8 Simple Changes For Optimal Health

Being healthy is about bringing your body, mind and spirit back to its original balanced state. It is a time of discovery about what to do in order for you to live optimally. It is finding new ways by experimenting in order to
have more fun and joy in your life.

Below are some simple changes that you can implement that will set you on the road to success. By applying these changes you will find that getting healthy is so much easier then you believed. It is about gradually adding more of what works and slowly removing what doesn’t in order for you to feel and look your best.

1. Add more whole foods and eat less processed foods, unhealthy fats and sugar

Adding whole foods means eating more nutrient dense food. What are some nutrient whole foods? Vegetables, Fruits, Whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds as well as healthy fats. If you are not vegetarian or vegan,adding Grass-fed, humanely treated beef, lamb free range chicken and
other meat, wild caught and sustainable fish. You receive more of what your body needs from these nutrient dense foods then any other source.

It is also about having less of what is not good for you. Notice I say eat less not give up entirely. That is because our mind has a more difficult time with removing something completely then it does with just having less. Once you start slowly adding and removing, you will realize how much better you feel and then you will naturally begin to continue to only eat food that is working for you and removing food that is not working for you in order to be living optimally.

2. Cook at Home

Cooking meals doesn’t have to be complicated. You can cook meals with simple ingredients and short prep and cooking times. It makes the idea of coming home and cooking seem less of a chore and gives you more time with your family and yourself. You use only 5-6 recipes in the beginning because learning to make only a few short recipes and making them regularly becomes so easy. One way of making home cooking easier is by meal prepping. Meal prepping can be such an enjoyable experience even if you never liked cooking before. I know that for me, when I have grocery shopped one or two times for the week and precooked different items, it made putting it together just about reheating and putting it all on a plate. It also makes clean up after the meal much easier. When you decide to meal prep, you choose a day and time of the week that you set aside that works best for your schedule so there is no rush or pressure.

3. Add more enjoyable movement and less excessive exercise.

Have you thought about dancing to your favorite songs as exercise? Maybe spending a few minutes of the day jumping rope or bouncing up and down on a trampoline or maybe a little of both? Adding Kai Chi Do is also an option as it is aerobic and is fun as well as easy to do. Some people enjoy competition and get involved in an active sport. All these different ways to keep your body moving raise your heart rate and exercise muscles in your body helping to keep you in shape. Begin with 5 minutes a day. Find a time of day that works best for you, maybe right before your morning shower. Once you set a routine of when you implement your 5
minute movement practice, you can lengthen the amount of time until you are getting at least 30 minutes daily. It is important to make time to implement some sort of movement. Everyone can find something they can do for 5 minutes a day. If my grandmother at age 107 can do it, so can you. It will put a smile on your face and make you feel so much better.

4. Get more sleep.

Sleep is an important component of health that gets overlooked. Learning how to make 7-8 hours sleep an important part of your daily practice adds years to your life as well as takes years off of your body. A good nights sleep is a time where true healing happens. It is a time where movement has slowed which allows for repair and rejuvenation of all organs and tissues of the body down to the cellular level. All we have to do is to make it a habit to go to bed and wake up each day making sure you have the
allotted amount of sleep.

5. Belong to a community.

Research has shown that having people that you feel connected with and share a bond, a common purpose, keeps you healthy and alive. Many people turn to family and church for that support but there are many other ways. Belonging to a community where you can share yourself with others not only improves your health but also boosts your confidence, level of happiness and is fun. If you have an interest in something there are people out there looking for you to join them.

6. Meditate daily.

Meditation used to be a practice that was considered “New Age” and mostly done by people in the East as a spiritual component to their religion. It has now become mainstream and regarded highly as a practice that is important for overall health. That is because research has shown all the physical and mental benefits associated with meditation. Meditation is good for the mind, clearing thoughts, exercising the parts of the mind that stops negative self talk in its tracks and learning how to redirect the mind
to more supportive, useful thoughts. This creates new thinking patterns and associations, reduces anxiety, and helps with emotional reactivity, But it also good for the physical body, lowering blood pressure, relaxing muscles in the body, decreasing inflammation, fighting heart disease, aiding in weight loss, improving sleep, reducing pain from arthritis and other ailments. Once again, find a time, beginning with 5 minutes a day, sitting in a quiet space where you will not be disturbed sitting in a comfortable position. For more on meditation, you can check out my blog.

7. Find books that inspire you

Books have changed my life. Period. Certain books happened to find themselves coming into my life exactly when I needed them. I read or listened, applied what I learned and found myself living a much more expanded and enjoyable life. I always have those books around if I should ever need them again. Books are one of the best investment you can make for yourself. I also enjoy sharing my books with others because it seems that there are always people I know who may be looking for exactly what the book provides . Be open to receive them, especially when a friend recommends it. If you have difficulty concentrating on a physical book, you can now listen to books and buy it in audio form. I recommend Audible.

8. Implement breathwork as a daily practice.

Dr. Andrew Weil, a leading pioneer in the area of health and wellness has said out of all healing modalities that he has come across in the many years of study, breathwork is the most important. He has studied many modalities and reports that nothing improves health as quickly and easily as practicing conscious breathing. Practice the 4-7-8 technique. Check out my blog on breathwork here. These are just simple changes that will improve your life. I have found great success in following these steps for my own life as well as the lives of my clients.