Health tips for the mind, body and spirit

Here are some of my best tips for a healthier, happier you. All of these tips I practice myself and, in them, I have found great relief, health and benefit. I encourage you to explore as many of these as possible and I am positive that, if implemented, they will improve your life.

Health tips for your mind:

1. Take off your time piece. Do not wear a watch and just listen to what your body says

2. Try not to be controlled by other peoples' time. It is ok to delay a decision or not do something until you feel up to it

3. If you cannot work, but have enough energy to do a little, why not do some volunteering? It may make you feel better to get out and do something different

4. Keep a gratitude journal. I have encouraged people who come to hear me speak at conferences to write about two positive things each day, against one negative. If we are all able to see, hear, talk, eat, have water, have food, have a home, have shelter, have our family and friends and just be alive, with the hope for a better tomorrow, we have something to be grateful for

5. Write something positive in a book or place a post-it note in a jar and read back all the wonderful things in your life, each week

6. Keep a health diary to see your progress or where you need to improve

7. Even when you are in pain or weak, try to think of something positive or what makes you laugh the most

8. Watch something you find funny to help you stay positive and take your mind away from the feeling of being ill

9. Tell someone about how you feel. Do not suffer in silence. Get counselling if you need to

10. Communicate honestly

11. Get enthusiastic about your shower by using a natural shower gel that smells and makes you feel good (LUSH have some beautiful smelling gels)

12. Boost your mood by listening to your favourite music

13. Watch your favourite childhood series, movie and boost your endorphins

14. Use aromatherapy oils to boost your mood. They make you feel energised, calm and relaxed. Try lavender, chamomile, sandalwood, or lemon (You can buy the oils as a mist, spritz or a diffuse)

15. Use YouTube and watch the dancing hamster or whatever works for you. A good laugh will raise your blood pressure and enhance your heart rate, which can pump you up when you are feeling tired

16. Keep crimson flowers in your sight. Seeing something scarlet can actually give you a burst of energy. So, go out and smell the flowers or get some in your home

17. Give yourself a birthday treat. Buy the best present you can afford for yourself. See yourself as the most important person on that day

18. Make a colour shift; wear brighter colours to boost your mood. Colour is said to have energy. Especially the colour red, it affects the brain. Wear warm colours to bring warmth to you

19. Get yourself a beautiful Christmas gift. It does not have to be expensive

20. Make a list of 12 goals and try to aim for 1 goal each month

21. Stay connected with the ones you love most

22. De-clutter your computer desktop. It can be a constant drain when you have lots of icons and other programs giving you visual stimulation

23. Stop unwanted subscriptions. If you need to, get someone to help you to stop them

24. Do not lose the child inside of you

25. Help others when you can

26. Acknowledge people

27. Pay close attention to what people say and appreciate their kindness. However, pay more attention to what people do. Actions speak louder than words and you need to make sure that the people around you are actually helping you when you need it

28. Apologise when you do wrong

29. Do not complain

30. Find the best in everyone

Health tips for the body:

1. Eat more protein than carbs, because it makes you feel fuller for longer

2. High energy snacks include tuna fish, nuts, leftover chicken, hard boiled eggs and cheese (non-dairy goats I would recommend)

3. Eat wild salmon fish. The most common farm-raised fish (catfish, tilapia, and salmon) all have low or very low mercury levels

4. Try having a nutritional shake for breakfast. Try using a NutriBullet or its equivalent. The roughage will benefit your body. Or have some fruit juice too.

5. Have your supplements, alongside your juice

6. Have some warm water each morning, before anything else, to flush away toxins

7. Drink water with fresh lemon. This stimulates the liver and detoxes the body

8. Snack on seeds to sustain energy

9. Try eating beans and lentils to get through the day

10. Take coenzyme Q10 and other supplements to boost your energy

11. Zap energy-draining organisms with probiotics; try Symprove and BioCare Probiotics

12. Eat organ meat like liver, to boost your energy

13. Detox the body with Apple cider vinegar

14. Use blackstrap molasses for a boost of iron in your diet

15. Chia seeds are packed with B vitamins, fibre and protein and are a good pick me up. Some people have it with yogurt

16. Omega 3 fatty acids, found in food like salmon, improve your mood, brain function and help some people to avoid a midday slump. There are plenty of supplements. Vegetarians can use Flaxseeds

17. Vitamin D is vital for your recovery, as it helps to improve mood. Try two or three drops of 1000iu per drop. BioCare based in Birmingham (and found on the internet) is a good brand

18. Eat lots of greens

19. Eat organic if you can

20. Eye washing can be used to improve the eyesight and make you feel better. My client, Robert, uses a sterile solution eye wash to get rid of the multiple irritants that his (and all of our) eyes can be exposed to throughout the day, such as dust, grit and pollutants

21. Reduce your pain with the use of heat. The sun is great and saunas are a really great alternative during the winter months

22. Do alternate nostril breathing to boost your energy

23. Place a teaspoon of organic coconut oil in your month and do oil-pulling.  Essentially, oil pulling is swishing some organic coconut oil around your mouth for around 20 minutes a day. It helps to elevate the pain in your throat and get rid of bacteria in your mouth (a bonus is that it also whitens your teeth)

24. Wash your mouth to ease the pain with hydrogen peroxide (3% or 6%). If you cannot find it in it is pure form some mouth washes like Colgate Peroxyl have it in

25. Try using a Chi machine (aerobic exercise device), an alternative to walking, to get the body moving.  Benefits also include temporary muscle pain relief, increase in local blood circulation and oxygen via gentle motion of the entire body, energy increase, mental focus, stable back support alignment and it promotes lymph drainage

26. Exercise a little at a time, according to how you feel, rather than a full workout. Often this is too much and causes a set back

27. Practice Yoga. It increases energy, promotes relaxation and sleep, aids detoxifying the body, and helps you to focus so that you can better organise your thoughts - unsure about this

28. Minimise the time you spend on your desktop. It depletes your energy

29. Have sex side by side with your partner, it takes less energy

30. Limit the time spent on electronic devices. Too much time with electronics will drain your energy and may cause you more pain

31. Do a little dance to your favourite music

32. Get a Lymphatic massage to drain away the toxins in your body 

33. Try Emotional Energy Tapping (EFT) to release emotions and free up energy

34. Try Light Therapy. Light affects the receptors in the brain that produce serotonin. If you cannot get out, try using a SAD lamp. Especially during the winter months. (10,000 lux is best)

35. Do not mind the yawn! Yawning is the body’s way of cooling down the brain and, essentially, waking it up

36. Energise your body by doing some Qi Gong. Start off with an introductory practice. I started with 'Smile Qigong', which is specifically for people with ME, by Ron Prescott and Linda Jones

37. Energise your body by using magnesium salts in the bath, and use magnesium supplements, creams and oils on the body to boost your magnesium levels

38. Go to sleep an hour earlier

39. Take a 10-20 minute nap during the day. This will boost your energy levels for the rest of the day

40. Use meditation recordings to calm your mind

41. Do stretch exercises early each day, after you have had some water and juice

42. Walk at least 10–15 minutes outdoors, each day

43. Make the best of the sunshine. Try and spend 10 minutes, every day, in the sun

44. Breathe the right way for better energy

45. Try using a salt pipe, especially if breathing problems often keep you awake or you struggle to enjoy summer weather because of allergies

46. Energise yourself each day by brushing your body with a bath brush, before having a shower

47. Rest whenever your body is telling you to do so

48. Unplug and switch off electrical appliances before going to sleep, for a more restful sleep

49. Stop and listen to what your body is saying to you and PACE yourself

50. Take a cold shower. It produces natural analgesic, which has pain killing effects that can ease muscle aches and pains. It also raises your metabolic rate, which can reduce fatigue and increase energy

51. Revive your energy by having acupuncture. It is used specially to treat musculoskeletal problems such as back pain and neck pain, nausea, migraine headaches, anxiety, depression, and insomnia

52. Strengthen your body and improve your posture with osteopathy. It is a form of drug-free, non-invasive, manual medicine, that focuses on total body health by treating and strengthening the musculoskeletal framework. Which includes the joints, muscles and spine. It positively affects the body's nervous, circulatory and lymphatic systems

Health tips for your spirit:

1. Every day visualise yourself well again

2. Pay attention to your personal and spiritual growth, to give you joy, enthusiasm and optimism

3. Remove chemical toxins out your life, the best you can

4. Try to smile every day. Think of the best time in your life, the most beautiful place in the world or the best person you know, and what they would say

5. High energy people cultivate an attitude of enthusiasm and optimism. These characteristics will serve you well, if you, too, try to cultivate them

6. Ditch the energy vampires. Stay away from people who leave you depleted

7. Meditate and calm your mind

8. Make a promise to yourself about something positive you will do before you die

9. Make peace with your gremlins

10. Take the time to dress up at least once a week. Put on your best clothes and go somewhere nice. You will feel like a millionaire

11. Practice Mindfulness. Ditch multi-tasking

12. Be selfless not selfish

13. Have fun

14. Listen

15. Learn to love yourself

16. Give yourself the gift of life. Never give up!