Staying healthy is not a choice!
I remember each time I visit a doctor when I am unwell, he/she asks me what my profession is! When I tell him, “Sir, I am a Software developer”, he looks at me and often smirks.“You guys earn more than us by just sitting in front of the system. Neither you give rest to your body nor do you workout…”, he mutters. Considering all my experiences so far (not that OLD I am!!), let me pen down a few which anybody irrespective of their profession can follow to stay healthy. Staying healthy isn’t just about having a good physique. There is much more to it. I personally feel there are few key practices one can follow to stay healthy. Staying healthy is no more a choice. It once was!! When good/fresh air and water was abundant and by all means available to each one of us.. But now, it seems to be a necessity. If one cannot take care of themselves and keep a sound body and mind in their 20’s and 30’s then it calls for adverse effects in the later stages of their life.
1. Eat to live! Don’t live to eat.
We tend to gorge on a lot of food. On the contrary, we tend to eat less or often fast to maintain diet.. Eating too much, too less or nothing is bad individually. Make sure you eat a combination of various nutrients, fruits, and vegetables. After a heavy lunch, make sure you have a low fat dinner. Not to forget a gap of 2 hours between your dinner and your sleep. What one can also do is reduce the intake of salt and sugar. Eating a variety of food, regularly, and in the right amounts is the best formula for a healthy diet. This reminds of one of the free advises I once received from the doctors who envy my profession: “Eating small meals throughout the day is how you win the battle of the bulge” <<Wicked Smile>>. The bottom line is that frequent snacking/munching, as long as it is healthy (nuts, baked snacks etc. ) keeps your metabolism humming, repels hunger and controls blood sugar levels. Rule of thumb: Do not ever skip breakfast.
2. Give your body the flexibility it requires
Your body is not meant to be stagnant. Each muscle is not just flesh in your body. Each joint is meant for movement. Have you felt pain in your joints when you sit for a long time and get up suddenly? That’s how intricate our body is. It’s like a baby. You cannot or shouldn’t lock up a baby in the cradle. Similarly, our body needs to be flexible too. You can check the flexibility of your body by going for a sport or an extremely tiring activity out of the blue. You are sure to end up in pains, a day later :). Hence, try giving that extra stretch to your body. You could also give yoga classes a try to make your body supple.
3. Workout
Working out makes flow of chemicals in your body which makes you feel good. Exercising can help you have a toned body and maintain your BMI. This also keeps your bones healthy and strong. At least spend 40 minutes a day for workout, play outdoor games like badminton which makes you move swiftly and gain endurance.
4. Wash out your insides: Water yourself!
During intense workout, it is necessary that we stay hydrated. It is also studied that our brain is strongly influenced by the hydration process of ours. Drinking water is like washing out your insides. Don’t forget to hydrate yourself timely and of course if you are in a lower temperature zone then you tend to drink less water, so drink more. Water will cleanse your system, fill you up, decrease your caloric load and improve the function of all your diseases. So bye bye sickness!
5. Meditation
Meditation is a process of you focusing your mind towards what you want to and controlling your mind into that. This has many benefits. This reduces stress, anxiety, and anger, enhances self-awareness, reduces memory loss, improves your positive outlook. This can also improve your sleep quota and fight addictions. Make sure you dedicate 20 minutes of your routine for meditation. There are different ways of meditation available online. Find the right one and get started.
6. Think good to feel good
This is necessary to make sure you have a positive outlook towards all the living species around you. You are not the ONLY ONEliving here. You are one among those and need to empathize with all. Showing kindness towards people in need can make you feel better and improve your outlook. Bonus: It makes the others happy too! Things do turn bitter in communal living, but what one should not forget is to never give back the taste of their own medicine. Show them how it’s done, instead. Empathize and understand that everyone is going through their own piece of war. Once you start acknowledging this fact, you tend to understand a lot from the others and won’t complicate the situations and your thoughts.
7. Let your actions speak
Promise is like a cloud and fulfillment is like a rain. Make sure, you act upon things than talk about it. People have their own perspective and hence when you talk something, they have hundred ways to think about it. They might not take it the way you told. Don’t get disheartened! Instead, let your actions speak. If a person is in need, don’t console him, “I shall help you”, instead go and help him.
8. Read biographies and autobiographies
Reading a biography or an autobiography teaches you, there isn’t never a direct way to reach the top of the hill. If you want to reach somewhere, you need to go through all the hurdles associated with it. Success doesn’t come as a single unit, it comes as a package. A huge package which might sound like a baggage but, if you are determined, you won’t be disheartened with the reality. You would choose to accept the reality and walk towards what you want to achieve. Hence, follow the stories of failures to make them the stairs to success. These might sound too many to follow, but you can’t change the world without getting your hands dirty. You might fall flat but you definitely would reach the stars.
It’s your life lad. Wake up and walk straight, healthy and strong.
Buck up :)
