12 Tips For Better Health

Are you aware that you can become a healthier, happier and more successful person just by making a few simple changes to your lifestyle? That’s right, it’s absolutely true – and not difficult to do either.

But to achieve this you do need to make global changes, not just improve your diet or exercise a little more. The real secret to enjoying a healthy and happy life is in achieving and maintaining a state of balance between your body and mind. It has been written many times before, but only when we have achieved equilibrium between mind, body and spirit can we really experience total health and wellbeing.

Shape up and eat smart

Of course, exercise is an essential part of all this because it helps to tone the body, keep hearts and lungs healthy, and assists detoxification. Exercise can be anything such as aerobics or circuit training through to just gentle walking, – simply pick your favourite activity and set aside time and commit yourself to devoting a half-hour per day towards getting your body back into shape.

Eating right is the next essential step to maintaining a well-balanced life; our bodies need the right amount of vitamins, nutrients and minerals to work at its best. Making changes to our diet is easy, – simply keep away from fast foods which contain a lot of saturated fats and sugar and start including more whole grains, chicken, fish, plenty of green vegetables and try to eat fresh fruit instead of juice when available.

Avoid the stress

Reducing the amount of stress we have in our life plays an important part in how we are able to cope with it. Stress damages both body and mind and has been linked with ‘burnout’, fatigue, sleep problems, depression and is known to lower our immune system. Learning techniques to cope with stress and worry are essential to keeping yourself balanced and full of energy.

As well as aromatherapy, there are many techniques such as simple breathing exercises which can be done anywhere at anytime, meditation, or yoga which is a full system for relaxation and de-stressing. There are lot’s of books, eBooks, DVD’s and CD’s available on the subject, or there are courses you can attend.

Lastly, but by no means the least important, is keeping life fun by doing something each day that you enjoy and leaves you feeling relaxed and happy. You are not being selfish by taking time out each day just for yourself, this time is essential and it is just as important as exercising, eating right and reducing stress.

Spend this time with a hobby or pastime that you enjoy, sitting quietly and reading, taking a relaxing aromatherapy bath while listening to your favorite music, or spending quality time with your family or friends. It can be anything as long as it’s something you like and enjoy doing.

12 Tips For Better Health

The biggest step towards better health is admitting the fact that you actually need to make some improvements. Here are some tips to help you become fitter and healthier;-

• Make it a life goal to obtain a healthier more positive outlook on life which will undoubtedly lead to a healthier you. If you are determined to reach a better state of health, making it a reality will be so much easier. Believe in yourself since a positive attitude does bring results.

• Support your new way of thinking by learning everything you can about ways of reaching better health and living a healthier lifestyle. You can use the internet, books, eBooks, DVD’s, clubs, gyms and support groups to your benefit, knowing all you can about healthy living gives you a great base to work from.

• Replace old food with your new healthier choice and don’t forget to purchase any small appliances such as blenders and food weighing scales which will support your healthier food choices.

• Reorganize your kitchen cabinets, cupboards and refrigerator to ensure that there are no reminders of your old habits, and lots of signs showing you the things that will help you in your new lifestyle.

• Get a large planner calendar, pin it up in your kitchen and mark the day when you choose to begin your new lifestyle and stick to it – no matter what.

• From day one keep a journal, this can either be a traditional one or use your computer. You should include all thoughts and feelings about your new ways along with all the changes you see about yourself. This is essential so you can look back and see the positive changes you have achieved due to your new attitude.

• Positive thoughts and affirmations are a necessity because they will give you confidence at the beginning, and will continue to support you through the more difficult tough times which may occur during your progress.

• Remember, along with improving your diet you should also make changes to the amount of exercise you do per day. Whilst good healthy food is essential, exercise is also just as important to help ward off the onset of diseases such as heart disease, as well as helping us to tone up our body, lose a few pounds – or simply keep weight from piling on.

• Give up any bad habits such as smoking or excessive drinking, because you will never reach your optimal level of health while you are puffing away on cigarettes or drinking too much alcohol on a regular basis.

• Make sure that you get the recommended 5 portions of fruit and veggies per day on your new regime; fruit and veggies are packed full of essential vitamins.

• Cut out excess salt, sugar and fatty foods from your diet, this will effectively lower your cholesterol and blood pressure.

• Eliminate as much stress from your lifestyle as you possibly can. There are several ways to do this, and one of them is sure to be suitable for your personal circumstances. However, few of these methods offer the vast range of health benefits that aromatherapy does.

Choose any of the essential oils listed in the sidebar to lower your stress levels, and for a really effective result blend 3 or 4 of them together. Basil essential oil is really useful with stress because it has a cephalic action that works to refocus and sharpen the mind when you get in a headspin.

Geranium essential oil helps to balance the emotions, whereas neroli, rose otto, clary sage, sandalwood and ylang ylang essential oils can really help to calm you down. If you lack confidence in yourself, include jasmine in your blends since this can be surprisingly beneficial.

Copyright © Quinessence Aromatherapy Ltd 2009. Written by Sue Charles