9 Things You Can Do for a Healthy New Year – Wellness!
These nine suggestions can transform your body, your kitchen, and your lifestyle. They are a living proof that wellness is not hard to achieve.
So, in this new year, GO FOR WELLNESS!
EAT MORE FRUITS AND VEGETABLES
This is far easier than you might think.
Raw fruits and veggies are a good snack. Cooked, they can be a main dish or side serving. They can be a dessert, even! So, go for it.
EAT MORE WHOLE GRAINS
Foods made with white flour are lacking. They lack fiber, minerals, and other beneficial nutrients which you need. They also taste better!
USE CANOLA OIL AND ORGANIC EXTRA-VIRGIN OLIVE OIL
Replace all the other oils in your kitchen with these oils. Especially get rid of partially hydrogenated oils.
TAKE YOUR VITAMINS
This can be an overwhelming proposition. A good start is to ask your healthcare professional for guidelines. Or, contact Village Apothecary in Woodstock, New York, for some pointers. I get all my vitamins and supplements at Village Apothecary.
If you’re not comfortable calling Village Apothecary, find a place where you feel comfortable that the staff are well-trained and have customer wellness at heart.
If you like research, a third option is to study about one vitamin a month and add the vitamins or supplements monthly.
AVOID HIGH-FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP
This is not a new piece of information. I’ve been writing and talking about this for years. But, this product is still in foods we buy. To really get away from it, read the fine print.
Go ahead. Do it. Read the fine print.
Then…once you’re doing this….
CUT BACK ON PROCESSED FOODS
Processed foods are loaded with products which aren’t even foods at all. These products shouldn’t even be in your kitchen, let alone in your body
Healthy food is not that difficult to find. In fact, it can be easier than you think.
EAT ORGANIC FOODS
Do this as much as possible. If the organic foods price tags in the grocery store give you sticker shock, focus on the “dirty” foods: strawberries, spinach, peaches, celery, greens.
It’s easy to wash pesticides off your produce. Put about 1/4 teaspoon of Dr. Bronner’s Soap (I use Peppermint) in a bowl of water. Dunk the produce in the mixture and swish it around in the bowl. Rinse the produce in clear water.
CUT OUT THE ALCOHOL, FIZZY DIET DRINKS, SODA POP.
Cut back, preferably to zero consumption. If this seems impossible to you, then you need to think about what these beverages mean to you. On the practical level, they do nothing good for you.
CUT BACK ON DARK MEATS.
Meats are not that good for us, really. Today’s beef, pork, and processed meats are loaded with chemicals, pesticides and herbicides.
Yech!
Thank you for reading this article! Please refer it to your preferred social media network.
Thanks again
Thurman Greco
Wellness, Our Planet, and the Winter Solstice
Today, on our Winter Solstice, or whenever you find a time that fits your schedule…
Sit quietly for a few moments and visualize a world where all beings know they belong.
See a world where we are all connected and work together in mutual respect , harmony, and honor.
Visualize a world where wellness for all is a reality.
Create a world in your spirit and your heart where balance is universal.
Focus on this vision of peace and food for all.
Thank you.
Thurman Greco
Please refer this article to your preferred social media network.
Spiritually, your back is your support for life.
Spiritually, your back gives you strength. It honors you. Your spine contains your central system and your central blood supply. You register every experience, feeling, impression, and thought in your spine.
Your lower back holds financial support and your core beliefs.
Your middle back supports your move forward in life as you release the past. Your middle back holds love.
Your upper back deals with your emotional support of others and self. It deals with guilt, shame, fear, anger, resentment.
Back aches are spiritual events. What may offer relief for one person may not work for another. In spite of all the modern, 21st century techniques, cures, and therapies available for back injuries and health injuries, you may respond positively to reflexology, Reiki therapy, and Chakra healing.
Lifestyle changes will help if you discover physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual causes of your discomfort. When that happens, you can make adjustments to get rid of the pain. Then, you can figure out what you need to do to keep the pain and discomfort from returning.
These changes may include things like developing a posture encouraging spinal alignment. You may learn specific exercises offering you relief.
Several times throughout your day, talk to your back. Is it in pain? Does stretching help? Are your shoulders scrunched up against your neck?
As time passes, you’ll find you are learning the language of your spine. Once you learn this, you can listen to what your spine says to you and follow its instructions.
To avoid back pain, respect your spine and don’t overwork it. The three basic rules of respect include proper lifting techniques, exercises to build strong back muscles, and proper fitting low heeled shoes. Following these three guidelines, you’ll prevent accidents and reduce spinal alignment stress.
When you consult with a physician about your back pain, select a person who gives you confidence. If you seek a massage therapist, acupuncturist, physical therapist, schedule your appointments so they’re 24 to 48 hours of one another to take advantage of synchronicity.
Yoga helps. I’m fortunate that there are many yoga teachers in my area. Through the years, I’ve found two teachers who know about spinal health and focus their classes on this specialty. Carolyn Abedor teaches Iyengar Yoga when she focuses on therapeutic spine health. Kathy Karey teaches yoga and focuses on repairing injured spines.
Massage and physical therapy are beneficial for chronic pain. Chiropractors work to improve your condition without adding more strain to the spine.
If you don’t know a yoga teacher, massage therapist, chiropractor or physical therapist, this is a good time to look for one.
CHAKRAS:
Lower back pain focuses on the first chakra. Middle back issues focus on second and third chakras. Your upper back deals with fourth and fifth chakras.
REFLEXOLOGY SYSTEMS TO WORK:
nervous system, muscular system, urinary system, skeletal system, sciatic nerve, liver and solar plexus
ESSENTIAL OILS:
basil, clove, cypress, eucalyptus, fennel, ginger, lavender, marjoram, nutmeg, peppermint, ravinsara, Roman chamomile, rosemary, spearmint, thyme, vetiver
OTHER THINGS YOU MAY TRY:
Throughout your day, check your posture, your seating positions, and the height and angle of your work surfaces.
Thank you for reading this blog post.
Please share this post with your preferred social media network.
Thanks again.
Thurman Greco
10 Tips Offering You a Longer and Healthier Life.
When you seek a longer and healthier life, you develop spiritual attitudes and habits which resonate with you. A longevity focused life is a lifestyle.
Before it’s all over, the lists in this blog may seem endlessly overloaded with things to do. But, that’s not the object of this series. My goal is to offer you information you can use to enjoy a longer, healthier life. Pick and choose from the choices, as you select the habits that resonate with your body, mind, emotions and your spirit.
EXCESS WEIGHT CAN RUIN YOUR LONGEVITY PLANS – So, what can you do about it?
For starters, realize that obesity triggers arthritis, asthma, cancer, diabetes, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, etc. These health conditions conspire to rob you of your longer and healthier life.
Getting the weight off and keeping it off is important. And, getting it off the sooner the better is what its all about. When I give my library talks about my wellness book “A Healer’s Handbook”, I spend a lot of time talking about all the things you can do.
Begin by eating fruits, soups, and vegetables, Eat as much of these foods as you want and eat smaller amounts of meats and breads as you work toward a longer and healthier life.
Skip chemical laden products that have been manufactured for you to eat. This means reading the labels. If you can’t pronounce the words on the ingredient list, then you don’t need to eat even one bite of that product.
USE A SMALLER PLATE – Pile it high with fresh salad greens or vegetables.
For a longer and healthier life, always begin your meal with a soup.
Plate up your food in the kitchen and don’t put serving dishes on the table with your food.
DON’T TRY TO LIVE WITH A SLEEP DEFICIT. – A longer and healthier life depends on a rested body. This is really the heart of the matter. I’ve written post after post after post about the importance of sleep for you and your life. And, after this longevity series, I plan to return to a few more blog posts about getting enough sleep.
It all comes down to this: If you get enough sleep, you are going to have fewer health problems. With fewer health problems, you are on a path to a longer, healthier life.
JOIN A CONGREGATION. – Statistics show us that attending regular religious services has a strong, positive health effect resulting in a longer and healthier life.
Congregations offer a community of acceptance to members, an atmosphere which encourages good mental health, a stable social circle, and good immune function.
What this says to me is that our spiritual health is positively affected by a community atmosphere supporting our mental, and emotional beings.
LIVE WITH PURPOSE – Living with purpose influences mental, spiritual, and physical health positively. The way you live with purpose depends on you and your interests. The way you choose to give meaning to your life is completely up to you. Your choices are endless.
Before you get overwhelmed by this, begin by asking yourself some questions.
Does my plant need watering?
Does my dog need walking?
Am I concerned about my environment?
Have I always wanted to……………….?
This amounts to developing a sense of purpose in life by giving of yourself in some way for the benefit of others as you seek a longer and healthier life.
GET REGULAR REFLEXOLOGY SESSIONS – Well, of course I would believe this. I’m a reflexologist. However, if you are reading this article and you’ve never received a reflexology session, you can still achieve your longevity and wellness goals without receiving even one session.
The important thing here is to receive body work sessions regularly. And, in all honesty, there are hundreds of kinds of body work being practiced on our planet today. What’s important is that you receive some form of beneficial body work regularly.
If you don’t feel like you have the money for this bodywork, barter the sessions. I receive a Reiki therapy session every Monday afternoon. I exchange this session with a student. I feel like this is one of the most important things I do every week.
And, one of the most wonderful barters I did in my whole life was when I exchanged a reflexology session with an esthetician every week. What a fabulous time that was! Alas, she moved out of the state.
The bottom line is that we all need doses of the right touch for a longer and healthier life. Touch is important to our spiritual development.
MEDITATION IS IMPORTANT FOR YOU AND YOUR LONGEVITY PLANS. Do you meditate? Do you meditate regularly? If the answer to these two questions was “no” then begin by taking yoga classes. Yoga and meditation work together very well.
Have trouble scheduling meditation time? Join a meditation circle or form one where you meditate together weekly.
Meditation is grounding and offers major stress reduction. The positive health benefits of meditation ripple out to everyone and everything around you.
Make meditation a part of your life.
BRING NATURE CLOSER TO YOUR LIFE – How?
Walks in the park tend to lower your blood pressure.
Plants in your office or home bring their own calm.
Wilderness walks can be restorative.
Add wilderness pictures to office and home decor.
Nature sounds can be soothing as you listen to waterfalls, bird songs or ocean waves. My absolute favorite music is a CD entitled “Dolphin Music” by Ken Davis. It’s ancient as CD’s go, but I don’t want to be caught without it.
When you do these things, you protect yourself from stress.
BE OPTIMISTIC – You’ll live longer and feel better about your life when you look on the bright side of situations.
Build good relationships.
Refuse to see a crisis as insurmountable.
Accept change as a part of life.
Seek opportunities.
Maintain a positive view of yourself.
Finally, try to see things in perspective.
Thanks for reading this article. Please forward this blog post to your favorite social media network.
Thurman Greco
Woodstock, New York