Improving your health holistically: Where to begin 🌟Video Post🌟

Tips to avoid overwhelm, set realistic goals, and on the holistic approach

Hello Friends!

Over the holidays, I was approached by loved ones with questions regarding health concerns.

While one was in a state of overwhelm from too much information, others expressed feeling frustrated with having too little - the common denominator seemed to be a sense of bewilderment on where to begin.

And I can relate.

I spent most of my teens and early twenties battling one symptom or another while mimicking diet and exercise routines of celebrities…. eeeevventually realising that there is freedom and joy in taking a slow, sustainable approach.

It was the beginning of my metamorphosis into a slow-living, green smoothie-loving, crunchy gal.

Good health is priceless, yet most of us are not brought up to view tending to it as an act of significance and self love. If we have been taught anything, it was likely in the form of adages or overly simplified information.

“Eat your veggies… Just drink water… do this, not that…”

While I’m a fan of keeping it simple (and, I know there is truth to these), they do little to increase understanding or appreciation of our biology, the laws of nature, or how health maintenance must evolve alongside our changing world.

We can do better! 😊💪🌱Health culture is already shifting and many are seeking true wellness - the kind that has reverence for nature’s wisdom… not a pill bottle.

Let’s dig into some practical advice finding a starting point for improving your health holistically…

See the video below, with a summary and helpful links below that 😉

Please do leave a comment and let me know:

What are your thoughts and experiences with getting healthier or making changes?

Video summary:

• Lifestyle diseases are on the rise - largely due to unhealthy cultural/societal norms, lack of education, poor choices, and toxins in the environment and daily consumer products

• Slow living & Seasonal living as a part of my solution to fast-paced stress-inducing culture. If you’re wanting to learn more about slow and seasonal living, check out this post and this post I’ve written!

• Body systems work together AND with the natural environment - it is important to consider their interrelationships in health and healing, despite the commonality of reductionist thinking. An example of reductionism in medicine is an approach of separate study of each system (say, the gastrointestinal (GI) system) with little consideration of the effect and interconnected roles it has to other systems (such as how the microbiota within the gut of the GI play a profound role in mental health through both nervous system stimulation, neurotransmitter (and precursor) production, and biochemical signalling).

• The importance of being clear on why you want to make the changes that you do and whether the reasoning is wholesome and serving your values. If you’re looking for ways to help get clear on your “why”, try reading my post on therapeutic journaling for ideas, here.

• Avoid overwhelm by limiting your goals and the information/people/input coming at you.

• The Gut-Brain Axis: the governing systems - Both the brain and the gut are receiving information from our environment (food, light, etc.) and reacting. In addition, they are neurologically and biochemically communicating constantly, giving rise to shifts in the body. With this interconnection, small changes in lifestyle, whether aimed at the physical body or the mind, can influence both - This is good news!

  🌿Main points of advice:

  🌟Protect yourself

  Avoid toxins from the environment and food, as well as toxic relationships, media, and other things “ingested”.

  🌟Choose small actionable steps

  Think about steps rather than big goals and choose based on what YOU can do reasonably and if possible, choose what you would enjoy.

  🌟Take care of your brain & gut

  While there are specific protocols for addressing these primarily, focusing on your overall wellbeing will also be beneficial to the gut and the brain AND build a strong wellness foundation. If you don’t know exactly where to start, begin with small healthy lifestyle changes, such as eating more vegetables, getting healthy fats, or adding a mindfulness practice, such as journaling.

Lastly, it’s not a race. Take your time, take is slow and steady. You can learn what you need to know about making big changes while simultaneously making slow, small, steps that feel manageable.

Reach out in the comments if you have questions or let me know what you’d like me to dive deeper into!

As always, thank you for reading/watching, subscribing, and sharing. It means more than you know!

xx Chesica