The basis of health is what we do and how we act on a daily basis. It is our bad habits that build up over time that affect our physical, mental, and emotional health. Whenever you are feeling out of balance, come back to these six foundations and see what areas positively or negatively impact your current state of being.
BREATH
Pay attention to your breathing habits. Do you breathe in through your mouth or your nose? Does this breath go into your chest or into your belly? Do you catch yourself holding your breath? The way you breathe can tell you a lot about how you are feeling. Tune in.
Breath is the quickest way to switch between the parasympathetic (rest and digest) and the sympathetic (fight or flight) nervous systems. Holding your breath, breathing into the top of your lungs, and/or taking short, quick breaths, reinforces a dominant state of stress. When our bodies are ‘stressed’ they do not have the ability to heal the mind, body, or spirit. Focusing on slowing down the breath, breathing through the nose and into the belly, and tuning into the body, calms and rebalances the nervous system.
HYDRATION
How much water are you drinking? Are you thirsty? Do you get headaches, have low energy or are constipated? What is the quality of the water? How is the water treated? Both the quality and quantity of water is important.
We can tell if the body is dehydrated by the color of the urine. If the urine is a darker yellow, that means it is more concentrated and the body is dehydrated. Hydration is important as water makes up two thirds of our body mass. It plays a role in all cellular functions allowing the body to absorb and utilize vitamins, minerals, amino acids and other important nutrients. It is needed to excrete wastes and toxins from the body. It helps to regulate body temperature and is needed to lubricate our joints and muscles. Common symptoms of dehydration are fatigue, headaches, and muscle cramps.
NUTRITION
Are you eating nutritionally dense foods? Are you eating because you are hungry or because food is comforting? Is the food you are eating adding to or preventing disease? Are the foods you are eating right for your body? Do you experience any symptoms (e.g. gas, bloating, heartburn) after you eat?
“You are what you eat” is true. When we are hungry, it is a signal that our cells need nutrients to perform their daily tasks. When we eat low nutrient dense foods, we feel full because our stomach has been stretched signaling the brain we have had enough food. Once the food has been processed by the body, the body tries to use what it has been given. This isn’t a good thing. When we eat poor quality foods low in nutrients, they are incorporated into cells making the cell membranes less fluid, and they slow the capacity and speed of cell functions.
MOVEMENT
Are you moving every day? Why or why not? Is it something you enjoy or is it a struggle to do every day? Find something you enjoy and schedule it into your calendar.
Exercise/movement have a variety of benefits including improved sleep quality, increased mood, energy and stamina, and mental alertness and memory. It also reduces stress, increases interest in sex, and improves cardiovascular fitness. It helps with blood and lymph flow to our muscles and helps to clear waste by shuttling the toxins back to the liver for processing to be excreted. The lymph system only moves with muscle contraction. It does not have the same tone and blood vessel walls so without muscle contraction the lymph system is not moving.
SLEEP
Do you fall asleep easily? Stay asleep through the night? Wake up rested? Do you snore, grind your teeth, or wake up with a dry mouth? Do you keep the same sleeping schedule every day of the week? Do you go to bed before 11pm? Are you exposed to bright lights and blue lights right before bed?
Proper sleep is a game changer. This is the time of the day the body goes through a repair and restoration cycle. The brain, organs, and body are cleansed. Toxins are removed and cells are repaired in order to start the next day fresh. Without proper sleep, toxins and waste products build up in the body. They slow down the detoxification pathways and then cause dysfunctions to the GI tract, immune system, and nervous system. If you have problems sleeping try to keep a consistent sleep schedule, turn off all blue light and dim bright lights at least 1 hour before bed, and ensure the bedroom is cool (temperature) and dark. This will help to support the rise in melatonin which help with sleep.
RELATIONSHIPS
How is your relationship with yourself? Is it toxic? Do you think or say negative things about yourself? How about the relationships with your friends and family? Do they leave your cup full? Are these relationships supportive? Tune into your body when you are with your friends and family. Do you feel relaxed, open, and in the presence of love, or are you uptight, ready to defend yourself, and leave feeling upset? Do you put others before yourself? Remember, you can’t give in a relationship when your own cup is empty.
Relationships can be tricky. They are about give and take but at what point do they become toxic? Stay curious about your thought patterns and default subconscious actions as to how you think and behave. Our patterns are learned behaviors and they are not set in stone. The first step is to recognize why you act and react to certain things and what created this pattern in the subconscious that causes the reaction. This is very good insight into who you are as a person.
Knowing what is right for your body and your health can be tricky to figure out. If you feel like you need some guidance do not hesitate to reach out. At CAP Health, NDs have a free 15-minute meet and greet for you to ask questions and decide if this path is right for you.
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