Optimal health is comprised of many aspects, not just one. The goal is to have a balance among the different pillars because if one is out of balance, the rest may suffer. The four aspects of health briefly covered in this article are sleep, exercise, self-care, and nutrition.
How much sleep is needed?
Let’s begin with sleep since many people don’t give it a second thought. They are just hoping for a good night’s sleep.
The recommended amount of restful sleep needed per night is between 7 and 9 hours. This amount helps our bodies stay healthy and alert.
How important is exercise?
Our mindset around exercise may need some adjusting. Why? Because when people hear the word exercise, they tend to cringe and say, “nope, that’s not for me!”
The definition of exercise is an activity requiring physical effort. You simply need to move your body, period. Do any activity that gets your blood and lymph moving.
You can go for a walk by yourself, with your family or a friend. The activity that you enjoy doing is your best form of exercise. There are so many benefits to moving your body with exercise.
What’s self-care?
Self-care is the practice of taking action to improve one’s own health. It’s the one that most people think the least about, and yet, it’s important because it involves your attitude about health in general.
Some examples of self-care might be: taking time for rest and relaxation, scheduling quiet time for self-reflection (the good kind), going for a hike or walk in the woods, having some form of bodywork done (i.e. Bowen technique, Emmett technique, massage), practicing Tai-Chi, yoga, essentrics, and more.
The idea is to find what helps you to relax your mind and body the best and do it regularly.
Does what we eat really matter?
Nutrition is food or nourishment. I have heard a great analogy between food for the body and gas and oil for a car engine. If you want your car’s engine to run optimally, that means not having it break down on you, you need to give it high quality gas and oil, correct?
If you don’t give it high quality gas or oil consistently, you could end up with problems that need to be taken care of later on because the car just doesn’t run the way it should.
The same is true for your body. Your body functions best with high quality whole foods that nourish and give it nutrients. These nutrients are vital and may help prevent your body from breaking down, having problems, and need fixing.
Are you ready to nourish your body with better, high quality whole foods?
Christine Cosby, CHC, EP, PBP, LMBT
As the owner of Holistic Body Therapies, I seek to improve my client’s health and movement with nutritional support & bodywork techniques. I am proud to offer bodywork, nutritional support, and health coaching to my clients. The two primary bodywork techniques I use are Bowen and Emmett Techniques, which help to reset the nervous system using light touch. In addition to these techniques, I am also excited to offer nutritional guidance to my clients as a certified health coach with the Dr. Sears Wellness Institute.
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