A healthy lifestyle is what we all dream of in life. A harmonious life fuelled by a positive mindset, a fully operational body and the motivation to get up and go. The sad reality is that many of us are still searching for so many answers when it comes to fitness and health, that we end up feeling totally overwhelmed and stuck in an unhealthy rut. This isn’t helped by the countless online health guru’s sharing their own personal (and often conflicting) nuggets of wisdom about what you should and shouldn’t be doing.
When we contemplate what a healthy lifestyle actually means, it’s often assumed that it involves a drastic overhaul of hitting the gym for at least an hour a day whilst ditching all of our favourite foods. But the reality is, a healthy lifestyle means overall balance and harmony in all three areas of your physical, emotional and mental wellbeing. It is extremely difficult to achieve our goals in life if we cannot get into a routine of consistency on a daily basis, especially when it comes to something so sacred and underrated as our own health.
Introducing healthier habits that nourish your mind, body and soul each day is the first step you need to take to be the proud owner of a healthy lifestyle! Your daily routine has a bigger impact on your overall health than you realise especially with regards to your sleeping habits, diet and stress levels. If you find yourself constantly battling feelings of overwhelm when you think about adopting a healthy lifestyle, then don’t panic. It all starts with taking the first step with small positive actions each day, to help heal your body and health.
Here are 5 simple, yet powerful practices you can introduce into your daily routine to get you started on your journey.
Get back to basics
Living a healthy lifestyle, does not need to be complicated or costly. In fact, some of the healthiest habits are most likely to be free and completely at your disposal.
Going for a daily walk outside gives you the opportunity to get some exercise as well as mindfully connecting with your surroundings. Even if you live in the city, going for a walk around town will help boost your serotonin and dopamine levels, which is key to achieving a positive mindset naturally. Let the fresh air clear your mind and practice mindfulness by appreciating the natural beauty around you. Regardless of if it’s a leisurely stroll, or a brisk power walk, doing light cardio each day results in a plethora of benefits.
Upping your intake in water will also make the world of difference. Re-hydrating the body will benefit your mind, digestive system, skin, nails, hair and overall wellbeing. There are too many benefits derived from something as simple as water to be ignored.
Rest, rest, rest. It costs you nothing, but gives you everything. No matter how healthily you might think you eat or train, you will continue to fight an uphill battle if you are not giving your body the rest and recuperation time it needs. Take that nap. Go to bed earlier. Treat yourself to a lie. Everything else will become easier.
Stop The Scroll
It’s no secret that social media is highly addictive and handheld devices are the perfect procrastination tools. But, when you stop and think about how much time you waste each day mindlessly scrolling your phone it is literally the epitome of wasted time.
Blue light screen time can have a detrimental effect on your sleep quality and equally depending on your reading material of choice can be catastrophic for your self-esteem. Aside from that, there are all manner of wonderously positive things you could be doing with your pressure time instead that are guaranteed to make you feel a whole lot better.
Commit to limiting your screen time each day and replace this unhealthy habit with reading a book, spending time with close friends or practicing some mindfulness.
Stretch
Stretching when you wake up and before you go to bed is an easy and gentle way to loosen up any tension lingering in your muscles. You may be surprised how much you are holding on to each day, which quite frankly need to be let go to move on.
Stretching improves blood flow and circulation, helps to decrease pain and stiffness in both muscles and joints, improves posture and generally promotes relaxation.
Combined with breathing exercises, taking just five minutes to centre yourself and relax through stretching is a winning formula for success.
Meditate
Instead of reaching for a pill the next time you are experiencing high levels of stress and anxiety, give meditation a try. It gives you the opportunity to clear your mind of negativity and doubt and connect with your inner self, which with time will become an automatic daily habit.
Meditation forces you to focus on the present. It’s all to easy to get dragged down by events of the past that rear their ugly head and worry about the ifs and buts of what might happen tomorrow, next month even next year. Give yourself a break in time and focus on what matters right here, right now.
Eat More Plants
Increasing your fruit and vegetable intake will do you nothing but favours, specifically in terms of boosting your vitamin and mineral levels. More and more wellbeing practitioners are recommending a plant-based diet in order to help cure a range of physical ailments, as well as to aid with weight loss and help boost your energy.
Whilst our bodies benefit from the proteins and iron that are associated with the consumption of meat and fish, they can at times become troublesome for our digestive system to process, especially in large doses. Gut health is such a big driver when it comes to living a healthy lifestyle as neglect to the gut and general digestion can cause food intolerances, insomnia, apathy, and general irritability.
If in doube, just remember healthy gut, healthy life.
Cut Back On The Booze
Alcohol is not our friend when we want to start making healthier choices in life. It not only provides us with empty calories and a sore head, excessive alcohol consumption results in both emotional and physical repercussions like anxiety and dehydration. In the spirit of not taking any drastic measures, start with cutting back your wine intake and start reaping the benefits from day one!
Healthy living at The Sanctuary
Adopting a healthy lifestyle isn’t limited to focusing on the physical side of things. The power of the mind-body connection means that once you start making positive changes to your physical lifestyle, your mind will benefit from it too.
At The Sanctuary we realise that your journey to peak health and wellness is a marathon, not a race! Balance is key and all of our practices are designed to take a proactive, but gentle approach to helping you reach your goal of creating a harmonious and healthy life.
