Many start the New Year with resolutions to improve relationships, learn a new skill, and perhaps land a new job. Still more begin each January with grand plans to improve health and vitality. Young and old, we embark on new fitness regimes, adopt nutritious menus, and calorie counts from dawn to dusk, hoping to lose weight and feel better.
While it might be nice to shed a few pounds, better health is more than just weight loss. Total health involves body, mind, and spirit, and tending to all of these facets of your life will ensure that you stick with your goals and achieve your dreams in the coming year. Follow these tips for uncovering a healthier version of yourself:
Get Moving
Moving your body not only helps to manage your weight, but it also keeps bones, joints, and ligaments fluid, improving your range of motion. You don’t have to vigorously exercise to improve your health; start with a simple walk or some light stretching to get the New Year started off right.
Take Care of Your Skin
Your skin is the largest organ of your body, and it acts as a barrier between you and the outside world. It helps to filter out toxins, protect you from viruses and bacteria, and a host of other functions designed to keep you healthy. As such, caring for your skin will be an essential part of improving overall health. Care for your skin by cleansing and moisturizing regularly, getting massages, and treating rashes and other skin conditions promptly to avoid infection.
Indulge in Self-Care
The most important relationship you have in life is with your “self”. As you learn to care for yourself, you take indulgent moments to send a message to “you” that you are truly important. Carve out time for rest, relaxation, meditation, and pampering to send the message that you are worth it. Make a plan to participate in self-care several times a week, even if it’s as simple as enjoying a cup of tea. As you make this time for yourself, others will respect your need and desire to make this a part of your healthy New Year activity.
Take Proper Supplements to Enhance Your Diet
Try as we might, we just can’t get our required vitamin and mineral intake from food that is devoid of nutritional value. In order to get our daily requirement of vitamin C, for instance, it would be necessary to drink more than twelve glasses of orange juice! Taking the right supplements helps you to fill in the gaps, fortifying your body and preparing it to stave off illness and injury. A word of caution on supplements—do your research when it comes to buying quality products. Plenty of false promises exist from vendors who “enhance” their products will artificial fillers, additives, and chemicals that can add to the body’s toxic load.
Instead of focusing on one aspect of your health, such as your weight, choose to move to a more integrative approach to total health. Incorporating activities that focus on your total wellness will bring about a more vibrant state of health than you ever imagined. Look forward to a great year of better health and a better life!
