7 Keys to Absolute Wellness
This month I want to focus on steps to getting well. What do I mean by well? Wellness means more than just the absence of illness or disease, although that is part of it, it’s feeling exceptional in every way - no matter your circumstances. Wellness takes the whole picture into account… physical, mental, emotional, nutritional, and even spiritual aspects all play a role in achieving ultimate wellness.
Recently Dr. Michael Murray, one of the leading doctors in natural medicine, published an article on the 7 natural keys to wellness. Throughout the month of March, I want to focus on those 7 keys or steps. Today I will touch on just the first 2 steps (and what I believe are 2 of the most important steps) in our journey to achieve ultimate wellness.
Step 1: Incorporate spirituality into your life.
Spirituality can have different meaning for different people. If you were to look it up, you would find that spirituality is defined as ‘a sense of connection to something bigger or greater than ourselves’.
"As a physician, I have reached the conclusion that the most powerful medicine of all may have nothing to do with drugs, surgery, or other medical ‘magic bullets’." -Dr. Michael Murray
I have witnessed firsthand in the recent weeks and months how incorporating spirituality in my life can bring about miracles of healing and wellness, even when science could not.
Studies have shown that incorporating spirituality into our lives can have a profound effect on our health, even if it's just to bring feelings of joy into something that may otherwise seem dark and gloomy.
"The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives." -President Russell M. Nelson
There are countless ways to start incorporating spirituality into your life, so here are just a few to help you get started:
Give time and/or resources to a charity organization
Make prayer and meditation a part of your daily routine
Love others unconditionally, reach out and serve
Attend a church or "spiritual gathering"
Step 2: Develop a positive Mental Attitude
All of us have experienced heartache, pain, disappointment, failure, illness…etc. to some level, at some point in our lives. It's not so much if we face those challenges in life, but how.
How do you respond to challenges and trials? Is it with stress, worry, fear, or anger? Or do you accept it for what it is and fill your mind with compassion, joy, and love? Do you view challenges faced before you as stepping stones? Or stumbling blocks?
Optimism (happy attitude 😊) improves wellness, and is essential to achieve a higher quality of life. So how do you incorporate a more positive mental attitude in the midst of trials?
Here are a few tips:
Practice positive self-talk (you are, and you feel, whatever you think and believe)
Find 5 positive affirmations to repeat to yourself on a daily basis. (I am blessed with…, Yes I can…, I am amazing, beautiful, smart, etc. because…)
Set positive, specific, and realistic goals for yourself.
-Look outward (when things are tough inside, find ways to outwardly help and lift others)
Although these things may seem easier said than done, especially in the whirlwind of life’s challenges, they are essential and critical first-steps in your journey to improving your overall wellness and reaching your fullest potential.
Step 3: Establish Positive Relationships
People will often forget about what you said, and often what you did, but they will never forget how you made them feel.
In a world full of chaos and turmoil, we need each other, we need relationships, we need to work together and lift each other up through all the noise. There is much evidence that positive relationships can help prevent disease, and negative relationships have the opposite effect.
Picture your own life…when you are around those who lift you, help you feel loved, and show interest and/or that they care, how does it make you feel? How do you feel when you leave?
How about on the flip side? Reflect back on when you've been around those who leave you feeling empty, sad, depressed, or angry? Whether it be by their presence or by the things they were saying to you. How do you feel in that situation?
Since we're not able to control the decisions and attitudes of those around us, it's best to create that positive relationship for others by first becoming the kind of person that you would like to be around.
Here are a few tips that will help you establish a more positive relationship with others:
Focus on the one...
When you are in conversation with someone, consciously block out the noises and distractions around you and take the time to actually get to know the person you are talking with. Try to really care about what they are saying and how their life is going.
Learn to listen and be an active listener...
Ask questions. Open your mind and your heart to understand what the other person is really saying.
Establish positive personal values…
It's been said that you attract those whose values are most like your own. Develop positive values such as: honesty, loyalty, humility, integrity, enthusiasm, dependability, etc... and you will be more likely to build relationships with those people whose values are similar in nature.
Step 4: Incorporate Daily Healthy Lifestyle Habits
This one may seem overwhelming as there are dozens of lifestyle habits you could incorporate into your daily lifestyle, but try to have an open mind about this one and choose just a few to work on each day or throughout the coming weeks.
Here are some of the top daily healthy lifestyle habits you can start to incorporate today:
Sleep
I'm sure you've heard this time and time again, but that's because it is so important. Your body needs rest to function properly. Remember, the quality of sleep is more important than the quantity. It doesn't matter how long you sleep if your overall quality of sleep is not good. Take a few hours before you plan to go to bed to wind down away from all the worldly distractions and day-to-day to do lists.
Develop a positive way to manage stress
Note how we used the word manage instead of limit or avoid. That's because stress is a normal emotion of daily living. Whether we want to admit it or not, stress has a way of creeping up into our lives. Develop a positive way to cope with the stress thrown at you on a daily basis. Positive mental attitude, eating clean, exercise, and incorporating key supplements are all ways that you can help manage stress in a positive way.
Laugh
Laughter enhances blood flow to the body's extremities and improves cardiovascular function. It also plays an active part in releasing endorphins to help boost the immune system. Try to focus on bringing in more laughter into your life, activities such as: watching a funny movie, listening to good comedy, and learning to laugh at yourself.
Step 5: Activity
This is one of my favorite topics - being active. I know you've probably heard it time and time again - "Be active!” or “Just get up and move.” or “Movement is good for the soul!" - and there may or may not have been some eye rolling with that, right?
Before you skip right over this, let me just give you some (and these are really just a few of the hundreds) quick benefits of what being active can really do for our bodies and mood.
An active lifestyle:
Improves mood and our ability to handle stressful life situations.
Regular exercise enhances the transportation of oxygen and nutrients to the cells in our body, and puts the body into a mode optimal for cleansing and detoxifying.
Increases the abilities and capacity of our musculoskeletal system (strength of the body, joints, ligaments, tendons, and bones)
Lowers resting heart rate, which reduces risk of heart disease and helps raise our good cholesterol levels while lowering the bad.
Improves immune system (get sick less!)
Helps reduce tension and anxiety.
Improved self-esteem.
….the list goes on :)
What you can do today to start forming habits of routine exercise:
Choose an activity you enjoy and work at it for at least 20 minutes a day (hiking, running, dancing, swimming, walking, biking, lifting, tennis, or any other sport you enjoy...)
Make your overall goal to enjoy what you are doing and find joy in the journey.
Grab an exercise buddy to keep you accountable
Tell them your specific goals (day, times, activity, etc.)
Form a habit by being consistent and following through with a realistic plan you've committed to.
Step 6: Incorporate Clean Eating
Another one of my favorite topics - clean eating. What does “clean eating” really mean? What does it look like? You could dive soo far into this topic, but I want to cover just the basics for the sake of simplicity. Because honestly, small and simple things can bring about great results.
Basically, “clean eating” means choosing FRESH, organic, and local whenever possible over processed foods and sugar products.
Why? Sources of simple sugars that are found in many if not all processed foods are quickly absorbed in our bodies and rapidly raise our blood sugar levels, leading to stress, poor blood sugar regulation, obesity, and diabetes. Genetically modified and injection/steroid products (often done to increase the sell of a product) cause damage to the lining wall in our stomachs and decrease our immune system response, leading to hormonal imbalances and other health complications.
What can you do today?
Fill your plate with more fresh produce. Stock up on fresh greens, vegetables, and fruit to give yourself more options.
Try to find the pesticide/herbicide-free foods (the good ones are often labeled as organic)
Try to avoid cured/smoked meats that contain sodium nitrate and/or nitrites (compounds used to keep food from going bad, but dramatically increase the risk for disease)
Read food labels. If you don't understand at least 80% of the label ingredients, put it back on the shelf.
*Step 7: Embrace Differences and Find Joy in your Journey
Embrace Differences:
The most common question I get is: "what is the BEST diet for me to be successful in my journey?"
The answer: No diet is the best diet for everyone.
We hear time and time again about all the different "diets" and how everyone should be on diets… keto, whole30, paleo, vegan, weightwatchers, macro counting… the list goes on. Confusing, right?!
I like to look at it this way – if you were to water your lawn (approx. 5,000 sf) with 5 gallons of water, then water a soccer field (approx. 45,000 sf) with the same amount of water, would you yield the same results? You're using clean water, and it's healthy for it, so it should THRIVE! Right?! If only it were that easy.
The diet that worked for your friend or spouse isn’t necessarily going to work for you. Why? Because our bodies are all unique and require different approaches to achieve total long-term wellness. Short-term fixes are just that – quick and easy, but not often sustainable.
Find Joy in the Journey:
Now we understand that our bodies need individualized plans to be successful and reach our fullest potential, but it's easy to get discouraged and we often wonder where to even start.
JOY - Start with joy. "The joy we feel has little to do with the circumstances of our lives and everything to do with the focus of our lives."- Russel M. Nelson
If we focus on the negative, the discouragement, the "I can't do this", "I'm never going to get there", "I'm always going to be in pain…", then we will feel that way all the time and eventually drown in those feelings.
Rather, if we focus on the positive, the light, the "I'm going to learn and understand what I need for my body, because I love my body and what it's done for me, even if it's not perfect," …we will find that joy, and that joy is what will ultimately lead us to achieving a greater sense of wellness and happiness.
Isn't that what we all want? Happiness?
Here are some things you can do today to embrace your differences and find joy in the journey:
Start a journal of gratitude.
Every morning for 2 weeks, write down 10 things that you are grateful for (while drinking your lemon water 😉 ).
Switch processed snacks for fresh fruits and vegetables.
Start with one snack at a time and progress until all of your snacks are fresh.
Drink half of your weight in ounces per day.
For example, if you weigh 150lb, drink 75 oz (4 to 5 water bottles daily!). It seems like a lot, but it’s what your body needs!
Find a certified nutrition specialist to help you discover what your body needs specifically to be most successful in your health & wellness journey.
*I have personally changed this last step of Dr. Michael Murray's 7 Natural Keys to Wellness as I feel it has more of a significant impact on wellness in my personal research & study.*
Like we’ve mentioned before, there are many ways that you could incorporate healthy lifestyle habits into your day-to-day routine. The ones mentioned above are just a few suggestions to consider.