Take Rest

Lately, I have been thinking about our "no rest" culture that we have all grown up in. It is unhealthy to go through each day without resting your physical body..but what about your mental and spiritual self. It is so important to rest your mind and let your spirit come alive. When we are distracted by filling our day with work, texting, phone calls, driving kids around, running, running, running..how can we hear the voice of God within us helping us and guiding us along our day. 

Where do we find retreat or do we just drop in bed each night in utter exhaustion?

Where is there time for rest in your day?

• Get up in the morning and pray or meditate. Get in the habit, get in the routine. This focus will change your day and possibly your life.
• Pick up carry-out instead of cooking ( I cannot believe I am telling you to eat out!). If this gets you an extra hour to read, nap or watch a mindless show, just do it.

• Schedule rest into each day. Block off 30 to 60 minutes each day. Write it on your calendar. Do not miss this appointment. It might be the most important of the day.
• Get off Facebook, stop texting everyone you know, sit quietly with all electronics turned off. Enjoy the silence, you will be able to think and problem solve in this mode.
• Schedule less tasks on your calendar. Say no more often.
• Ask for help and delegate to the able bodied people you live with. Write down some tasks that you are willing to give up and give them lovingly to someone else. (if you can afford to pay someone to do your most dreaded tasks, that works as well)

Let me know how you are doing with rest. I wish you great health and happiness.

Denise Lovat

Certified Health Coach

What do you do each day to be Healthy?

I was asked this question recently by a Personal Trainer. "What do you do each day to be healthy?" The good news is that I was prepared with a list. It is almost embarrassing how many things I do each day to achieve or maintain my health (I will get to these later). I wondered if my parents ever even had these thoughts "Hmm what will I do today to be healthy?" My parent's generation had a very different hierarchy of needs: food, clothes, shelter, gas money. Aren't we blessed to not have to worry about where our next meal is coming from? We don't wonder if we will eat, we dwell on what the perfect meals will be. This makes me step back with gratitude for all I have, how about you?

I recently had the chance to visit friends in Florida where I did not have control over the meals. This is always hard for me, as I love telling people what to eat or at least forcing them to eat my healthy food. Guess what? I lost weight and food become secondary to enjoying and living each day to the fullest with exercise, relaxation, reading, boating. The lesson, which I have already learned (because I am a health coach): when you fill your life with good things in balance and live it, you don't really need as much food on your plate.

So back to my daily healthy habits. Here goes:

1. Sleep at least 7 hours
2. Drink Reverse Osmosis water with trace minerals added
3. Take Armour Thyroid meds for hypo-hashi
4. Take a pro-biotic
5. Take supplements: curcumin, fermented cod liver oil, homocystein supreme, CoQ10, magnesium
6. Exercise: yoga, run, walk, weight train, bike
7. Spend time outside: hammock or bike rides
8. Find additional ways to move my body naturally: gardening, biking for errands
9. Make sure to have contact with real people
10. Eat whole,clean, highly nutrient dense foods
11. Take my morning blood sugar
12. Massage at least 1x/month
13. Pray
14. Practice Gratitude
15. Practice Kindness
16. Practice Forgiveness

Well that seems overwhelming, but I am in the groove on these habits and it does not seem that hard. I encourage you to write down the things you do each day to be healthy. If your list is empty, make one change and over time, you will have a routine to follow to be your best self.

To Your Best Health

Denise Lovat, CHC, AADP

248-330-6189