Fundamental Healthy Habits

Just as it is wise to think long term about your financial or business health, it is just as wise to think long term about your physical health. With this in mind I encourage a longer-term approach to getting into shape rather than a six or eight-week burst that you can’t sustain. Optimal health is about having daily practices that rebuild all the systems in our body. How we live on a daily basis is what replenishes these systems. Our nervous, musculoskeletal, digestive, endocrine, immune, lymphatic, circulatory and reproductive systems are constantly renewing themselves or breaking down through our lifestyle choices. We all know that we should drink water, exercise and eat good food. But if you look a little deeper, and understand that this is actually how we rebuild our body, then maybe we will take our lifestyle a little more seriously. It does not matter how big your house is or how many cars you have if you are to sick, tired or too constipated to enjoy them The Dali Lama, when asked what surprised him most about humanity, answered “man”. Because he sacrifices health to make money. Then he sacrifices his money to recuperate his health. It takes years for poor health to accumulate in our bodies it does not happen over night. But the good news is our bodies are also constantly renewing and rebuilding. Here are some fundamentals to work on below: 1. Deal with emotions that cause fear, anger and sadness. Many studies link emotions to poor health now. The more you feel chaotic on the inside the more important it is to deal with these symptoms. Many amazing therapies can shift our emotional states for the better. 2. Deep diaphragmatic breathing. The eastern world has practised this for thousands of years through meditation, yoga, Thai chi, qui gongs and other techniques. Shallow breath creates toxicity, sore tight neck muscles, acidity and poor physical function. Find a practice that you enjoy that involves breathing even if it as simple as 20 diaphragmatic breaths before you go to sleep. 3. Take notice of how much good quality, clean filtered water you are consuming daily. Every system in the body depends on water. We are all different. For every 30kg of body weight you need 1 litre plus a cup. (For 60kg you need 2.5L; for 90kg you need 4L daily. Herbal teas are a great way to increase your water intake.file 4. Eat living food. Examples are clean proteins (anything with eyes), vegetables, legumes, fruits and good quality fats such as avocados oils, nuts. Stay away from food that lives in packets; if it can live on the shelf for a long time it has no life force for you. 5. Look at what you enjoy doing to stay fit and healthy. Find an activity that you look forward to instead of begrudging. Include family and friends in your daily exercise. 6. Get to bed by around 10pm. This will improve your health significantly. We get our physical repair between 10pm and 2am, and physiological and nervous system repair from 2am till 6am. Have a wind-down routine of relaxation such as dim lights, hot baths and enlightened reading so your body knows it’s getting reading to sleep. Make sure your room is dark like a cave, as this promotes melatonin our recovery and repair hormone. There is no magic pill to health, only basic life principles. The more you do them consciously the healthier you will become. Our bodies love routine. Focus on one thing at a time and when that is a habit you can add another.