Health

Health and fitness - healthy eating and healthy living are fundamental to our well being. Healthy eating is a particular subject near to my heart. Whilst I am not here to give health advice, I do have many thoughts…..

Look to your health; and if you have it, praise God and value it next to conscience; for health is the second blessing that we mortals are capable of, a blessing money can't buy.
Izaak Walton

Look after your health

Having had a recent debilitating illness (albeit not life threatening) I came out of it realising how absolutely bereft I was when I hadn't the energy or motivation to pursue my goals. I became aware that I must guard my health as if it were the most valuable commodity on this earth. Here are some cursory thoughts!

Your mind affects your body

This was once a source of discussion but even doctors now know that our mental states affect us - If I asked you to imagine you were really ill, in pain all over and utterly exhausted right now - would you do it? I doubt it - because you don't want to feel ill, in pain or exhausted - yet I am only asking you to imagine it! And if you believe that imagining it might brave an effect on your body, then what is to stop you from imagining that you feel really full of energy, that the paint that you might be feeling has reduced to virtually nothing, (for when you are thinking of other things you are not aware of the pain so much) .

If, then, you can choose what you are feeling, then you can choose to be optimistic (research shows that you can have a longer life if you are optimistic), or choose to feel happy, or choose to feel confident (or indeed what ever you want to feel) and you can believe that you can change your health too.

Stress

It is vital that you have a positive attitude to stress. Stress is caused by the body, or mind, not coping with life's challenges. That is why coaching is so valuable for you can change your responses and eliminate the negative effects. Some stress is healthy - indeed some say we all need it, but we need to be able to handle it. .

Worry - which is one of the elements of stress - invariably comes about because we haven't anything better to occupy our minds. Who benefits from worry? (Do you? do the people you worry about?) No one benefits from worry- so why do it? Either accept or act

Exercise

There are different types of exercise.

There are the exercises to build up strength and stamina - usually associated with running, swimming and cycling - vital to strengthen the heart I climb the 1 in 3 hill behind my house as often as I can -(I aim for daily but doin't always manage it. Then there are the exercises to keep the body supple - yoga type exercises or calanetics - or simple stretching. Our bodies get stiff if we don't exercise - even children have been found to have reduced body flexibility as a result of sitting in front of televisions and computers. I do 20 minutes of yoga type exercises every day without fail and they have worked wonders on my flexibility.

Brain Gym If you are interested in improving your flexibility as well as improving your mind you could do well to look at 'Brain Gym' which is based on exercises calculated to improve concentration and mind power, and encourage cross laterality (which enables more flexibility of mind) You can find out more here. Brain Gym comes from Educational Kinesiology which was developed to help badly disabled children, but has been found to help all of us to improve our mind/body co-ordination. If you want to read about it read 'Smart Moves' (details in recommended books)

Food

Eat for energy. There are more diets on the market than you have had hot dinners! My take on food is to do everything I can not to put chemicals and additives into my b- where I can I eat organic home grown foods, barely cooked or raw.

I won't eat processed foods - I make my own so I know what the ingredients are. I go as far as grinding my own wheat (from hard and soft grain) to make my bread and cakes; I make my own yogurt and in an attempt to reduce my dairy intake make rice milk. Of course I make my own preserves and freeze my home grown produce, save the autumn fruit for the winter and make cordials from elderflowers and other available wild plants. And I get my own back on those nettles by eating them in soup - they are quite delicious has often been said that you are what you eat. However the best way to eat healthily is to eat what you like and to notice how your body reacts to it. So become aware of your body's responses - if you feel bloated you are eating too much. If you feel uncomfortable perhaps this is not the food for you. Notice how much energy you have after your foods - for some foods will reduce your energy and some increase it. Experiment

Sleep

Regular sleep is considered to be the ideal. If you are like Margaret Thatcher and need very little then fine (you are lucky having so many more waking hours to achieve your goals) or if you need a lot so be it - but ensure that it is regular. Know whether you are a 'night owl' going to bed late and getting up late - or an 'early bird' going to bed early and waking at dawn - just follow your body clock.

And you may be a person who can nap It is reckoned that a 15 minute nap, any time in the day, can renew your energy and concentration - if you can do it then great.