For almost a year and a half now, I have made the
decision to make a point of focusing on my health – by eating the right foods,
doing what I can to improve my health, take whatever supplements I require to
stay healthy, get the right amount of daily nutrients, drink enough water, get enough
rest, and make sure I keep exercising and doing yoga like I had been so
diligent to do in the past. I can’t say that I have been exactly strict with
myself on the exercise part but have found over the past couple of months that
my time for yoga has improved, yay me!
However it is still not good enough as this had all been
a daily routine for me before and, especially lately, has been less frequent. Regular
exercise of any form is so important to add to healthy eating and lifestyle
choices, and so I press on to overcome this sinister spirit of procrastination
and distractions that stop me from doing what I love and need. Just like these
same things have been keeping me from pushing forward with my writing recently.
But this is going to be no more, I will prevail! This is one of my latest
lessons I am currently going through in my life and so I will keep pushing on through
it. So, what is the point of this? Well, through my experiences on this road to
a healthier me, I realised a very important lesson in all of this which we
should all heed. Taking care of yourself is so very essential, and not just because
it is the only body you have. That is unless someone miraculously discovers the
fountain of youth anytime soon, or science invents something to reverse the
ageing affects, or even transfer our consciousness into another body (perhaps I
have been watching too many sci-fi movies lately!).
Until then however, we need to be cautious with the way
we live. When we provide into our diet all the nutrients that we need, our
minds and so, our emotions and mental state, also are affected and improved. When
this takes place our spiritual selves are happier and feel more alive because our
minds (and bodies) are functioning properly and are in a good, healthy state. So, the same thing will apply to eating too much 'junk' food, consuming any foods or drinks with preservatives, taking too much prescription medicines, and so forth. Now, I am just speaking in general here about what I have learnt, with some
people it will be different depending on whether they are suffering with some
or other health issue. A lot of us have something we are battling
unfortunately. We need to keep in mind though, that we have to guard ourselves and our health for our overall well-being.
But we can do whatever we can, to the best of our
abilities. If we are doing our best, we should not feel guilty or bad about
ourselves. We are not robots, and are human after all! I have found that we
need to have a healthy balance of all aspects of our lives; which promote a
healthy body, mind and spirit. Too much of anything can be bad for you, and this
applies to everything. Get enough sleep if you can manage it, don’t overwork
yourself, spend time with your families and friends, spend and live wisely, don’t
procrastinate and do what you can – when you can, drink enough water, eat
healthy but treat yourself too once in a while at least. Do what you love,
laugh, sing, dance, or whatever makes your heart and soul glad. We only live
once. They say if you do it right, once is enough. And that is an encouraging
thought!
Your body is sacred and a wonderful gift, look after it. By
keeping your body as healthy as you can, you honour that and this leads to a
whole chain of health benefits. Many physical ailments are linked to our diet, such
as migraines/headaches, skin problems, indigestion, blood pressure, gout, and so
on. This is where the analogy comes in that your body is a like a temple and we
should treat it as such. Well, what does this actually mean? The way one would
treat a sacred place such a temple, would be that of respect, care,
appreciation, and even love. Do you understand now the relevance? Added to this,
think of what it means when you enter into such a sacred place: a heightened
sense of reverence and awareness comes over you, the honour and consideration
we feel to that particular place. This attitude applies to us too. Once we
become aware of what our body needs and become conscious on the choices we make
in looking after ourselves, we will start living healthier, leading to a
happier and balanced life in general.
