Luckily we do not know what the future has in store for us. Despite a healthy lifestyle we might fall seriously ill tomorrow or have a severe accident next month, and there’s nothing we can do about that.
What you CAN do is to treat your body (and mind) well on a day-to-day basis. That still has the greatest impact on your health. Nowadays a “healthy lifestyle” has become a full-time occupation for many – almost a kind of tyranny – but you can keep things simple and stick to a few basic rules:
EAT WELL – Eat when you’re hungry, and in portions that are adapted to you size and lifestyle. You are what you eat; best choice is pure products (as little ready-made as possible), locally sourced. Refuse to buy products that have travelled across the globe, e.g. apples from New Zealand (unless you live there)! Avoid white wheat flour and sugar as far as possible, and watch out with the meat…
MOVE A LOT – Make it a habit to do morning exercises (prepare a little program, adapted to your personal needs, e.g. a weak back). Spend time outside! Whenever possible, walk or bike instead of taking the car or bus and eat your lunch in the nearest park as soon as weather allows it.
SLEEP ENOUGH – To have a good sleep you need to move your body and get physically tired. A simple evening walk after dinner can do the trick. Good sleeping habits are key: regular times for going to bed at night and getting up in the morning. Avoid screen watching (TV, computer or cell phone) directly before going to sleep. Constant lack of sleep is a big threat to good health.
MIND MATTERS – Meditation might sound difficult or boring, but you can start small: try five minutes per day, sitting on a chair, concentrating on the sensation of air entering and leaving your body through your nose. Walking meditation is an excellent alternative for the restless 😉
DO WHAT YOU LOVE – Working full-time leaves little time to do what we love (best case scenario: your work is what you love most!). Still, try to find at least one hour or two a week to paint, build ship models, work in your garden, play with you children, knit or play the accordion – simply indulging in a hobby. Your soul needs it.
And last, but not least:
BE HAPPY! – Don’t take life –or yourself – too seriously. Bad things happen, but they should not define us. Don’t dwell on the negative things people say or do. Smile as soon as you catch yourself with a serious face and spread happiness around with small,
friendly gestures.
EXTRA POINTS
I feel that certain parts of the body need extra care, and these details I find
especially important:
TEETH – Bad teeth have many unpleasant side effects (infections, stomach problems, bad breath, and difficulties to eat) Apart from standard oral health (brushing teeth and flossing them) oil pulling is a great thing to do. It takes 20 min each morning, but you can prepare your breakfast or lunchbox at the same time. After practicing oil-pulling for some years I only need to visit the dentist once a year for a regular check-up, and she always praises my oral status.
FEET – Even if you don’t believe in reflexology, standing or walking on your feet for hours each day already implies the importance of taking good care of them. After washing my feet in the evening, I give them a through massage with some nice, perfumed oil (lavender, rosemary or peppermint). It makes such a difference for tired feed and for the general well-being! Check out trigger points for different parts of your body here.
SKIN – Your skin is your body’s largest organ, and it deserves some extra care. Once a week I do a proper dry brush, from head to toe, and I try to use as clean products as possible for its care: almond, coconut or sesame oil, good quality aroma oil, shea butter and beeswax, and I do my own creams (blog post will follow!) but a good quality ecologic cream with as few ingredients as possible is fine too. Remember: much of what you put on your skin actually enters your bloodstream, and you don’t want nasty chemicals and E-numbers that are found in most ready-made products in your body!
Mens sana in corpore sano