Because I love music, I am constantly drawn to associate music with harmony in every area of life. There are four (4) main voice types in a typical choir – soprano, alto, tenor and bass – and all are necessary to give the choir full tonal quality and harmony.
We all have a mind, a body and a soul. It should come as no surprise, then, that in order to achieve complete health and wellness, we must take care of all three (3) parts of ourselves – body, mind, and spirit. Do not focus on one part to the detriment of the others as all are required to balance the human person.
In this article, I will give you seven (7) simple, practical, and effective tips you can apply right now to improve and maintain your overall health and wellness. Tip 1 focuses on your spiritual health. Tips 2, 3 and 4 focus on your physical health. Tips 5 and 6 focus on your emotional health. The final tip, Tip 7, focuses on a commonly overlooked area, your mental health.
1. Dedicate 30 minutes each day to God in prayer, reflection, and thanksgiving.
Each day you are blessed with 1440 minutes to live your life. Thirty (30) minutes is only 2% of your total day. God the life giver deserves a part of your day. Read and reflect with daily devotional, spiritual and/or religious books (Holy Bible, Quran, Torah, Tripitaka, Bhagavad-Gita, Tao-te-Ching, books by L. Ron Hubbard or other sacred texts). This will increase your knowledge of your religion, strengthen your spirit, improve your personal relationship with God, improve your relationship with those around you, help you in your daily life, and bring you inner peace.
2. Keep yourself physically fit.
The key to achieving physical fitness is paying attention to exercises that strengthen your core muscles. Your core muscles are all these different muscles in your chest, abs, upper back, lower back, and sides. A strong core has several benefits – a flat stomach, a strong back, good posture, less stress on your spine, effective power transfer to your arms and legs for lifting, moving or carrying things, greater mental alertness, greater flexibility and a good heart.
3. Eat nutritious and healthy foods.
There is a common myth that foods that are nutritious and healthy don’t taste good. As I said before, this is a myth and the best way to ensure your food intake is healthy, nutritious and that you are getting all the necessary vitamins and nutrients your body needs is to:
(a) Eat from the 5 main food groups every day – grains, vegetables, fruits, milk, meat and beans.
(b) Eating a “rainbow diet,” that is, one that includes as many, if not all, of the colors of the rainbow – red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and purple. Each food coloring provides a different set of vitamins and micronutrients. For example, green foods like spinach are good sources of vitamin A, folic acid, vitamin C, magnesium and iron. Regular consumption of spinach fights anemia and improves eyesight.
(c) Use a good multivitamin to address any nutritional deficiencies.
(d) Drink your recommended eight (8) glasses of water each day. Drink one (1) glass at various intervals throughout the day to help your body efficiently eliminate waste and toxins.
4. Take good care of your skin.
Your skin performs four (4) main functions as follows:
I. Protection from external elements.
ii. A type of sensor with nerve endings that ensure you respond appropriately to pain, heat, cold, touch, pressure, vibration, and tissue injury.
iii. A thermal regulator that pumps blood to the skin’s surface or reduces blood flow accordingly.
IV. Your biggest waste remover (superficial) through sweating or sweating.
In addition, as you age, your skin naturally becomes drier, less elastic and more wrinkled. However, you can significantly slow down this skin aging and help your skin in its shedding process by keeping your skin continuously moist and hydrated through the following simple skin care routine.
skin care routine
Drink plenty of water; 8 glasses every day. Eat yellow and orange fruits, which provide vitamin A. Take a good vitamin E supplement. Eat cucumbers which provide sulfur – a trace mineral necessary for healthy skin!! Also, use water-based moisturizers or olive oil on your skin immediately after bathing to lock in moisture in your skin.
5. Give yourself a 30 minute break at least once a week.
I know this sounds easier said than done, especially if you have children or are caring for elderly parents or relatives. So let’s look at it from a different angle. If you suddenly became very ill or died, God forbid, the children and loved ones would be cared for somehow. Maybe not as good as you, yes, but they would do it. Well, to make sure you’re there long enough to provide the best continuous care, the only way you can do it is by taking a break!!! Find your place of relaxation: take a walk on the beach or in the park while listening to nature or music on your iPod; relax on your bed and listen to music; Settle into your favorite armchair with a cup of tea or chocolate and read a good book. sit on a park bench and watch the passers-by… or whatever relaxes you. This clears your head and gives you new energy to keep going.
6. practice contentment
In the natural ebb and flow of life and living there are highs and lows, times of plenty and times of scarcity. Happiness does not come from the abundance, number, or type of material things we have. That’s why we sometimes see examples of millionaires who are drug addicts or alcoholics. In addition, there is the “law of diminishing returns”. What this is basically saying is that the more we get of something up to a certain point, the less likely it is that the added amounts of that thing will increase our luck rate. It’s like if I had one (1) Lamborghini – I’m on a roll, rollovers can’t express my happiness, I could hug everyone I meet. If I get two (2) more Lamborghinis – well, that’s fine. I mean, I’m really not going to be as euphoric as I was the first time, and anyway, how many can I ride at once?
Contentment is the ability to be happy in both the sparse and lush seasons of our lives, and it does not depend on our circumstances. We must develop this spirit of contentment in order to contribute positively to our overall health, happiness, and well-being. That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t strive for better, but it does mean that, as the old West Indian proverb says, “We shouldn’t hang our hats where our hands won’t reach,” in order to keep up with the Joneses.
7. Take care of your mind seriously.
Stress and depression are two (2) of the biggest thieves of mental and emotional health worldwide. Not only are they prevalent worldwide, but they also lead to more serious mental health problems such as dementia, Alzheimer’s, suicide and insanity.
In fact, “The World Health Organization estimates that more than 450 million people [worldwide] suffer from mental disorders, and a new report from the World Economic Forum puts the annual global cost of mental and neurological disorders at US$2.5 trillion. That’s three times the economic cost of heart disease.Global mental health problems are miserably overlookedPublic Radio International.”
Therefore, stress and depression need to be treated and stopped almost immediately to avoid more serious health problems. Depression is a natural phase that we all experience in our lives, mainly due to the loss of loved ones, work problems, job loss, or money/financial problems. However, the key to making sure stress and depression don’t get out of hand is to engage in activities that take your mind off the problem causing the stress or depression and move you into a better one despite the problem at hand bring mental space. You can improve and maintain brain health by incorporating some of these simple techniques into your daily life.
Simple mental health solutions
Board games, puzzles & quizzes
Playing board games and solving riddles and quizzes provide your brain with a mental workout by improving your memory, concentration, problem-solving skills and preventing cognitive decline.
listen to music
Although seemingly simple, music calms the mind and spirit, helps the body relax, relieves mental and emotional stress and tension, stimulates the senses, and energizes the body.
To write
There are many great online writing communities like EzineArticles and Squidoo that accept articles on almost any topic you are interested in. Again, you’ll exercise your brain because to write an excellent article, you’ll need to do some research to supplement your knowledge of the field.
hobbies and sports
Join any group activity, club, or sport that interests you (tennis, horseback riding, soccer, football, cricket, karate, sewing, yoga, tai chi, basketball, volleyball, swimming, singing, dancing, etc.). Anything that you are naturally inclined towards and that makes you happy doing it. If you can’t find a sport or hobby that interests you, check out the world’s largest hobby list (see link below). You will definitely find something that suits you and that you will enjoy.
Thanks to Heidi E Vincent
