by Hope Zvara | Jan 17, 2022 | Lifestyle
We are at our greatest when we are well. We are tempted to stay on the couch, consume junk food, watch TV, or check social media. But is it that easy to stay healthy?
Photo by Jill Wellington from Pexels
Changes are required to sustain a healthy lifestyle. You may find it tough to adapt at first, but you will be convinced once you see the difference. Let’s find out how to live a healthy lifestyle with a few simple changes.
Choose A Healthy Diet
It may be challenging to choose a healthy diet, but you will achieve it with a bit of effort. The first step is to eat more fruits and vegetables; you may acquire them at your local farmer’s market. Consume legumes, nuts, seeds, lean meat, and whole grains to help maintain a healthy digestive system.
When eating out, pick dishes cooked with fresh ingredients. Enjoy dinner without your phone or TV. Also, we are what we eat. We need to eat healthy to stay healthy.
Keep Active
We spend lots of time indoors, typically behind a computer for hours. Getting up and moving is one of the first measures towards health. What important is that you are moving your body, training your muscles, and greasing your joints.
Physical activity can help improve symptoms of numerous diseases. It can aid with decreased muscle tone and can be used to treat conditions like plantar fasciitis. If you have such issues, you can always investigate alternative treatment options. You can have a foot massage, foot spa, or foot roller. All of these devices are developed to relax tense muscles and relieve pain.
Hydrate Well
Dehydration is one of the leading causes of poor health. We inhibit our organs and systems from working correctly by not drinking enough water.
Eight glasses of water each day is the minimum suggested. Be careful not to drink too much tea, caffeine, or soda, or your body might regret it. Some of these drinks are diuretic, aggravating dehydration. Sugary foods increase the risk of diabetes and hypertension. Water quenches our thirst and hydrates us. That’s it. We also perform better when well hydrated.
Getting 7-8 Hours Of Sleep
Our bodies have a circadian rhythm. We are made to be active during the day and sleep at night. We tend to work late and sleep late nowadays; we spend more time staring at devices and complaining of insomnia. Sleep deprivation can lead to chronic health issues and decreased performance.
The apparent option is to get the recommended 7–8 hours of sleep per night. Sleep hygiene is also essential. For example, never eat a big meal before bed. Your body will be too busy digesting all of that meal to sleep. Prevent spending far too much time on your smartphone or watching TV before bedtime. Finally, make sure your space isn’t too hot or too dry. This is something I teach all of my truck drivers with Mother Trucker Yoga when it comes to truck driver health.
Let Go Of Being Occupied
This is perhaps one of the most critical elements in chronic illness. We’ve gotten used to working 24/7, no matter what. We spend a little less time outside and are always connected. While we should value technology, moderation is the key to healthy living, as is it important to enjoy things such as alcohol in moderation. If you feel you need help, Sunshine Behavioral Health can help you.
Physical fun is a great way to stay fit and happy mentally. Instead of perusing social networks and feeling left out, do something when you come home. Go for a walk, play tennis, or swim. Being busy is not glamorous, and it will not make you feel well.
Work effectively and moderately in balance, reduce your stress and remain active. Also, remember to have fun because it’s a great way to relax. Remember it’s the small simple change that leads to the big results in your life you are looking for.
by Hope Zvara | Oct 28, 2019 | Inspirational, Yogic Living
5 Ways to Live a More Authentic Life NOW:
1. Be Honest with Yourself and Others.
We often think that the little white lies we tell ourselves and others will make things easier. We think we are doing a favor to others by saving them the time or emotion of the truth. But the reality is, it makes things much more complicated and incredibly dishonest. These lies snowball until you can’t remember who you’ve told the truth to. Find your authentic truth.
2. Stop Saying “I Can’t.”
We look out at life and say that we can’t do this or that, and what we say becomes our truth. What we tell the Universe is what we get back from the Universe.
Erase “I can’t” from your vocabulary and replace it with “I can, I have, I know, or I am.” Take life and start living in the moment.
3. Take Risks.
I’m not saying jump off a cliff, but rather, live boldly. I would rather fall a million times than never fall once and have never tried. We learn through hardships and risks, and the only bad risk is the one not taken. Sometimes you need a little clarity to feel more confident to take that risk…
So are you willing to take that risk if you know it will bring you clarity? What if there was something you could do to aid that clarity creation and feel more confident in that next step?
4. Speak up.
I often speak what is on my mind and what I desire. And yoga has taught me how to channel that in a positive, more helpful, loving way (better than I could years ago). I often hear people say: if only, or I didn’t know, or I wish someone would have told me, but the truth is, unless you speak up, why should anyone come running to your aide? Don’t blame others for your unspoken wish list. Don’t say, “I should have” when you know you could have. We all have a voice and the right to speak up. So when you don’t, it’s no one’s fault but your own.
5. Be a Leader.
We need not be trendsetters or inventors, but rather leaders in our own lives. You may not be famous, but when you live 100 percent each day with no regrets — truthfully and positively — and speak up in a kind manner, you become the authentic leader for others to follow in living their lives that way too.
Each and every day we must work to be more mindful and work to be the best version of ourselves in all that we do. When we step outside our comfort zones and work just a bit harder than the day before, things get easier and we start to enjoy life more. Seek to live an authentic life and reap the rewards.
by hope | Oct 23, 2019 | Lifestyle, Wellness Wednesday, Yogic Living
Being stressed appears to be the new norm. Tasks just keep piling up and finding time to de-stress seems to never fit into the day’s schedule. And when it comes to work, it may not be realistic to drop everything and hit up a yoga class or take a day at the beach. We can use mantras and affirmations to keep our mind calm and focused without detracting from our productivity.
As a yoga and mindfulness expert of more than seventeen years, I firmly believe in making small little changes to our lives. And at the end of the day, those small little changes all add up to big results.
And that is why incorporating the use of mantras into your life and workday can be a very effective way to curb stress, help you become more productive, and keep a “zen” state even in the most stressful of times.
The use of mantras can benefit anyone who incorporates them into their lives.
Benefits include:
- Reduced stress and anxiety
- Soothes stresses from technology hangover
- Assists in shedding neurotic habits
- Boosts immunity
- They are FREE
What is a Mantra?
A mantra is a word or syllable repeated to help curb the mind and keep focus. It acts as a form of meditation. One would often use a mantra in yoga and meditation to help keep “the mind on the mat.” They are often also used in everyday life and given from teacher to student to help overcome obstacles, challenges, and transitions.
Incorporating mantras into ones’ workday can be a wonderful way to combat stress, keep better focus, improve confidence, and keep negative, self-sabotaging thoughts at bay.
How Do I use a Mantra?
If you are a yogi working with a teacher, one would often recommend you recite your given mantra for 108 times, X amount of times per day for so many days. (108 is a special number in the yogic world.)
Anyone can begin to use mantras and instantly benefit. And that means you can start today.
You may already have used a mantra and don’t even know it.
Affirmations are forms of mantras in the English form. Mantras can be more powerful as the vibrational tone. The sound of a mantra when spoken correctly aids the brain and our inner state more deeply than its English sister.
No matter where you start, a refocusing on the mind will surely follow, with commitment and regular repetition.
Where do I Start?
One of my favorite mantras that I was given during my stay at an ashram during one of my yoga teacher trainings is a mantra to Ganesha.
Ganesha is seen as the remover of obstacles. When chanted to, it can help you overcome, move through, or see more clearly that which is in front of you and needs to be dealt with.
Mantra for the Workplace
“Om Vakratundaaya Hum” (Ohm Vah-krah-TOON-die-yah Hoom)
When chanting this, you would either chant using a mala or even just chant this frequently during the day to help keep the mind focused and aid in working through difficulties.
If you would rather not use a Sanskrit mantra, then using affirmations (which many of us do already) is a great place to start.
I think of mantras as a way to change the internal voice we have. For many, that internal voice is negative and downgrading.
Affirmation for the Workplace
“Peace is within my reach” or “I am calm and focused”, or “Obstacles are opportunities”.
No matter what mantra or affirmation you choose, they don’t work and cannot help you if you don’t use them. Check out this blog post to learn how to craft your own personal, positive affirmations.
Please comment and share with me what mantras you have chosen for yourself!
Namaste.
This post was originally published in the March 2018 edition of Inspiyr.
