We Are Back! Now What?
This has been my first full week back in practice and it has been great to see so many familiar faces. We are back, now what!? Personally, I have done a lot of introspection about ways I would like to live and how I can best serve all of you! More than ever, health and vitality are something on everyones mind.
I have heard from many people it is time to make some changes. Awareness is a prerequisite for change and healing. Does this look familiar? The first step in any 12 step program, it is awareness where we must start if we would like to implement any change in our lives. From awareness, we can begin to establish values around how we feel and would like to live.
Values are what we need to live and feel our best.
Values around Diet
I am sure we are all aware that when we eat poorly, we do not feel or act our best! I can speak for myself that when I eat a donut and coffee for breakfast, I feel my mood and my body crashing a short while later My example- “I am aware when I am not eating appropriately for my body’s needs, it makes me feel horrible and does not give me energy and nutrients to be my best.”
I establish my core value to be- “In order to feel my best I need 3 meals a day with a proper balance of carbs, fats, and proteins. I also need to drink at least 3 litres of water a day.” Please fill in the blanks yourself: “I am aware when I am not eating appropriately for my body’s needs, it makes me feel _______” I establish my core value to be- “In order to feel my best I need_______. I also need to drink at least _____water a day.”
Values around Sleep
Please refer to my earlier blog about the importance of sleep. Please revisit it for helpful tips and tricks to make sure you are getting enough and quality sleep. My example - “I am aware when I do not get enough sleep it affects my mood, energy levels, immune system, and stress resistance.” I establish my core value to be- “In order to feel my best I need 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep at night ” Please fill in the blanks yourself: “I am aware when I do not get enough sleep it affects____________________.” I establish my core value to be- “In order to feel my best I need ___________sleep at night ”
Values around Mental Health
This is going to look different for everyone but personally, I find quiet time to reflect important for my mental health. Have a think about what is important for your mental health and you can interpret this in your own way! My example - “I am aware when I do not get enough alone time it affects my mental health negatively” I establish my core value to be- “In order to feel my best I need 30 minutes of alone time to do my meditation and breathing exercises in the morning. ” Please fill in the blanks yourself: “I am aware_______________________________ it affects my mental health negatively” I establish my core value to be- “In order to feel my best I need_____________________. ”
Values around Movement
As we all know, movement is important for our mind and bodies! We must establish the movement that would benefit us if done daily. This is also up to you, but the exercise prescriptions you have received or anything you like doing is a good start. Anything you like doing, you will be more likely to do everyday! My example - “I am aware when I do not get 30 minutes of strength training exercises everyday, my shoulder and neck will be in pain.” I establish my core value to be- “In order for my neck and shoulder to feel better long term, I need to do 30 minutes of strength exercise everyday. ” Please fill in the blanks yourself: “I am aware when I do not get ____________________________” I establish my core value to be- “In order to feel my best I need_____________________. ”
What Is Next? All of this does seem overwhelming at first, just bringing awareness to how you feel around your choices is a good first step. These core values can lead to making better decisions for your health and wellbeing long term. These are what I consider to be the pillars of health, the management of these areas in my opinion is the most important thing you can do for yourself. Using these effectively will boost your resistance to stress.Which I think we need more than ever! I hope you enjoyed this little mind exercise as much as I did! I have found this very helpful, and I hope you can make use of it too. I go over these everyday and remind myself of my core values that I can live by (even when things are going sideways- (see-2020) :)
Dr Alexa
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