What is "healthy" anyway?

We often set ourselves goals to ‘be more healthy', but how often do we stop to think about what being “healthy” actually means?

I was recently asked to write about what “healthy” means to me, and it turns out it took a great deal of pondering! And is something I could write about at great length.

But for now, this is what being healthy means to me:

Having the freedom to participate in your own life in the way that’s meaningful for you.

Being healthy to me isn’t simply about the absence of disease, illness or injury. Nor is it about doing the things we are conditioned to believe we “should” do to stay “in shape”. 

It’s about nourishing ourselves from a place of love - not through obligation and guilt - and being able to experience joy in life, whatever that looks like for us. 

Mindset is, therefore, a key part of this. To experience that freedom, we have to allow ourselves to have it.

And this will involve doing things that make us feel good physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually.

Nourishing ourselves with the food we eat is part of this. Eating foods that make us feel good and give us energy to live in the way we want to be living. Of course whole foods are generally amazing for us. And if that piece of chocolate cake is going to bring you JOY - and not guilt - go for it. 

That freedom is about tapping into what makes YOU feel good.

The same goes for exercise (I actually prefer to say “movement” over “exercise”!) If you enjoy going to the gym and it makes you feel good, do it! If you go out of a sense of obligation and feel guilty when you miss a session, find a way to move that you enjoy.

Connection to others and to the natural world will also contribute to this, as well as doing the things that make your heart sing (think back to the activities you loved to do as a child if you want to bring more joy into your life!)

I could go on and on, but in summary…

Being healthy is having the freedom to do the things that nurture your body, mind and spirit in ways that are meaningful for YOU (no-one else!)

This is not easy by any means! I certainly haven’t got this nailed, but it’s what I work towards. 

When I work with a client, we dig deep into what’s really important for them right now - this might be about doing particular things, or it might be about being a particular way. Often it’s a combination of the two. 

Ultimately, it’s about discovering what this freedom means to them, understanding what they need physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually to live their life in this way, and supporting them to do what they need to do to meet those needs.

Do you know what “healthy” means to you? Book your Discovery Call and let’s have a chat.

3 strategies for good sleep when you're feeling stressed and overwhelmed

How’s your sleep?

The quality of our sleep is often a good indicator of our overall health and wellbeing.

Sleep affects the function of almost every system of the body, and improving the quality, duration and timing of your sleep is one of the single most powerful interventions you can make to improve your health.

So get sleep, and plenty of it!

This is easier said than done, though, especially when you’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed. 

There are lots of techniques and strategies around sleep hygiene to improve sleep.

Try these in particular to help your sleep if you’re feeling stressed:

1. Avoid using computers, tablets, phones and any electronic devices within at least one hour of your bedtime.
   
   Not only is the brain likely to get stimulated by what you watch / read, but studies show that the light emitted from these devices suppresses melatonin (an important hormone for sleep) and can make it more difficult to fall asleep.
   

2. A pre-bed brain dump!
   
   If you find you’re struggling to sleep and your brain goes into overdrive, or you wake up in the middle of the night and the thoughts are spinning around your head, try a brain dump before bed.
   
   Take a pen and paper and write down everything that’s going on in your head - worries, to-do lists, conversations you’ve had / need to have.
   
   Getting the thoughts out on paper is almost like a safety signal to the brain. It can feel safe that you’re not going to forget to deal with these things tomorrow, so it’s ok to let them go right now.
   

3. Breathing for relaxation
   
   At night, we want to be in the parasympathetic nervous system state - the rest, digest and restore state - to balance the nervous system.
   
   If we’re feeling stressed and overwhelmed, slow and deep breathing can help to bring the mind and body to a place of calm.
   
   Try this 4:4 balance breath exercise lying in bed to help prepare your body for sleep.

If you’re struggling with your sleep and would like to talk through some strategies that could help, book your complimentary discovery call with me here.