How to practice healthy habits is not an easy task.
Try to follow these tips and read what thought leaders do themselves to practice good health habits.
- Begin each day by allocating time for yourself:
- Devoting a small block of time to yourself each morning can help set the tone for the day. Meditating upon waking relaxes Dr. Frank Lipman, founder and director of the Eleven-Eleven Wellness Center in NYC, and helps him feel less agitated. “I get clarity from equanimity,” he says. “I’m much more focused with my patients.”
- Alternate nostril breathing gives Dr. Annemarie Colbin, author of Food and Healing, an energizing mental boost. “It brings oxygen to my brain,” she says.
- Practicing gratitude each morning helps Chrissa Pullicino, public relations manager at the Omega Institute for Holistic Studies, keep perspective when it comes to stress: “Focusing my attention and energy on the blessings in life makes me more content.”
- Take breaks to refocus:
- When Dr. Colbin founded the Natural Gourmet Institute for Health and Culinary Arts in 1977, classes were taught out of her home in the evening. “I was starting a whole new day when everyone else was done,” she says. It was essential to reset her mind, which Colbin achieved by practicing Transcendental Meditation.
- Dr. Lipman shuts his office door in between patients to practice restorative yoga poses, which are classic yoga poses completed with the aid of props. “There’s nothing like it when it comes to rejuvenation,” he says.
- Be realistic with what you can do:
- Being realistic about daily goals helps with efficiency and maintaining a sense of balance.
- “When I first started my practice, I would pack it all in on certain days and spend the rest of the week recovering,” says Adele Reising, a NYC-based acupuncturist. “Now I pace myself to avoid being tired all the time. If you’re always zoning out, it’s time to reassess your schedule.”
- Take time to eat:
- Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, or a late afternoon snack, taking the time to be present when eating is as nourishing for the mind as the body. “No matter how busy I am, I carve out about 45 minutes to have lunch,” says Dr. Tom Francescott, founder and director of the Rhinebeck Cooperative Health Center. “I’ve made the choice to create the time for myself.”
- Be punctual:
- Part of any winning strategy against stress is to learn how to avoid it altogether. “I always get to work or wherever I need to be early,” says Dr. Francescott. “When I’m late, I end up trying to catch up all day. It’s less stressful to ease into your day.”
- Reising agrees, saying, “The days where I fly in without time to unpack my bag—those are not good days. When I get to the office early with time to put things away so I’m waiting at my desk for my first patient, that day is going to go smoothly.”
- Enjoy the outdoors:
- Engaging the senses by communing with nature helps maintain a sense of well-being. “So many of us don’t spend enough time in nature, which is part of the bigger constellation of issues we face today as we spend more time indoors and tuned in online,” says Dr. Francescott. “I take walks where I’m mindful of each step, the trees and smells. It’s good for anxiety as it calms you down.”
- The changing of the seasons can also have a profound calming effect. “Looking at the leaves in the fall stimulates the eyes and affects you on a visceral level,” says Reising.
- Set aside time to disengage from work:
- Give your mind a chance to shift from working gears to leisure mode. “After work I sit in silence and run through the day, breathing in and out in a meditative posture,” says Dr. Francescott. “It gives me closure and I can leave the office at the office.”
- Note: None of the information in our website is intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any illness or disease. The content on our website is for educational purposes only.
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