~ If you take care of the minutes, the years will take care of themselves ~ Tibetan saying
If you make healthy choices of your lifestyle each day, that will save you a lot of health issues down the road.
Making healthy lifestyle choices in the following areas helps me improves my overall wellbeing, including my digestion, sleep, spinal health, emotional wellness and keep my sanity. Turning these choices into habits and rituals sticks and becomes second nature over time. Making new habits is simple but keeping to it is difficult initially so give yourself a strong reason until the benefits you reap become the driving force and motivation for the change. That said, I do have my cheat days in the beginning but over time, I don't even think about it. That is when the new habits becomes a lifestyle. 😊
1. DietDo you recall having too much to eat that leaves you feeling lethargic and tired, or a food that lifts your mood and gives you a feeling of satiety? How do you feel when you are hungry? How does stress affect your appetite and gives you butterfly in the belly or IBS? How does certain food cause us to feel a certain way?
Our brains, emotions, feelings, state of mind and energy levels affect our digestion and GUT. In turn, our GUT acts like a second brain. It affects not just the digestion of food but also affects our emotions, feelings, energy levels, productivity and how our brains work.
Click here on some of the general principles that I use to plan my diet.
Click here for recipes and using food as medicine.
Click here on mindful eating.
2. Exercise
If done in moderation and having a mix of strength training and cardio workout, exercise is beneficial. It is an excellent way to relieve stress and clear the mind. Moving the body is a good way to clear the build up of cortisol (stress hormones) within the body. Depending on the type of sports that you do, it can be also a good way to connect with your workout buddies. You can always swap a lunch or dinner or tea gathering with a refreshing walk or hike in nature together.
Exercise is not confined to just sports. Dancing, playing hula hoop, skipping rope, doing yoga, taichi, MMA, rock climbing, hiking and walking are all very good way to move your body. Having different variety of activities and learning something new and fun helps stimulate the brain too. If you really enjoy a certain activity, you can keep doing it regularly and that keeps you going. The key is enjoying the exercise.
If you are someone who tend to overdo (like myself), even for exercise, this can do more harm to your body than good. Do be mindful of the signals that your body gives. If it gets longer to recover from a workout, do rest off till it gets better. Remember to stay hydrated and replenish your ions and electrolytes if you perspire a lot during your workout. A healthy and balanced diet is needed to support your exercise regime too.
A good warm up and stretching before and after the workout regime do make a big difference in the recovery of your muscles and prevents you from getting injuries. This is especially so when doing exercise on cooler days where the muscles will start out cold. Cold muscles are stiff. Stiff muscles are prone to injuries. Stay safe and enjoy your workout and games.
If you have heart conditions or any medical, health or physical issues, do consult your doctor before embarking on a new exercise regime.
3. Sleep [Stay tuned for more details on this.]
Practise good sleep hygiene.
4. Community connection and support [Stay tuned for more details on this.]
Do you have someone whom you can talk to whenever you are feeling down or stress? Are you a support to others too?
5. Stress release and relaxation
There are many ways to destress and relax, including doing exercises and your hobbies. For me, soaking in nature whether at the beach or in the forest helps me relax. Sometimes just taking in the view from outside the window to look at the trees, birds, sky and clouds, and noticing the sounds and smell in the surroundings helps. It could be putting my legs up the wall, doing facial or hair oiling at home or giving yourself a good massage.
There are many ways to destress and relax, including doing exercises and your hobbies. For me, soaking in nature whether at the beach or in the forest helps me relax. Sometimes just taking in the view from outside the window to look at the trees, birds, sky and clouds, and noticing the sounds and smell in the surroundings helps. It could be putting my legs up the wall, doing facial or hair oiling at home or giving yourself a good massage.
Click here for more tips on stress release and relaxation.
Click here for tips on eye care.
6. Having healthy boundaries
Sharing my story on personal boundary here.
Sharing a prose on personal space, filled with love here.
Sharing on what it means to have a good personal boundary here.
Find practices on personal boundary and space here.
Find out how is having good personal boundary being kind here
Each subject in itself is a huge topic.
