January 3rd marks "Health and Wellness Day”, and it would make sense for it to fall early in the year as most people are typically more active in trying to make a more positive change towards their health and wellbeing; people are more conscious of what they are eating, hitting the gym more times per week, looking to quit or at the very least, minimize bad habits etc …

However health and wellness goes far beyond what you eat and how many times you exercise. To me, true optimal health extends to your mental, emotional and spiritual state; the whole of you, holistic (whole) health.

Holistic health considers all aspects of the body, nothing is more greater nor more important than the other. The body is treated and looked at as a whole. 

Holistic health also shifts to a more natural lifestyle, meaning eating whole foods, minimizing animal products and avoiding processed foods and taking a more natural approach to treating ourselves with the use of herbs and plants and less with pharmaceuticals.

So if 2024 is the year that you plan on taking charge of your health and becoming the best version of yourself in all aspects of life, keep on reading. Below is a list of the different things you can do take your well-being to the next level:

Exercise/Body Movement:

There is no doubt that exercise is one of the best things you can do to improve your overall health. Most people associate exercise with losing weight or bulking up, and while that is true, exercise has shown to improve not only our stamina and endurance but most importantly our mental health. Exercise and moving our bodies helps to reduce feelings of depression and anxiety by elevating dopamine levels, increased feelings of self confidence and cognitive function. While exercising, our blood flow increases and our brains are exposed to higher levels of both oxygen and nutrients.

As an adult, it is recommended that we workout a minimum of 4 times per week, 40 minutes per session. Examples of exercise include cardio, endurance training, yoga, pilates or playing your favourite sport.

Deep Breathing Exercises:

DBE has recently become popular due to Mr. Wim Hof. He believes that “DBE teaches you to develop mastery over your nervous, immune, and cardiovascular systems to help you be happier, stronger, and healthier.” DBE is essentially taking in deep breaths through the nose, filling your lungs as much as possible and slowly drawing out the breath. This practise is meant to be done for a few minutes before you begin your day. A lot of people use this as a method of meditation as well.

Drink Water:

Drinking water seems to be pretty straight forward when it comes to our health. It has tremendous benefits such as keeping the body hydrated, the skin supple, lubricates the joints, helps to flush out waste etc … there’s also the nagging question of how much water you should drink each day. I think that answer will depend on who you ask, as people have varying opinions. As for myself, I wish that I could say that I was consistent with my daily water intake but I’d be lying; so all I can really tell you is that I try to drink as much as I can throughout the day. Somedays I find myself drinking more than others.

If you find yourself struggling with your intake, I suggest infusing your water with something you enjoy to add flavour. My personal favourite is fresh lemon juice; I love how it tastes and I find that that helps me a lot with my water consumption. Another tip would be to drink your water out of a cute tumbler with a straw, rather than a cap. When you’re drinking out of a straw rather than having to open up a cap, you’ll probably find yourself drinking more as there is literally minimal effort involved. Sounds silly, but it’s true!

Quality Sleep:

Sleep is one of those things that I value ALOT. If I don’t have a good nights sleep I feel like a zombie the next day. Sleep is incredibly important for our overall health as it is during this time that both the body and mind can rest. It is said that during sleep, many biological processes take place, the body repairs cells, restores energy, and releases molecules like hormones and proteins. Simple things like a quiet dark room, getting into a made up bed, clean sheets and avoiding screen time can help induce a deep sleep. If possible, try to aim for at least 8 hours per night.

Meditation:

The first record of meditation being practised dates back to 1500BCE. There are various forms and ways to practise meditation, the most common form is to sit in silence with a quiet and still mind. This isn’t always easy to achieve and takes much practise to accomplish. My favourite way to meditate is to use my singing bowls and gong. The beautiful sounds and frequency is like no other. Meditation is great for our mental and spiritual state as it offers a sense of peace, zen and calmness. It is a great tool for handling stress as well. If you’re like me and have a hard time with meditation, or you don’t have access to meditation tools, you can listen to soothing music or even go for a walk in nature. Anything that helps ground you and gives you peace is worth incorporating into your daily habits!

Eat Healthy:

This is my favourite part of this entire post as I LOVE food! LOL. Eating healthy is self explanatory when it comes to optimal health, in fact our nutritional choices is the most important as it has the biggest effect on our lives and health. Eating healthy means eating as close to nature as possible: fresh fruits, veggies, whole grains and legumes while avoiding processed junk. If you choose to incorporate animal products, be sure to eat organic and free range. 

As the great Hippocrates once said, “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food”.

Stress Management:

Stress is something that we all live with unfortunately. There are different types of stress and different ways to handle and deal with it, and which ever type of stress you’re facing, the most important thing to do is to manage it so that it doesn’t take over your life. High levels of stress can cause a variety of different health issues such as insomnia, inflammation, depression, anxiety, poor appetite … and just as there are different stress triggers, there are different things you can do to help alleviate it as well. Some of my favourites are taking long walks (especially in nature), exercising, long hot baths and sound bowl therapy. Of course you can also incorporate reading a good book, taking a break from watching the news, minimizing your time spent on social media, talking to a therapist or getting involved in activities/communities with like minded people.