Healthy Living

    When people think of being healthy immediately we are struck with images of the gym, muscles, diets and running shoes but is that all it takes to be healthy in this day and age? We are constantly seeing people who are gym rats and spend 4-5 times a week perfecting their physical selves but there is more to it than that. To live healthier you must not only work on your physical self but your mental and spiritual health as well to live to your maximum potential.

     Lets face it we have all met people who look physically fit and healthy but the rest of their life is in ruins or perhaps they are in poor physical shape but are extremely intelligent or extremely spiritual . Now this is in no way saying that only being only healthy in one aspect in life is wrong, but rather stating that it is not truly the full definition of what healthy living is. A good definition I found for what healthy living is:

 "At a population level, healthy living refers to the practices of population groups that are consistent with supporting, improving, maintaining and/or enhancing health. As it applies to individuals, healthy living is the practice of health enhancing behaviours, or put simply, living in healthy ways. It implies the physical, mental and spiritual capacity to make healthy choices." (Public Health Agency of Canada).

So basically as people we have three different aspects of life that have needs which are the physical, mental and spiritual needs we have. Things like food, reading and spiritual connections (not necessarily religious) all play a daily part in our overall health and in order to enjoy our lives to the fullest each of these must be regulated on a daily basis. In other words keeping a happy medium and not over indulging or depriving ourselves from anything that provides us with a healthier life.
     Now what steps can we take on a daily basis to better ourselves in every aspect? These are some suggestions made by professionals in the industry.
     1. Analyze Yourself
               a. Physical - Make doctors/dentist appointments to make sure you are up to date with your own health.
               b. Physical -  Assess your current weight, height and BMI (Body Mass Index)
               c. Mental -  Determine current typical moods/energy on a daily basis
               d. Spiritual/Mental - Look at your social life including friends, family and whether or not these connections are affecting you positively or negatively.
 
      2. Get Out and Go!
               a. Physical/Mental - Make every experience FUN, whether it means bringing friends along or adding fun twists to your hikes, walks, runs or gym sessions.
               b. Physical/Mental - Keep track of your physical activity. Mark your calendar with the days you exercise in detail and look at it daily to use as both a motivator and reminder.
               c. Physical/Mental - Set goals for yourself as it will help motivate and once goals are met also helps build confidence levels.
               d. Physical/Mental - Keep activity in everyday even if it's only 15 minutes of exercise a day it is better than 0 minutes.

     3. Eat Better
              a. Physcial - Replace snack food with fruits and vegetables.
              b. Physical - Take vitamins on a daily basis to make sure you are getting all the nutrients you need.
              c. Physcial/Mental - Guilt can play a large part in unhealthy eating, skip the guilt and concentrate on the positives. Don't try to eat your problems away.
              d. Physcial/Mental - Plan your meals so that they work with your schedule and you have complete control over what goes in. This includes stocking the house with healthy foods instead of junk food. Out of site out of mind.
             e. Physcial - Savor your food and slow down. Those who eat quickly tend to eat more because their body doesn't have the time to start digesting and realize that it's full.

     4. Manage Stress
              a. Physical/Mental/Spiritual - Create some coping techniques to deal with everyday stress an example of this would be something like yoga, prayer or even exercise.
              b. Mental - Defeat suddenly stressful situations there are a plethora of ways that people handle stressful situations this could be punching a pillow or retreating to a quiet place to breath and reflect.
              c. Mental/Spiritual - Don't dwell on things that don't matter. Take a step back and ask yourself will this matter to me in the future?
              d. Physical/Mental/Spiritual - Breathe. Breathing is shown to be one of the best ways to calm not only the physical body but also the mind and spiritual body. If you find yourself in a situation that you cannot handle slow down and breathe calm yourself.

     5. Quality Sleep
              a. Physical/Mental - Don't exercise before bed causes the body to sweat which tends to prevent easily falling asleep.
              b. Physical/Mental - Hot shower or bath before bed as it relaxes the body.
              c. Physical - Setup a sleep schedule so that you are always getting the recommended 6-8 hours of sleep.

     6. Relationship Check-Up
            a. Mental/Spiritual - Remove relationships harmful to yourself or that negatively effect you.
            b. Mental/Spiritual -  Find friends who share have similar interests so that you can more easily communicate and relate to each other.
           c. Mental/Spiritual -If a relationship is negative but is too close to be let go then work to fix it.

     Hopefully these steps can help people to make better decisions on a daily basis to help improve their overall health and not negate to fulfill all of your needs. Next time you consider if your living healthy ask yourself am I fulfilled in ALL aspects of my life.

   Sources: WebMD
                 Public Health Canada