hostmelissa
04-14-2009, 06:33 AM
Movement
I think probably one of the most important factors of a healthy lifestyle is movement. Exercise does amazing things to increase your energy and helps everything else work better from circulation to digestion. The positive psychology folks have loads of research to support the fact that depression is greatly alleviated by regular exercise.
It doesn’t really matter what you do… just get moving. Get out and enjoy a walk by the water, try climbing, go bike riding, grab your partner and dance. My personal favorites are of course yoga and pilates. Pilates gives me a strong core for powerful movements initiated safely from the center of the body. The benefits of my regular yoga practice are just too lengthy to mention here. Two of my absolute beloved paybacks are a healthy digestive system and a calm mind.
Nutrition
Brendan Brazier (http://www.brendanbrazier.com/), author of The Thrive Diet says that stress is the leading cause of illness. He estimates that about 70% of our stress comes from the food we eat. Highly processed and refined foods tax our bodies. Plant-based, whole foods nourish our bodies.
One of the most influential and motivating books I’ve read that actually encouraged me to eat more plant-based whole foods is called Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman (M.D.) (http://www.drfuhrman.com/) The most important advice I received from this book was to cover half my plate with leafy green vegetables each meal – yes, that’s right, a salad. Turns out,, eating more green vegetables is probably one of the best things we can do for our overall health. (You know this stuff already, right?)
Hydration
When I took my holistic lifestyle training course we learned a formula to determine the amount of water you need to be drinking a day. I’m going to share it with you today. For normal hydration, determine your body weight in pounds, divide it by two and drink that many ounces of water a day. So, for example, a 200-pound man would need to drink 100 ounces of water each day. That means, you may need to drink more or less than the blanket recommendation of 8 glasses of water a day depending on your body weight.
Sleep
I believe this is hands down the most overlooked component to a healthy lifestyle. People believe they can skimp on sleep. This is just not true. I can not stress enough the importance of a good night’s sleep.
Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. the body goes through its physical repair – if you are not sleeping during that time don’t expect to lose weight. If you miss out on those z’s between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. you are on the fast-track to a depressed immune system and chronic fatigue.
Between 2 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. the body goes through psychological repair. Here are some tips to help you sleep through those hours. Sleep in a room that is completely dark. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, sugar and nicotine after lunch. See above: exercise, hydrate and eat well – all these things will reduce negative stress on the body and allow you to sleep more soundly.
Reduce Stress
Perhaps the number one thing people come to me for coaching is help with reducing their stress. I’ve already mentioned that lack of exercise, poor nutrition, dehydration and inadequate sleep contribute to your overall stress. In addition take some time to identify the primary stressors in your life and make a realistic plan to help relieve these stressors. A coach (http://www.melissawest.com/index-2.html) can be a big help with this one.
Digestion
A healthy digestive system will create a healthy body. Ayurveda, yoga’s natural system of medicine, states that states that the health of the digestive system is the single most important long-term determinant of health and well-being. When the digestive system is not functioning efficiently toxins accumulate and seep out into the body rather than being eliminated. Toxins in the stomach create phlegm and move up into the lungs and lymphatic system. Toxins in the small intestine create acid and move up into the liver and blood. Toxins in the large intestine create gas and move up into the bones and the nerve tissue. A healthy digestive system is a positive contributor to your overall health.
Here are three things you should do to improve your digestion.
1) Eat more plant-based whole foods. This will tone the walls of the digestive tract allowing you to move waste through the digestive system more efficiently
2) Take a probiotic. Adding healthy bacteria to the digestive tract will do wonders.
3) Exercise. I love my Yoga for Digestion DVD (http://www.melissawest.com/index-16.html) which focuses specifically on the digestive system.
Spirit
Personally, the most important factor to my overall well-being is my relationship to spirit. This can be different for each person. For my husband, it is connecting with nature and animals. For my daughter it is her connection to the fairies and angels. For me, it is a daily, early-morning yoga and meditation practice and ongoing study of spiritual teachings. Find what resonates for you and immerse yourself. One of the most beautiful and universally appreciated prayers is Metta Meditation from the Buddhist Tradition. I will end this article with that prayer.
May you be free from inner and outer harm
May you be happy and peaceful
May you be healthy and strong
May you look after yourself joyfully
Namaste,
Melissa
I think probably one of the most important factors of a healthy lifestyle is movement. Exercise does amazing things to increase your energy and helps everything else work better from circulation to digestion. The positive psychology folks have loads of research to support the fact that depression is greatly alleviated by regular exercise.
It doesn’t really matter what you do… just get moving. Get out and enjoy a walk by the water, try climbing, go bike riding, grab your partner and dance. My personal favorites are of course yoga and pilates. Pilates gives me a strong core for powerful movements initiated safely from the center of the body. The benefits of my regular yoga practice are just too lengthy to mention here. Two of my absolute beloved paybacks are a healthy digestive system and a calm mind.
Nutrition
Brendan Brazier (http://www.brendanbrazier.com/), author of The Thrive Diet says that stress is the leading cause of illness. He estimates that about 70% of our stress comes from the food we eat. Highly processed and refined foods tax our bodies. Plant-based, whole foods nourish our bodies.
One of the most influential and motivating books I’ve read that actually encouraged me to eat more plant-based whole foods is called Eat to Live by Dr. Joel Fuhrman (M.D.) (http://www.drfuhrman.com/) The most important advice I received from this book was to cover half my plate with leafy green vegetables each meal – yes, that’s right, a salad. Turns out,, eating more green vegetables is probably one of the best things we can do for our overall health. (You know this stuff already, right?)
Hydration
When I took my holistic lifestyle training course we learned a formula to determine the amount of water you need to be drinking a day. I’m going to share it with you today. For normal hydration, determine your body weight in pounds, divide it by two and drink that many ounces of water a day. So, for example, a 200-pound man would need to drink 100 ounces of water each day. That means, you may need to drink more or less than the blanket recommendation of 8 glasses of water a day depending on your body weight.
Sleep
I believe this is hands down the most overlooked component to a healthy lifestyle. People believe they can skimp on sleep. This is just not true. I can not stress enough the importance of a good night’s sleep.
Between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. the body goes through its physical repair – if you are not sleeping during that time don’t expect to lose weight. If you miss out on those z’s between 10 p.m. and 2 a.m. you are on the fast-track to a depressed immune system and chronic fatigue.
Between 2 a.m. and 6:00 a.m. the body goes through psychological repair. Here are some tips to help you sleep through those hours. Sleep in a room that is completely dark. Avoid stimulants such as caffeine, sugar and nicotine after lunch. See above: exercise, hydrate and eat well – all these things will reduce negative stress on the body and allow you to sleep more soundly.
Reduce Stress
Perhaps the number one thing people come to me for coaching is help with reducing their stress. I’ve already mentioned that lack of exercise, poor nutrition, dehydration and inadequate sleep contribute to your overall stress. In addition take some time to identify the primary stressors in your life and make a realistic plan to help relieve these stressors. A coach (http://www.melissawest.com/index-2.html) can be a big help with this one.
Digestion
A healthy digestive system will create a healthy body. Ayurveda, yoga’s natural system of medicine, states that states that the health of the digestive system is the single most important long-term determinant of health and well-being. When the digestive system is not functioning efficiently toxins accumulate and seep out into the body rather than being eliminated. Toxins in the stomach create phlegm and move up into the lungs and lymphatic system. Toxins in the small intestine create acid and move up into the liver and blood. Toxins in the large intestine create gas and move up into the bones and the nerve tissue. A healthy digestive system is a positive contributor to your overall health.
Here are three things you should do to improve your digestion.
1) Eat more plant-based whole foods. This will tone the walls of the digestive tract allowing you to move waste through the digestive system more efficiently
2) Take a probiotic. Adding healthy bacteria to the digestive tract will do wonders.
3) Exercise. I love my Yoga for Digestion DVD (http://www.melissawest.com/index-16.html) which focuses specifically on the digestive system.
Spirit
Personally, the most important factor to my overall well-being is my relationship to spirit. This can be different for each person. For my husband, it is connecting with nature and animals. For my daughter it is her connection to the fairies and angels. For me, it is a daily, early-morning yoga and meditation practice and ongoing study of spiritual teachings. Find what resonates for you and immerse yourself. One of the most beautiful and universally appreciated prayers is Metta Meditation from the Buddhist Tradition. I will end this article with that prayer.
May you be free from inner and outer harm
May you be happy and peaceful
May you be healthy and strong
May you look after yourself joyfully
Namaste,
Melissa