet, go for a walk through nature. Maybe turning off the screen an hour earlier tonight so that you can actually rest. Open a book and read while flipping through the pages. Maybe sitting down for a real meal with the people that you love. Get in the kitchen, get messy, put on the music, you know, sing together, dance together, make the kitchen a place that your whole family wants to be. Or invite your friends over to join in on making a meal. Maybe reach out to someone who makes you feel truly seen, or someone who deserves to be fully seen. Start with one and build your foundation and see what shifts. If each one of us made this choice to start integrating the pillars of health and wellness into their life, we would change the world. We would be a healthier community that flourished. As we conclude this episode, I want you to remember you were created to thrive, not just survive. Don't let anyone tell you different. Until next time, take a breath and be still. Thank you so much for listening to Be Still and Live. If today's episode brought you a breath of peace or a moment of clarity, I'd love for you to subscribe, leave a review, or share it with someone who might need it too. For more resources to support your journey toward a slower, simpler, more connected life, visit SileoCoaching.com or connect with me on Instagram at SileoCoaching. Until next time, be still and live.