In today’s fast-paced world, it can be difficult to find the time to look after ourselves. We find ourselves stressed and fatigued and wonder what is wrong.
Things like meals can be challenging and we often find ourselves shoving whatever is convenient into our mouths, eating food to survive instead of to thrive.
It has become important to learn to make ourselves a priority. We need to pay attention to what we do with our bodies because it is our health that gives us the quality of life we want. It is essential that in chasing after our goals, we do not forget the vehicle that is helping us to achieve them — our bodies.
Living a healthy, balanced and happy life is not as difficult as it may seem. Everyone has the capacity to make small and simple lifestyle changes towards better health and overall wellbeing. Everyone deserves a life full of abundance, health, happiness and joy – so do you!
In this blog I’m sharing with you some areas to focus on in order to achieve a healthy life:
1. Clean Eating
The basic principle of clean eating is consuming only whole, fresh, unprocessed foods. A clean diet can be different for everyone but there is one thing that all clean eaters would agree on: The white stuff must go! This includes all white sugar and white flour products as these foods provide absolutely no nutritional value.
Whole foods fill you up and fuel you, whereas the white stuff, like sugar, pasta, bread, crackers, high fructose corn syrup, flour and cereal, depletes your energy and makes it difficult to keep your blood sugar levels stable. When your blood sugar is too high or too low it will cause cravings and may also cause symptoms like irritability and fatigue. This will make staying on a clean eating plan more difficult. While it is completely okay to indulge in a favourite comfort food once in a while or to bake some cookies to feel all warm and fuzzy, it’s important to listen to what our bodies really need.
2. Stay active
Exercise comes in all forms, in all varieties, in all speeds and intensities such as walking, yoga, stretching, jogging, push-ups, jumping jacks. If you find yourself with a spare five or ten minutes, dance or do something with your body to re-energise it, instead of checking your social media. If your body is moving, your muscles are receiving fresh blood and oxygen that will rejuvenate you and release happy hormones.
The good thing is that you don’t have to become a professional athlete or run a marathon – it’s all about living an ACTIVE lifestyle.
Find a way of exercise that works for you and remember: As long as you are moving you are already doing something good for your health and wellbeing!
3. Have a digital detox
It is imperative that you step back from your technology every once in a while. Some psychologists say that humans are not intended to efficiently process human suffering at the scale that social media allows. Take time to reconnect with people in person, practise solitude and gain some perspective. Disconnect in order to reconnect!
4. Practise deep breathing
Breathing is something we do subconsciously yet it is the most essential thing in our lives. Think about it: you can survive without food for 4 weeks, without water for 4 days but you can survive without oxygen for only 4 minutes.
This simple fact proves how important breathing is. Unfortunately, we have forgotten what it means to breathe properly – to breathe on a deeper level and therefore nourish our whole body with fresh oxygen. Deep conscious breathing can help your body to get rid of toxins, to release tension on a deep level, to relieve emotional problems and even pain.
Tip: When you wake up in the morning pause for a moment. Instead of grabbing your phone and checking your emails stay in bed for three extra minutes and observe your breath. Tune into your body and notice if your breath is very short and superficial or slow and deep. When you focus on your breath you are immediately relaxing.
Practising deep breathing each morning will oxygenate your body to help clear out negative energy, emotions and toxins. Notice how this simple change can influence your whole day in a positive way.
5. Wake up like a cat — with a slow, luxurious stretch
Our muscles are surrounded by a thin sheath of tissue called fascia and when that tissue is tight, we experience soreness. Before getting out of bed each morning start your day by flexing your arms and legs. Gently roll from side to side before sitting up. Flex and bend your feet before standing to release the fascia in your calves and ankles. If any spot feels sore, press it for 20 seconds until the fascia softens and releases. Then get up and go!
6. Wear leather-soled shoes
When you’re out and about, trade your rubber- or plastic-soled shoes for a pair with soft leather soles. Breathable leather allows the body to absorb negatively charged ions from the earth — enough to dial back the body’s production of pain-causing inflammation by 277%. These ions work to neutralise the free radicals that also promote weight gain, cardiovascular disease and insomnia. People in warmer climates can get the benefits by walking barefoot on soil, grass or sand.
7. Stimulate your Vagus nerve
The Vagus nerve connects your brain to many organs throughout the body, including the heart, lungs and gut.
Stimulating it has been shown to help treat a wide variety of health conditions, including depression, anxiety, impaired digestion and migraines. Since this all-important nerve is connected to your vocal cords and the muscles at the back of your throat, it’s easy to give it a little TLC by singing, humming, chanting or gargling for 45 seconds once a day!
When things are balanced everything falls into place. Whether it’s work and fun, being alone and socialising or staying in bed and going out for a run, it’s important to practise balance for a more enjoyable journey.
Take a few minutes to think about how it would feel to take care of yourself and nourish your body, mind and soul with healthy habits and choose just one of the above strategies to help you on your journey to a healthy life.
Resources:
http://www.eatingwell.com/article/78846/7-tips-for-clean-eating/
https://radicalmetabolism.com/radical-health-tips/
Medical Disclaimer: This article is for information purposes only and is not intended as medical advice. For medical advice always consult your physician. The information provided in this blog is based on the best knowledge of the author at the time of writing and we do not assume liability for the information within this blog, be it direct or indirect, consequential, special, exemplary or other damages.