Ask yourself: Do wishes really come true? And will it help if I write them down?
Here’s a holiday wish list that includes almost everyone’s personal health, beauty and wellness desires, and how to achieve them.
I wish I were . . .
Slimmer—Consider it done—if you follow a basic line.
The do’s and don’ts may appear strict to you, but this is because all this time you have given yourself permission to over-indulge. Now it’s time to take control over your cravings.
Learn how to say no. Can’t do it? Then how about practicing the principle of “just a little”? To everyone, the word “no” translates to self-denial to the max. So let’s compromise. By accepting this new standard, you are already beginning to lose weight. So victory is at hand. This is how it works. Your mind gives the orders.
When you have planted the world “little” in your consciousness, you will literally eat and drink less. Thinking small will mean smaller portions and meals. The result? Less calories. In this case, less is more.
Move your body—by moving, I mean any activity that will keep you going as opposed to being still; the last thing you want to be is a couch potato. If you do not move, no calories are burned. Your last meal and the ones before that will turn into fat.
Start with a good stretch. The right amount of stretching leads to powerful muscles. Overstretching will not. With adequate flexibility, you can also have strength.
Stretching routines
Stand with your feet together. Straighten your back. Bend down from the waist and touch two hands to the floor. With bent knees, slowly stretch your legs while hands are firmly placed on the floor. Hold 30 seconds. Pull up and back to first position. Repeat until you feel that your body is warming up. Or, do any of your favorite stretching routines.
Consider a daily cardiovascular workout. It’s the only way to stimulate the lymphatic system to collect and throw out the toxic substances in your body. Again, let me emphasize: no exercise, no detoxification. The final result: toxic overload and illness.
Stronger—It’s strength and power you want; maybe the level you had in your teens, right? While it’s impossible to turn back the clock, there are regimens available today that can allow you to harness more energy. A simple action plan includes the following:
Sleep early. It’s not about simply closing your eyes and snoozing for six to eight hours. What is crucial is that you are in dreamland before 10 p.m. and awake before sunrise. That’s the ideal sleep time. It is said by natural health experts that the human body can fine tune its connection to the earth’s rhythm best by being up to welcome the sunrise.
Sun-charge yourself—The early morning sun’s rays are extremely beneficial to one’s health. This, because this is when ultraviolet radiation is at its gentlest. If you can bathe naked for three to five minutes under this beneficial sun, it will totally energize you.
Think rainbow—Include in your daily food regimen all things green, yellow, purple, etc. Powerful antioxidants thrive in the richest of colors/pigments contained in vegetables and fruits. Start loading up on leafy greens, berries, squash, pineapples, etc.
To make a power juice, mix romaine lettuce, cucumber, sugar beets, and red apples in a juicer. This potent protein-carbohydrate drink will immediately energize you.
Happier—A calm and relaxed mind leads to a cheerful disposition. And isn’t this what it means to be happier according to the language of wellness? The words “balance and harmony” are repeatedly mentioned when the state of one’s mind is discussed. If you are naturally high-strung or ill-tempered, there are ways to make you more mellow. But first you must rule out hormonal imbalance, vitamin/mineral deficiency, or chronic illness. Consult your physician.
Regulating moods
Moods can be altered through a vitamin-mineral regimen. So can mood swings be regulated by tweaking the hormone levels. And if you are ill, there are ways to coax your internal healing mechanism in order to make you well.
To do: Cut back on sugar. There’s a rebound effect caused by a sugar rush. This is because an hour after consuming anything sweet, your body will feel tired!
Avoid fatty foods. This stabilizes your mood.
Drop fried foods, go low-fat or non-fat milk/cheeses. Go for lean meats.
Take B-complex vitamins.
Note: There is evidence that thiamin or riboflavin deficiency over time will lead to depression. Deficiency symptoms: fear, confusion, uneasiness, mood changes.
Deficiencies in B6 and folate can also be the reason your mood is not stable.
The best B vitamin supplement must include 10 milligrams of thiamin (B1) and riboflavin (B2) and 100 micrograms and folic acid.
Beyond the nutritional approach to managing your moods there is the spiritual side.
Black holes in the self—Just like black holes in outer space suck energy, so do black holes in the psyche. It’s your sense of worth and confidence that are eroded. And there are physical manifestations: suffocating pressure on the chest, shallow breathing, nervousness.
These, according to Deepak Chopia, MD, in “The Path to Love,” do not have spiritual reality, but are “conditioned reactions.” The cause is stored-up fear. The medication: Fill the black hole with love.
Train the mind by reminding yourself that there is a stronger, higher-minded you residing within.
Affirm today: “I am the Higher self.”
Love and light.