Who Wants To Be Healthy?

What’s healthy? How long will it take? How will you know when you’re there? Can you ever eat pizza and ice cream?

Well, “healthy” isn’t really a destination. It’s a direction. Think of it like “West.” You never arrive at “west,” you just head that way. People think getting healthy takes hours of hard exercise and a restrictive diet and that’s why so many never get started. It’s overwhelming.

People are busy. Between work, family, and trying to keep your head above the constant rolling tides of insanity the world keeps throwing at you, the thought of hours of exercise and food prep feels like about 18 things too many.

The good news is you don’t have to do all that to get healthier. Just like taking one step west moves you in that direction, there are easy things you can do any time that’ll move you towards “healthier”.

Here are nine things to consider:

1.   Drink some water. About75% of people are chronically dehydrated which can lead to cognitive and physical issues.

2.   Breathe. For some reason, people seem stressed these days. A great way to let your body know it’s OK to calm down is deep breathing. Get comfortable, put a hand on your belly and breathe deep enough that you can feel it expand. Take 8 breaths and see how you feel.

3.   Take a 10-minute walk. Earn some Vitamin D, relieve some stress, get your blood flowing, and help your digestion.

4.   Read some Shakespeare. Come on - You gotta get your mind in shape, too. “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool.” – Shakespeare

5.   Do some foot circles. Don’t forget about your ankles. Bad ankles = knee, hip, and back pain. Make 20-30smooth circles in each direction with each foot and don’t move your leg as you do them.

6.   Eat an apple. Know why eating an apple a day keeps the doctor away? Because they’re packed with nutrients.

7.   Standing Cross Crawls. Stand tall, raise your left knee and touch it with your right hand. Now do the opposite. Once you get the pattern, pick up your pace. It’s a nice way to work on hip mobility, and core, and raise your heart rate all at once. Do it for about 30 seconds.

8.   Throw away your scale. Not sure? Close your eyes and imagine tossing it into a dumpster. Notice the full-body exhale and existential relief washing over you? There’s nothing healthy about a scale.

9.   More puppy kisses. Science tells us there’s nothing healthier than puppy kisses.

I know none of this is difficult, but that’s the point. You don’t need to change everything about your life to get healthier. There are lots of ways to get there. You just need to figure out the best ones for you.