Everyday tips for healthier living

It seems almost everywhere you turn, people are talking about living a more holistic lifestyle, and how it can lead to a happier, healthier and more fulfilled life. But what exactly does it mean to live holistically?

Holistic means looking at the whole person from a social and spiritual perspective, as well as a physical one. Keep in mind, looking at yourself from a spiritual perspective doesn’t necessarily equate with religious beliefs. Rather, it’s considering your mind, body and spirit in the whole equation of yourself as a vibrant, living being.

When we begin to explore and understand how the mind and body, which are tightly interwoven, affect one another, then true health and happiness can be achieved.

Holistic also means natural. To live holistically, it’s important to understand the Earth provides everything we need to live a healthy, balanced life. Learning to take advantage of this is part of living a more holistic, or natural, lifestyle.

Living holistically also means not just thinking of ourselves, but also of how our choices affect the world around us. Sharing your knowledge with loved ones and helping them adopt healthy habits will not only positively impact them, but will affect you, too, since your life can improve when the health and well-being of those around you improves.

Incorporating holistic concepts into your life doesn’t have to be hard. These are everyday changes you can make to improve your overall health and well-being, both physically and emotionally.

While many of these tasks, such as getting enough sleep, exercising, drinking water and eating your vegetables, seem simple, everyone—including holistic experts—needs to be reminded and inspired to incorporate them into their everyday lives.

Making these changes can have a positive impact on you for the rest of your life.

Circle of life

Consider every part of your life as interconnected. This is a tool you can use to consider various aspects of your life and how fulfilled you are in each area. For example, if you dislike your job, it could impact your overall health and well-being.

Use this tool at the beginning of SanaView’s webinar series to gauge where you stand in each area of your life. Then, revisit it at the end of the series to see if things have improved. This tool helps you understand that even if areas of your life are not perfect or ideal, you can still be happy and experience joy.

The first step to making this happen is spending time doing something you truly love so that it feeds you on many levels. The positive feelings you get from this will overflow into other areas of your life.

Getting sleep

Sleep is critical, not only for rest and rejuvenation, but for your body to heal and detoxify. It can also help reset your hormones. Making quality sleep time a priority in your life will help dramatically improve your mental and physical health.

Feed your mind

Choose your thoughts wisely. When you have a negative thought, you may feel the physical response in your body. Take notice of this and know that you can choose a better, more positive thought that helps you feel better overall.

Moving for wellness

Find some form of physical movement that you enjoy doing. Being physically active helps your body detoxify, and it will build strong bones and tone muscle. Exercise has also been found to help your body prevent disease, reduce inflammation and improve your emotional well-being.

Start your day off right

Breakfast is an essential part of your day, and it’s important to make sure you kick off your mornings with a healthy meal. Check out these hearty, nutritious breakfast ideas you can incorporate into your morning routine.

• Herbal tea or hot Mayan cocoa. These can be used in place of coffee.
• Fresh juice
• Oatmeal or creamy rice cereal. Cook with chopped apples or raisins to sweeten. Add cinnamon, more fresh fruit, ground flax and walnuts or other nuts and seeds.
• Smoothies. Blend water with grapes, pineapple, banana, spinach, flax and hemp.
• Sautéed veggies. Sauteé your favorite vegetables with onions, garlic and potatoes. You can also add avocado, nuts and seeds.
• Grain bagel. Try a sprouted grain bagel with natural nut butter and fresh fruit.
• Fruit. Eat a bowl of fresh fruit with nut butters, nuts and seeds mixed in.