Lifestyle Design: Celebrate Your Health and Well Being, Part II

So often we get caught up in our daily routines only to forget the most important element in our lives, our health and well being. We are so busy taking care of everyone and everything else that we ignore ourselves until we either get sick or end up at the doctor with an injury. While none of us will ever admit to having the time to be ill or injured, we often don’t allow the critical time for health and wellbeing. When we honor ourselves and our bodies we will have a greater opportunity to experience the wellness necessary to keep up with and care for our families, enjoy time with our friends, succeed in our work, make a positive difference to ourselves and others. nn*I am not a medical professional and all recommendations here are based on extensive personal experience and that of family and friends. I would encourage you to speak with a trained medical professional regarding your own physical limitations and challenges before following any advice. Here are even more great ways to celebrate your health and fitness: nnHappy Smiles Regular dental care is also a vital part of our overall health. Fortunately with the advent of tooth whitening many more people have become aware of the significance of dental health and the relative ease to have a great smile. Teeth cleaning twice a year, x-rays to determine cavities at least once a year are good preventive maintenance steps, they are also often covered by dental insurance and if not the cost is reasonable and worth it to avoid much more costly work down the road. nnMasterful Massage Not just for special occasions anymore, massage is often recommended monthly or even weekly to relieve stress, work on overused muscles, and improve relaxation. The key is to find the best masseuse for you and they do vary widely, just as there are many different types of massage. Whether your preference is shiatsu, deep tissue, or finger touch you can do some simple research either through a doctor’s office or online and often get a discounted initial session to literally get a feel for the professional touch. If this seems too extravagant or you want the ultimate in massage convenience look into the many massage chairs currently on the market. It is amazing how effective technology can be in delivering a truly refreshing and soothing experience. Many such chairs offer as many as six different types of touch and are engineered to cover your entire back and some even have built in leg and foot massage as well. Now you have no excuse not to feel good and get rid of some of that stress we all carry around so well. nnTake a Deep Breath Have you ever been really anxious about something or you’ve been moving much too fast and someone has said to you “slow down and take a deep breath,” and you do and it helps? Very few of us truly breathe correctly using our diaphragm muscle. More often than not we are just doing a quick shallow breathing that keeps us alive but isn’t really imparting the benefits of oxygen to our entire bodies. If we focused more on breathing (typically pivotal in meditation) we would find ourselves calmer, more centered, more alert and aware. This is especially true if we have a chance to get some really fresh air during the course of a day, not easy with constant transitions from car to interior spaces so often polluted with off gassing materials, airbo e germs and more. And just going outside is no guarantee when you are tuned to listen to smog alerts and realize the number of contaminants present in the air around us. nnMusic for Your Ears When was the last time you had your hearing checked? Why is it that as children we get everything checked regularly and as adults we wait for a problem? Our ears are constantly bombarded by not just vocal noise, but musical noise, TV noise, traffic noise, computer noise, children noise, electronic noise, and many other types we aren’t even aware of. Have you ever had the power go out when you didn’t think there was any noise? Suddenly you realize how loud quiet really is. When the power goes out, clocks stop ticking, computers stop humming, fluorescent lights stop whining and so much more that we don’t even tune into but it is there. Our ears are constantly assaulted and it behooves us to have them checked at least every couple of years to assure continued health and great hearing.nnWindows to Your Soul Yes, I do mean your eyes and I’m betting you haven’t had them checked lately or if you did it was to get a new prescription! When I was growing up my sister had what they call a lazy eye. She didn’t wear glasses but did do eye exercises daily that strengthened and corrected this. She is glasses free to this day some 30 years later. Unfortunately many of us don’t take care of our vision, we read computer screens until we are blind, don’t pay attention to proper lighting, and generally abuse that delicate instrument known as our vision. It is so much easier to go in for an annual checkup than to wait until it is too late. Many challenges at the early stages can be corrected by exercises or better care. Later may require Lasik surgery (I know many have experienced great success with this, but any time you can maintain health and avoid surgery is preferred, there are no guarantees) and much more. Glasses are often not necessary at all and most of us don’t want them. (Sun glasses are increasingly important in this day and age of global warming and the loss of the ozone layer. The glare and UV today takes a serious toll on our vision daily.) Contact lens can be a real hassle. There is no reason to presume that you will need glasses particularly if no one in your family history wears them (yes, genetics does play a role.) Keep the windows to your soul open and without visual aids. Take care of yourself, honor your body and mind and celebrate health and well being for life.