Good health is achieved by incorporating a few basic components into our daily regimen. Part of taking responsibility for our health is taking action in order to achieve a better life with balance , harmony and energy.
Deep breathing can have a profound impact on our physical and mental being. Effective and proper breathing is essential to good health. You may be thinking that breathing is just something that happens automatically without thought, but you may not be getting the maximum benefit to assist in the healing and proper maintenance of your body. The problem is many of us breath very shallow.
The purpose of breathing is to get precious oxygen throughout the body, which is responsible for it’s purification. Breathing is responsible for regulating the heartbeat and allows us to perform activities as well as assists in getting rid of 70 per cent of its waste. When we slow down our breathing and take the time to breath deeply, we are contributing to a longer lifespan.
Proper breathing with good posture helps relieve pain and reduces stress because of its calming effect. One simple breathing exercise is to breath in for about four seconds (through the nose), hold it about eight seconds, then blow the air out through the mouth. Do this breathing exercise about four times per session after meals (three times a day). Each session takes approximately two minutes. Combining the breathing exercise with gratitude is a powerful anti-stress activity. Breathing properly has a profound impact on our health and it doesn’t cost us anything.
Be careful what you put on the biggest organ of the body, the skin. A rule of thumb is “if you can’t eat it, don’t put it on your skin.” Many skin care products such as soaps, lotions and creams contain harmful chemicals that are absorbed into the body by way of the skin. Think about the nicotine patches and other modalities that depend on substances traveling into the body by way of the skin. Anything applied to the skin becomes a part of your physical make-up. Only certified organic products that are made to food grade standards should be used. The main chemical culprits put in your skin products are anything with ethyl, methyl, butyl, propyl, or benzyl in it. These chemicals are parabens, used as preservatives in your skin products. No one knows the long-term effects but many are thought to contribute to major diseases.
There are innumerable synonyms for parabens so look for the word such as benzyl to be combined with other words such as benzoic acid. Read the labels and you are sure to come across some derivative of these chemicals included in the ingredients. These chemicals build up inside the body and have an accumulative effect. It is common sense to avoid parabens if you want to live a longer, disease-free life. Try pure organic coconut oil in place of lotion, for example. Visit your local health food store and read the labels, even there, as some products that aren’t the best choices for us still line the shelves. Remember, anything applied to the skin seeps into the tissues of the body should be safe and healthy.
Exercise is essential to optimum health. Think of exercise as a nutrient, necessary for your body to operate efficiently and properly. One of the best exercises is walking. Walking reduces cholesterol, improves the cardiovascular system and improves circulation by getting more oxygen rich blood from the lungs to the muscles. Walking reduces the risk of a heart attack and helps to reduce high blood pressure. Blood sugar and cholesterol levels are also aided by walking. Common sense food and walking combined is the perfect combination to lose weight and keep it off. Walking briskly enables you to burn on average 100 calories per mile.
Swimming is another good exercise because not only does it burn calories, it heightens the metabolic rate, gently works out the muscles and gives the body an all over massage effect. While swimming, almost every joint becomes flexible. A good schedule for swimming is every other day for about a half hour. Swimming is gentle on the body so it is good for people with major medical challenges.
Those with breathing conditions such as asthma benefit from swimming due to the fact that it expands the capacity of the lungs. Remember the saying, “If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.” Let’s not allow any of our physical abilities decline and let’s stay active.
Staying healthy and living long takes discipline, commitment and self-love. If we ignore our health by not paying attention to it, poor health will get our attention later. When you choose health, you choose life.
Jendayi Iyi is certified in herbal extract specialist and dried blood cell analysis. E-mail her at Jendayi_iyi@hotmail.com.
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