What is Health?
Health is a many faceted object, with interlinked areas that depend on each other for an overall well balanced shape (literally). For me there are 6 areas that depend on each other - if they are not all addressed we are at risk of becoming "out of shape".
In this article I briefly cover all 6 areas on which we should work
Let's start first with thoughts, for if our thinking isn't right we have little chance of success at any endeavor.
1. Thoughts
Everybody is told think positive but how?
You can sit there all day saying to yourself "I must not think negative thoughts, I must not think negative thoughts" without much change occurring. By the nature of the mind if somebody tells you to not think of a pink elephant you at first have to think of a pink elephant.
Break the cycle. A great way to start is to listen to motivational CDs and read books by great motivators such as Tony Robbins, attend seminars and workshops. I sometimes listen to up to 10 hours audio a week. Where do I get the time? Every time I get into the car, on my iPod in the gym or on a run. Some might say "but I run best to music" Get over it, even if just on one run a week or 1 gym session put a motivational speaker on your iPod.
2. Breathing
The way we breathe affects every part of our system. Most of us tend to breath orally. This is a learned response. All the data shows that we start lives as nasal breathers and learn to breath orally. Unfortunately oral breathing increases our adrenal response raising our stress hormone levels. For us to breath more effectively we must practice deep diaphragmatic breathing through our noses. A great way to start is to take 5 minutes out at the start of each day and sit upright, close our eyes and breath deeply and slowly counting to 4 in and 4 out. Do this for 5 minutes. Set an alarm clock so you don't have to keep looking at your watch.
3. Water
Our body is mainly made up of water and is used by the body at many different levels. Mainly it is important for cellular health. Water maintains a stable environment around and inside our cells, When our cells are hydrated it both allows the elimination of waste and sufficient nutrition for the cell. Water should contain electrolytes and be clean to aid this process.
That is how it should be...in actual fact most of us are dehydrated, we drink to much alcohol, coffee and other diuretics or we just don't drink enough water. The little water we do drink is often tap water, which contains Chlorine and Fluoride. If we use chlorine for killing bugs in our water system , what is it doing to the good bugs in our stomach? Another issue is the fact that most of the water we drink does not have a high enough mineral content or electrolytes to nourish the cells so they function properly.
The correct amount of water per day is your weight in Kg X 0.033
If you are drinking tap water, filter it and add a pinch of good quality sea salt or Himalayan Mountain Salt to replace the minerals it is lacking.
When buying bottled water, be careful what you choose. We are becoming more aware now how much energy and waste is involved in plastic bottles of water. Buy bottles that are made from glass. Be aware of mineral water, which is just purified water such as some of the big soft drink manufacturers put out. If you must buy these, definitely add a pinch of good salt.
4. Nutrition
Eat well, eat living food. No processed rubbish. By Organic where you can, for both your meat and vegetables. Avoid most grains and starchy vegetables. We developed for millions of years eating our food very simply. Our system is not designed to take refined foods and to many grains. If we ate like we did before we discovered agriculture the world would be a much more healthy less weight-obsessed place. Avoid all sugars and sweeteners (except Stevia*). If you are going to use honey make sure it is raw and no more than a spoonful a day. The evils of sugar are well documented so I won't go into them here. I will tell you about artificial sweeteners though. Science shows us that they trick the body into thinking it is eating sugar. One of the downsides of sugar is that it makes us more hungry. Studies have shown that people who use artificial sweeteners tend to get hungrier quicker than those who use no sweetener at all.
5. Exercise
Move your butt. Even as little as 50 years ago, daily physical exertion through day-to-day activities was 3 times as much as it is today. Technology and our increased use of transport is making us fat, lazy and sick.
We need to do both cardio and weights to mimic the tasks we once did everyday. If you think you can get away with exercising 3X a week, forget it. We need to do something physical virtually everyday. Work hard at least 3 days a week and do something - walk, jog, cycle - the other days.
The hardest part of any exercise program is the first 10 feet, getting out of your front door for the first time. Once we get going it is amazing how fast we feel the benefits and get satisfaction from a structured exercise program. If you don't know where to start or are a little worried about risk of injury or limitations you may have consult a professional personal trainer to help get you started.
6. Rest
Not just rest from exercise, rest from everything. 6-8 hours sleep a night. 1 day a week when your exercise is limited to a gentle stroll or frolicking in the surf. Another great way of getting rest and de-stressing is focused rest, meditation. Studies show that 20 minutes breathing exercises or meditation every day will reduce your cortisol (stress hormone) levels and increase your focus, energy and endorphin (happy hormone) levels significantly.
The body and mind needs time to recover. Over-train and we expose our selves to injury and reduces the bodies immune system exposing us to illness.
Overwork and we get the same results.
So there we have it. Health is about laying strong foundations, I do not expect people to live like rabbits and not have fun but like a building, if we have strong foundations we can take a few knocks (or big weekends) and we will recover quickly. If we have a weak foundation in one or more areas, we run the risk of the structure collapsing ie illness, depression, weight problems, performance issues.
So apply these six basic principles now. You will quickly find yourself energized, healthier and in a better frame of mind to tackle life and all the great challenges it throws at you
Health is a many faceted object, with interlinked areas that depend on each other for an overall well balanced shape (literally). For me there are 6 areas that depend on each other - if they are not all addressed we are at risk of becoming "out of shape".
In this article I briefly cover all 6 areas on which we should work
Let's start first with thoughts, for if our thinking isn't right we have little chance of success at any endeavor.
1. Thoughts
Everybody is told think positive but how?
You can sit there all day saying to yourself "I must not think negative thoughts, I must not think negative thoughts" without much change occurring. By the nature of the mind if somebody tells you to not think of a pink elephant you at first have to think of a pink elephant.
Break the cycle. A great way to start is to listen to motivational CDs and read books by great motivators such as Tony Robbins, attend seminars and workshops. I sometimes listen to up to 10 hours audio a week. Where do I get the time? Every time I get into the car, on my iPod in the gym or on a run. Some might say "but I run best to music" Get over it, even if just on one run a week or 1 gym session put a motivational speaker on your iPod.
2. Breathing
The way we breathe affects every part of our system. Most of us tend to breath orally. This is a learned response. All the data shows that we start lives as nasal breathers and learn to breath orally. Unfortunately oral breathing increases our adrenal response raising our stress hormone levels. For us to breath more effectively we must practice deep diaphragmatic breathing through our noses. A great way to start is to take 5 minutes out at the start of each day and sit upright, close our eyes and breath deeply and slowly counting to 4 in and 4 out. Do this for 5 minutes. Set an alarm clock so you don't have to keep looking at your watch.
3. Water
Our body is mainly made up of water and is used by the body at many different levels. Mainly it is important for cellular health. Water maintains a stable environment around and inside our cells, When our cells are hydrated it both allows the elimination of waste and sufficient nutrition for the cell. Water should contain electrolytes and be clean to aid this process.
That is how it should be...in actual fact most of us are dehydrated, we drink to much alcohol, coffee and other diuretics or we just don't drink enough water. The little water we do drink is often tap water, which contains Chlorine and Fluoride. If we use chlorine for killing bugs in our water system , what is it doing to the good bugs in our stomach? Another issue is the fact that most of the water we drink does not have a high enough mineral content or electrolytes to nourish the cells so they function properly.
The correct amount of water per day is your weight in Kg X 0.033
If you are drinking tap water, filter it and add a pinch of good quality sea salt or Himalayan Mountain Salt to replace the minerals it is lacking.
When buying bottled water, be careful what you choose. We are becoming more aware now how much energy and waste is involved in plastic bottles of water. Buy bottles that are made from glass. Be aware of mineral water, which is just purified water such as some of the big soft drink manufacturers put out. If you must buy these, definitely add a pinch of good salt.
4. Nutrition
Eat well, eat living food. No processed rubbish. By Organic where you can, for both your meat and vegetables. Avoid most grains and starchy vegetables. We developed for millions of years eating our food very simply. Our system is not designed to take refined foods and to many grains. If we ate like we did before we discovered agriculture the world would be a much more healthy less weight-obsessed place. Avoid all sugars and sweeteners (except Stevia*). If you are going to use honey make sure it is raw and no more than a spoonful a day. The evils of sugar are well documented so I won't go into them here. I will tell you about artificial sweeteners though. Science shows us that they trick the body into thinking it is eating sugar. One of the downsides of sugar is that it makes us more hungry. Studies have shown that people who use artificial sweeteners tend to get hungrier quicker than those who use no sweetener at all.
5. Exercise
Move your butt. Even as little as 50 years ago, daily physical exertion through day-to-day activities was 3 times as much as it is today. Technology and our increased use of transport is making us fat, lazy and sick.
We need to do both cardio and weights to mimic the tasks we once did everyday. If you think you can get away with exercising 3X a week, forget it. We need to do something physical virtually everyday. Work hard at least 3 days a week and do something - walk, jog, cycle - the other days.
The hardest part of any exercise program is the first 10 feet, getting out of your front door for the first time. Once we get going it is amazing how fast we feel the benefits and get satisfaction from a structured exercise program. If you don't know where to start or are a little worried about risk of injury or limitations you may have consult a professional personal trainer to help get you started.
6. Rest
Not just rest from exercise, rest from everything. 6-8 hours sleep a night. 1 day a week when your exercise is limited to a gentle stroll or frolicking in the surf. Another great way of getting rest and de-stressing is focused rest, meditation. Studies show that 20 minutes breathing exercises or meditation every day will reduce your cortisol (stress hormone) levels and increase your focus, energy and endorphin (happy hormone) levels significantly.
The body and mind needs time to recover. Over-train and we expose our selves to injury and reduces the bodies immune system exposing us to illness.
Overwork and we get the same results.
So there we have it. Health is about laying strong foundations, I do not expect people to live like rabbits and not have fun but like a building, if we have strong foundations we can take a few knocks (or big weekends) and we will recover quickly. If we have a weak foundation in one or more areas, we run the risk of the structure collapsing ie illness, depression, weight problems, performance issues.
So apply these six basic principles now. You will quickly find yourself energized, healthier and in a better frame of mind to tackle life and all the great challenges it throws at you
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