When seasons change, so should we. We’re moving from a season of moving less, eating more and sense of hibernation to a season of growth, new energy and motivation to move. To shed our winter layers we need to look at the things that are weighing us down and making us stagnant. The best thing you can do is to take care of yourself first and then your loved ones. Evaluate various aspects of your lifestyle to see where your stresses or weaknesses exist. You can break this up into five categories; nutrition, exercise, stress, sleep and mindset. Focus on one or two at a time and start to change your habits gradually by creating a routine so that eventually it becomes your lifestyle.
5 Categories of your lifestyle
- Nutrition
- Choose more fruits and vegetables (Canada’s food guide suggests 50-60% of your intake is from fruits and vegetables)
- Drink more water (Suggested intake is ½ oz to 1 oz per pound of body weight)
- Increase antioxidant vitamins such as Vit. A, C, E and Selenium (These can help to reduce free radicals in the body which build up as toxins in our body. If you have allergies this can help to reduce the effects if started before pollens get released).
- Eat lighter meals later in the day
- Exercise
- Choose an activity that you enjoy and start with 10-15 minutes everyday and gradually build up your time.
- Join and online class (We’ve got a variety of classes on our schedule–check out our schedule here).
- Stress
- Take time out of your day to just breathe. My advice is a minimum of 5 long deep breaths, 5 times a day. When we get stressed, we take in less oxygen which has a number of detrimental effects to our body. Remember air is more of a necessity than anything else, so start moving those lungs!
- As you are taking your deep breaths, turn off your mind and just focus on your breath. You can count the number of seconds it takes to fill your lungs completely and then take the same amount of time to exhale. You’ll be surprised at how much stress you can let go just by doing this one simple thing.
- Sleep
- Get at least 7-8 hours of sleep per night…the earlier you start the better. For every hour before 12am that you sleep, you can gain almost 2 hours of rest for the brain. So instead of sleeping at 11, try starting at 10pm and see how much more energy you have the next morning.
- Set up a good night time routine to help you stick to your target bedtime. Leave enough time to unwind without any electronics (should be at least 2 hours). Read a book instead, listen to some music or pick up a hobby.
- Mindset
- This is the most important thing to focus on since the mind is our computer and we need to reprogram how we view things and how we handle things.
- Don’t look at your new habits you are creating as difficult or hard. View them as exciting and thinking about how you will feel once you have implemented them into your lifestyle.
- Start turning your negative thoughts into positive ones. Thoughts are things….you might have heard this saying before but what does it mean? It means that the emotion you place around your thoughts creates the atmosphere for what you are creating. For example, if you tend to worry all the time, that trickles into every part of your life and you then end up constantly stressed and you handle every situation with that pattern of thinking. If you always believe that everything will work out, you will find that you start coasting through life a little easier.
- Start by choosing 3 habits that inhibit you from living your best life and that could affect your future health and life. Think about:
- How and when these habits began and are you ready to let go of any of them?
- Which ones are most important for you to change to create a healthier you?
- What will you need help with and what can you do on your own?
- What can you do for the change you want?
Here’s an example of my top three:
- Create a solid bedtime routine so that I can get up earlier and accomplish more self-care habits first thing in the morning.
- Do morning yoga and meditation daily.
- Drink 2.5L of water daily.
It takes time to create change so while we are going through the process, remember to be kind to yourself. It took a long time to create the habits you are currently in so it will take time to change those habits. If you fall off, get right back up and continue with your changes. The more your habits change, the better you will feel and those new habits will stick. Give yourself a minimum of 21 days….I say more like 30 days to commit and really feel the benefits…you’ll never want to go back to your old ways again!
If there is anything we can help you with on your journey to better health, please feel free to book in with any of our practitioners. Our Naturopathic doctors are the experts on how to implement these changes, along with a personalized plan including nutritional advice, supplementation, acupuncture and so much more. Book your complimentary 15 minute discovery call with one of our ND’s to see how they can help optimize your health.
To kick start your spring detox and how you can benefit from it, book a free 15 minute consultation with one of our Naturopaths.
