There are an incredible amount of powerful healing techniques for my mind, body, and soul out there. Though you are bound to get at least a little something from going in-depth into any healing modality, you actually get so much from the little, easy things you can do for your health each day.
We hold therapeutic power in our own hands. Working with qualified practitioners can certainly help us to take leaps into better health, and are necessary for many mental/emotional and physical ailments, but we have such an incredible capacity for healing contained in ourselves.
Creating a simple, small “toolkit” can work tremendously well for upping your overall health. You can add other methods to it as you figure out new areas of your health to tackle.
Here is an overview of what you can do daily to keep grounded, balance your energy, and improve your general well-being.
6 Ways To Improve Your Daily Health
1. Kick-Start Your Day With Warm Lemon Water
Start the day with warm water with a splash of lemon or lime. Why do it? It’s a great way to hydrate your body after many hours without liquids.
It also alkalinizes your body, which helps to ward off a variety of illnesses, from basic inflammation to cancer (there are many acidic things that are a part of most people’s diets, including coffee, meat, dairy, grains, and alcohol).
It can also wake you up just as much as coffee does, along with boosting your metabolism.1
2. Stretch! It Will Improve Your Flexibility
Besides the dehydration your body experiences after sleeping for (hopefully) 8+ hours, it is also barely moved for that amount of time.
Which means your muscles have contracted and stiffness usually occurs. You can easily combat this by doing a simple five minute toe-to-head stretch first thing after your warm water with lemon, or if you are into yoga, rocking out five sun salutations will also do the trick.
You should feel the benefits of this throughout the day, particularly if you sit in front of a computer for long periods of time. Doing it regularly will also make you leaner and stronger, even if you skip out on going to the gym.
3. Take A 10-20 Minute Afternoon Break
Whether it is a power nap, simply sitting quietly with your eyes closed, or meditating/using guided visualizations, take a 10-20 minute siesta sometime between 2-4pm.
It can change your whole outlook for the rest of the afternoon and evening, and reinvigorates you to tackle more of my day.
Our natural circadian rhythm calls for this respite, which many Europeans have understood for centuries. But we often use caffeine to combat this natural downward slope, and this is to our detriment – the CDC estimates that 50-70 million US adults have sleep or wakefulness disorder.2
Not all jobs allow for this kind of break, but if you are able to at least go sit in your car, on a bench outside, or even a bathroom if it is pleasant enough, this short “time off” will offer many health breakthroughs in the long term.
4. Supplement Your Diet With Digestive Enzymes And Bitters
An estimated 60-70 million Americans suffer from digestive diseases. Though there are a plethora of reasons why this is the case, one thing that can help most people is to use some kind of natural digestive aid on a regular basis.
Particularly as we age, we produce less digestive enzymes, which is the key to properly breaking down our food.
Taking digestive enzymes to supplement our natural levels, or digestive bitters or apple cider vinegar to stimulate digestion, is something that will give you more energy, reduce inflammation, and simply make your tummy feel better.3
5. Consume More Probiotics Naturally
Along with taking digestive enzymes to properly break down foods, scientists are beginning to understand the necessity of good bacteria in our gut for just about every health issue, from autoimmune disorders to emotional health and addictions.
Whether we like it or not, there is a whole lot of bacteria in our bodies, and in order for us to thrive, we need plenty of the good guys.
Unfortunately, materials including antibiotics, alcohol, birth control, and preservatives, among many other things, kill good bacteria.
So on top of eating fermented foods like sauerkraut, kimchi, and homemade yogurt, it is worth taking a high-count, quality probiotic.
Though there is a lot of debate on the best time to take probiotics, it seems directly after a meal is the best option.
6. Use Guided Visualization To Relax And Sleep Better
Technology has crept into our lives to the point where a lot of us are on our phones or computers up until the moment we go to bed.
This definitely impacts our sleep, but it also takes away our chance to transition from our day into a dream world that can give us a lot of information about our lives.
There is so much information storied in our unconscious, that switching off social media and switching on a guided imagery or visualization app can provide a bridge to what we otherwise can not access.
Using guided visualization before bed can also “feed” our dreams, providing even more clarity on your purpose and path in your waking life.4
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