Strengthen Your Health Holistically; Here’s How
May 03, 2020
By now you have, no doubt, heard plenty of good advice about how to strengthen your immune system to avoid getting sick. Many agree that to improve and maintain our health during this time, we need to eat a rainbow of vegetables, reduce sugar, get enough sleep and exercise, stay hydrated, increase immune building supplementation (Vit D, C and more), etc. While many are focusing on these essential physical changes, we must not forget the importance of creating emotional balance and wellbeing.
Thankfully, our bodies have an innate healing ability. However, this self-healing is disrupted while we are under stress (in fight-or-flight mode), so it is difficult to have optimal immune function during stressful and uncertain times like these. Additionally, because our emotional and physical bodies are so interconnected, we can also see physical ailments arise, such as back pain, stomach issues, or blood pressure concerns, to name a few. While this may seem beyond our control, there are many ways you can help your body manage stress and get off the roller-coaster of emotions we have all been feeling. Listed below are some tools that you can easily implement for the immediate and lasting support of your emotional and, subsequently, physical health.
Stay Connected. Social distancing doesn’t mean social disconnection. Use this time to reach out to old friends and family, join uplifting support groups, have regular Zoom parties. Make a list and check off people that you want to connect with every day. Don’t forget to be proactive about reaching out to those who might feel lonely and left out, it could mean the world to them.
Focus on Gratitude. It is very difficult to be in a state of fight or flight when you are in a state of true gratitude. List 3 things every night that you are grateful for and re-read the list every morning. This is also a great practice to do at the dinner table, as well as with your list of people to connect to daily.
Breathe. Taking deep, belly breaths is a great way to help get out of fight or flight and create calm. We love 4-7-8 Breathing, which can be done anywhere and at any time. Find Heather's 4-7-8 video on our Resources page.
Go Outside. Being in nature helps reduce stress, reduce toxic indoor air exposure, improve mental states and immune health overall. Please don’t let yourself stay cooped up all day.
Get Help. At Heights of Health, we offer several services (remotely and in clinic) to support emotional balance along with your physical wellbeing. Several of our services, such as Holistic Therapy and Mind Body Spirit Release™, help you to recognize emotional blocks and triggers that can be holding you back from being the healthiest you possible, physically and emotionally. It is an ideal setting to learn tools to gracefully move through this time of stress and uncertainty, creating positive and intentional change. Enjoy this podcast about the link between emotional detox and physical health.
For more resources on how to stay healthy on all levels, please visit Heights of Health's resource page for podcasts, videos, meditations, and health recommendations to help you find the means to create physical and emotional wellbeing through our current world state and beyond.
