"Whole" body health tips.

Part of my job as a Holistic Practitioner, is to ensure that my clients are focusing not only on their physical body but also on their mental, emotional & spiritual health. Some people who believe in reincarnation think that if we spend our life focusing on only physical health that in our next incarnation we will be given a body that is physically challenged, or a mind that is feeble or be put in an environment that is challenging so that we are pushed to focus on our "whole" body, not just the physical. I don't know if I believe this because I feel that we have more control over where and how we incarnate but you never know. The Universe works in wild and wonderful ways.

With our lives so busy and made seemingly busier with the bombardment from social media, the internet and media in general, many of us just can't see how we can carve out time to focus on all aspects of our body; but it can be really simple and it can be done alone or with a partner or with your family. Here are some things you can do to implement tasks into your day that will help you provide focus on the physical, mental, emotional and spiritual aspects of your body:

• The physical is pretty simple and really just commonsense; eat well, exercise and get regular check-ups to ensure your physical body is running well. This is, afterall, what most of us focus on our whole lives. It's what the media and society tell us we should be focusing on, by splashing photos of unobtainable ideals of how we should look, all over magazines, our TV screens and social media, especially women but now, even more so since the metro male became a thing, men have this unrealistic ideal to live up to as well. But these are not the only things you should be focusing on for your physical wellbeing. Regular check-ups, yearly when you are getting older, to check your cholesterol, blood pressure, liver function and such, mammograms, prostrate checks, bowel cancer checks and pap smears are all check-ups that we need to ensure we get carried out. Finding out that you have cancer and it can be cured because you found it early is well worth the slight embarrassment of taking your own poo sample. Do you hear me?

  As you know, I believe that holistic, alternative and allopathic medicine should be used in conjunction with each other to ensure we have good health. Even as someone who will not take antibiotics, or prescriptive drugs unless I absolutely have to, I do not hesitate to have my check-ups. They have spotted abnormalities way before they became a problem and for that I am truly thankful.

• Something that is good for your physical body but can also cross over to mental and emotional health is physical touch. Now, now get your mind out of the gutter, although sex can be extremely beneficial for your health, I'm talking about hugs, hand holding, and sitting close to one another, etc. In my family we have the 11 second hug. I think my sister read somewhere that for our endorphins to really kick in you need to stay in a hug for at least 11 seconds (don't quote me on this; we have been doing this for years so where this information came from is a bit fuzzy). But I can attest that an 11 second hug is extremely beneficial to my health and wellbeing when I am feeling particularly vulnerable and even just when it's been a long day. It's something that you should make a habit of, as long as the other person or animal is agreeable. Physical touch lets us know we are not alone. I believe that it helps our body to go back into our PNS (parasympathetic nervous system) which tells us everything is good, we are safe and our body systems can run as normal. Tim and I also always hold hands when we're out. It's a way of showing public affection without grossing everyone out (although I'm sure there are young ones out there going 'look at those old fogeys holding hands! How disgusting!) Tim also uses it to steer me away from stores he knows I will want to spend money in but that's a whole other blog post!

  Sometimes we can go all day without touching one other person and I truly believe that this is very detrimental to our overall health. It has been shown that babies who are not touched when they are little, develop slower and have more emotional problems as they get older. Babies who get lots of cuddles and touch develop much quicker and have less emotional problems. I think it also has something to do with feeling safe. When we hold a baby, they are enveloped in our aura, energetic bodies. It makes them feel safe and secure. That is why children will often want to be picked up or stand really close to a parent or loved one when they are frightened or not sure of something. It helps them to feel safe.

• Now we're going to look at our mental health. My biggest and best tip for achieving good mental health is to remain curious. Remember when you were a child and everything was fascinating? Well keep that feeling. Remember also that you are never too old to learn something new. Keeping our mind stimulated is key to achieving good mental health. Whether that be through taking a class, reading copious amounts of books on all and any subject that interests you (is that just me?) and having lively conversations will keep those mental fires burning. I love hanging out with my nieces and nephews because they are just so up for learning about anything, especially the youngest. She is a sponge and so interested in learning new things.

  On the other end of the scale, I believe that having downtime is also a must for achieving good mental health. You all know I'm going to say it but meditation is obviously a good way to give your mind a time out. Although your mind will never stop working which of course takes the pressure off. Haven't we all been told that to meditate perfectly you need to quiet your mind. Not going to happen, but you can quieten it enough that you can hear guidance from your intuition and give your mind a break.

• Next on the list is emotional health. In our society today, we talk about depression, anxiety, etc being a mental health condition but I actually associate these illnesses with our emotional health, which why I didn't discuss them in the last point. I think I read somewhere the other day that depression and anxiety are some of the biggest mental health issues that our society deals with today. Why is that? Children as young as seven are suffering from these illnesses and I feel heartbroken that a seven year old has so many worries that they are depressed or anxious. Call me old fashioned, but kids should be allowed to be kids and social media is taking that away from them - again another topic for another blog post. However, as someone who has suffered from depression and anxiety for most of my adult life, I understand that when your emotional health is suffering, then your whole life suffers. So what is my number one tip for focusing on good emotional health? TALK ABOUT IT! Why do we think we need to do life on our own? Friends, family, counsellors, therapists, partners - these are all people who will listen and if you so wish, provide you with guidance and tools to help you out in any situation.

  I know you've been waiting for it but I'm also going to mention journaling. It's a great way to get how you're feeling out of your body and down on paper where you can hopefully look at it much more objectively. Sometimes when you reread what you've written you can see that the ego has blown those feelings way out of proportion and now that you are looking at them in the cold light of day, see that they are something you can deal with.

• Lastly, I'm going to give you a tip about maintaining and bringing focus to your spiritual health. This tip is actually good for your "whole" body. It's about getting out in nature. Even if you live in a city, you can still get out to a park that will allow you to feel our connection to the Earth and all of her delights. Your spirituality really comes down to one thing, and that is that we are all connected. There is no us and them. We are all equal and all one. For far too long we have forgotten this and thought of ourselves as "masters", which couldn't be further from the truth. You only have to survive a hurricane or a bush fire to know who's in charge and it ain't us! I have said this many times before but life is self-sustaining. It will do whatever it needs to do to survive, even if that means wiping humanity from the face of the planet. I think we are at a really crucial time in our planet's history where we need to reconnect to the All That Is, to Mother Earth and start focusing on planetary health as a way to our own "whole" body health. It is the only way we will survive.

  And now that I've scared the absolute crap out of you, I want to also say that you've got this. Just think before you do things. Ask yourself, how will this affect the planet and ultimately myself and my family? How can I do it differently? You just have to do the best that you can do with the tools and resources that you have. That is real spirituality. When we understand that our actions have consequences not only for us but for the planet, our beautiful home, and that every action will set off a reaction sometimes across the globe then how can we not adhere to the saying, do no harm. That is one of my life statements. I don't always succeed at it but I know I try my absolute best to ensure that being part of the bigger picture means that I will always do my best. That is connection, that is spiritual health.

So that's it folks! So in a nutshell, hug someone every day (get permission first), remain curious, talk or write about it and remember we are all connected. These things should be easy to fit into a busy life, but if you feel you need to talk about it, then please don't hesitate to book an appointment to discuss other ways you can bring "whole" body health into your life.

Until next time...

Photo Credit: Marek Studzinski - Unsplash