WEEK #1 PHYSICAL HEALTH

PHYSICAL HEALTH (Maintenance of the “Machine”)

 Indeed, when we talk about health, the first thing that comes to mind is the physical condition of our body. Nevertheless, well-being -at a broader (more holistic) level- goes beyond curing symptoms caused by a body disorder.

In some way it does have to do with what we ingest, what we digest, how much we move, rest, and how happy we allow ourselves to be. But let’s pay close attention to obsession around health, external appearance, and extreme actions, because there’s huge imbalance as well.

What we eat and drink

The ideal scenario would be for us to consume living (raw) food that comes from the vegetal kingdom, organic and as whole as possible… Even better if we don’t mix them at all!

In fact, the most convenient thing for the body would be to go with its natural cycles:

• In the morning ingesting lots of natural liquid and juicy fruits in order to help the ELIMINATION process that takes place at those hours.
• Eating the strongest meal around noon in to support the INGESTION cycle.
• Towards 6:00 pm (at the latest) consuming something light, easy to digest, so that we help the body in its DIGESTING period.

If you can do this and you like this life style, BRAVO! You’ll certainly be on your way to having a very good physical health… However, being more realistic, we live in a society full of relative factors; therefore, making our lives miserable because of a strict type of eating in an obsessive way, will stress us out and steal our peace instead of benefitting us. In the other hand, if we reject what we eat, it will probably make us feel sick, or even push us to eat sinful treats compulsively, out of rebelliousness!

What would I suggest?

If your desire is to benefit your body because you appreciate your health and you want to obtain the most of your physical apparatus’ performance, then learn to choose well!

• Whenever you do your grocery shopping, make sure you get enough high quality fruits, vegetables, and legumes, to include in your menus.
• Prepare them beforehand so that you always have healthy options at hand.
• Keep in your purse, briefcase, desk, car, or whatever, a little bag of seeds & dry fruits in case you might feel too hungry in between meals, and you still don’t have time to go get a stronger meal. Just a handful, mind you…
• If you are at a business meeting or social gathering, choose the healthier options among the list; but if the temptation to try some of the inconvenient options is too big, at least help yourself with half (or less) of the usual amount you would have taken.
• Avoid going for seconds. The last bite will always taste just like the first one, only that it will be less pleasant because your stomach will be struggling to digest all of that, and your brain will be trying to warn you!
• Eat a little bit slower than normal. Enjoy what you chew and appreciate its taste and texture. This will help you detect the amount of food your body really needs and you won’t gain unwanted weight.
• Keep an attitude of gratitude and joy while you eat, hopefully with no distractions from the media (especially tabloids and negativity).
• Try not to go to bed on a very full stomach.
• Make sure to drink plenty of water throughout the day; it’s recommended to aim for two litters per day; but since we’re all different and with diverse needs, your body will indicate to you how much it requires and at what moment. Pay attention and do that!
• You’ll do yourself a huge favor if you avoid soda pops at all cost. They are much more harmful than you’ll ever imagine.
• The amount of exercise and physical activity we do.

In order to maintain a healthy condition, your body really requiresamoderate amount of physical activity. This includes your normal, routine activities such as going up and down the stairs, gardening, cleaning the house, washing the car, gardening, walking through the supermarket or hardware aisle, walking from the car to your office desk, and even those actions that seem to be sedentary (like reading, writing, studying, etc.) require quite a bit of energy. But we can get an extra benefit if we add a 20-40 minute walk per day, or dance for a while even if it’s by ourselves!

Now… if you’re the kind or person who prefers a more demanding activity,

I’m sure everything you do during the day is performed in a more energetic way than most people, and perhaps you’ll prefer to jog instead of walking; or practicing some kind of Martial Arts instead of dancing… anything goes!

What I want to express to you is that the true needs of your body are different than the obsessions that the media has tried to sell us for a long time now!

What do I suggest?

Again, common sense!

• If you are naturally inclined towards a sedentary lifestyle, include more minutes of brisk movement each day (you choose what you want and can do)
• If you’ve lost elasticity, do some stretching exercise along the day for a few minutes at a time.
• If you can use the stairs instead of the elevator, wonderful!
• If you can park your car a bit further from the main entrance, great!
• And if you can keep a good posture tucking your tummy in, many bonus points for you

How much sleep do we allow ourselves to have?

Are you one of those individuals who go to sleep really late after watching TV despite knowing that you have to wake up early to go to work? Well, I have bad news for you: You’ll age much sooner than you’d like!

A restful sleep is crucial to a good health, hands down!

“Restful” doesn’t include nightmares, or waking up several times during the night thinking about our problems…

I’m referring to the kind of peaceful sleep we get after we go to bed thinking grateful thoughts about the wonderful things we lived during the day, and feeling pleased with our performance on the different activities.

When we wrap up the day, it’s convenient to say affirmations like:

“Thanks! I did my best in each circumstance. Tomorrow will be a new day; tonight I hand everything over to the Highest Wisdom in peace.“

At this point, release all analytic thoughts and allow only the contemplative ones.

Recreational activities (anti-stress)

Having fun is just as important as working. In fact it’s more, because when we understand that everything in life is a game, we’ll do all things with innocence and joy; with gratitude and focus; with curiosity and desire to grow; with generosity and detachment.

When we find ourselves on our deathbed, we’ll finally understand that it was not about stress but about happiness! In those moments so many people regret doing things the way they did them, and they express that if they could start over, they would have much more fun and would loved much, much more!

Let’s not reach those moments regretting what we didn’t do. So let’s begin today by not taking things so seriously and enjoying every single thing we do.

Let’s get to know closer those individuals we encounter each day, and offer them our generous & selfless help while enjoying being channels of blessings to others.

Let’s make the difference in our surroundings just because it’s very pleasing and we grow much more when doing so.

Let’s take time to contemplate the wonderful views being present, instead of taking “selfies” only to find out how many “likes” we get.

If there are children in our lives, let’s play with them regardless of what other people think!

Lie down on the grass or sand to see the sky and the stories that you can imagine when looking at the clouds or the stars; the birds or the leafs in the trees moved by the wind!

Notice how many types of birds or insects are singing at that moment!

When doing all of this, you’re actually getting younger; you’ll have released lots of stress, and your creativity will gift you with solutions and answers to your everyday annoying matters.

If you follow my recommendations, I can assure you that you’ll be able to forget about diets, worries, and obsessions.  You won’t need so many vitamin supplements and you’ll live a much happier and peaceful life!

Conclusion: Connect with your intuition and your inner child in order to evoke your well being, to learn the point of moderation that you’ll need, to obtain the common sense to choose wisely, and to increase the love for the wonderful body an life that were given to you!