Five Deliberate steps to a balanced life

Maintaining a level of good health, emotionally and physically, can begin with a commitment to establishing balance across the various areas of our daily lives.  This can be achieved by paying attention to the following:

  • Diet:  Good health requires an alkaline state in the body.  Alkilinity supports stronger immunity and hence resistance to disease.  Acidity, on the other hand results in poor energy flow and blockages that can cause illness, pain, discomfort and built up tensions or emotions.  The best source of alkaline for the body is found in vegetables.  So a simple rule is to increase your vegetable intake steadily.  Once this has been established, you can explore which vegetables provide the most ideal range of vitamins, minerals and anti-oxidants for optimal health.

    Having said this, it is also important to remember that other food sources put into your body should be as raw and natural as possible.  The closer to the ground the better for you!  Choose food items that are the least processed, least refined and contain no preservatives, flavourants and colourants.  Begin with small changes as each small change lessens the burden a bit more for the body.  Examples are change from white to brown rice, tinned and frozen products to fresh, if there’s a fresh option that’s not in a box or plastic wrap choose it!
  • Exercise:   Only 20 minutes 3 times a week will suffice to maintain good health.  Choose a form of exercise that you enjoy so that you can look forward to it.  Remember gardening, housework and childcare all contain elements of exercise.  Exercise does not necessarily mean being limited to a gym!  Walk the dog, hang the washing, brush down the pool walls, do yoga.
  • Sleep:   Sleep is the only time your body is able to recover from the events and demands of the day.  Give yourself the sleep you need – it is the commitment you make to ensuring you can manage each days’ tasks more easily and more effectively.
  • Rest:   An often undermined concept, wakeful resting time is an imperative part of balancing the chaos and rat race to which most are accustomed and sometimes even feel obliged to give in to.  This is the time we just sit still and learn to be silent and comfortable.  It is in this time that we can be present, unworried about what has happened or what might happen.  Begin with 5 minutes a day that you commit to being still and present in order to better serve the running and the doing.
  • Complementary therapy:  it is a fact that life is stressful, food quality is compromised, stress has become an almost ‘normal’ part of existing.  The result: high acidity in the body which compromises overall health.  The answer:  commit yourself to a therapy that supports your body’s natural health.  This can be done once a week or once a month as it is relative to your commitment to the steps mentioned before this one!  Make it rhythmic though as your body will respond to the benefits if given consistently at the same time intervals i.e. every 1st week of the month, every 2nd week, weekly.  My favourite therapy is Therapeutic Reflexology but the Allied Health Professions Council will refer you to a wide range of recognized Health Care Services and providers (www.ahpcsa.co.za).