Much has been going on behind the scenes in this first month of 2014, new projects are on the horizon and old ones have been refined. The cold has kept us on our toes as the time to start our seedlings is upon us. Every time I feel like whining about the weather I just read posts of my blogger friends in Illinois and New England and then my perspective returns- 20 below zero is just crazy talk!
My blog has been on my mind as I have been thinking of what my first post of the new year would be. One of my January activities each year is to clean out every closet and drawer weeding out what is useless, broken, and simply not used. This year I even took on all my files. I like to save stuff- recipes, decorating ideas, travel bits- kind of like a hard copy of pinterest. As I was sorting through a file on health I ran across the notes I took at a women’t conference held at my church. Dr. Tina Ingram, my long time friend and chiropractor, spoke on health and gave some very good insights. I decided to post those here today. I hope that each person wants to something to improve their health this year. Dr. Tina, as we all call her, is special to me for another reason- she is the one who started me down the path of natural healing and herbs. That journey began when she treated my daughter Savannah when she was 3, but that story is for another day.
Here is what she had to say:
1. Health is a journey not a destination and we must be proactive
2. We MUST deal with stress
- Proverbs 17:22- A cheerful heart is good medicine, but a crushed spirit dries up the bones.
- Proverbs 12:25- Anxiety weighs the heart down, but a kind word cheers it up.
- Philippians 4:8- Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admireable- if anything is excellent or praiseworthy- think about such things.
- Proverbs 15:13- A happy heart makes the face cheerful, but heartache crushes the spirit.
3. Exercise is essential- but it doesn’t have to be hard cardio at the gym. Any form of daily walking, yoga, or cycling is good.
- Exercise regulates blood pressure
- Exercise decreases depression
- Exercise increases regularity (digestive)
- Exercise stabilizes blood sugar
- Exercise lowers osteoporosis
- Exercise lowers stress
4. Rest is another essential element to health
- You need 6-8 hours of sleep per night.
These are just 3 things that can make a huge difference in our health. I used to be over-whelmed by all the information on health, how to be health, what I should do & what I shouldn’t. Finally, I decided to stop listening to all of the talk and work on just these three things. You will see a huge change in your body and your mind if you deal with stress- not just swallow it but find a way to let it go, get enough sleep, and simply walk daily. As far as walking or running goes, I only do about a mile each day and I do it outside, not at a gym. Gyms don’t relax me, the make me feel stressed. I need the out of doors to relax me and enable me to turn lose of stress. I get tickled at these gals who like to post how many miles they run. I hate to run and I am getting great results with just a little ol’ mile. If the weather is bad I put in a yoga DVD (for beginners- I have never stood on my head and would not even attempt it) and that is a great workout and stress reducer. In short, all it takes is about 30 minutes to change your life.
Just pick one and have a great 2014
