Our bodies are amazing. Do you realize within each of us lays the body’s innate ability to heal itself?

All we have to do is simply nurture our bodies with a few easy steps, and our bodies will do the rest.

I first learned of these 6 Foundational principles for Health at “The CHEK Institute” during holistic lifestyle courses, and thoroughly encourage anyone interested in a deeper understanding to do the same.

“First Things First” as my Dad always said, so let us start at the top.

Paradigms – Did you know that your mind is actually designed to create your results in life?

Most of us walk around thinking we are a slave to circumstance, but in reality once you learn the process, creating what you want in life becomes almost second nature.

We will focus our attentions to health and wellness, but understand this works with every part of your life.

Step 1. Decide what it is you want your health and fitness to feel and look like.

Step 2. Visualize with deep emotional attachment already having this health and fitness

Step 3. Daily Affirmations with joyful emotions of what it feels like to already have this health and wellness.

Step 4. Live as if you already have this health and fitness.

This will set up a vibration in your body that will radiate out to the universe. You are literally telling the universal consciousness or God what it is you want in life. “Ask and you shall receive.” Things, circumstances, people, ideas, will then begin to flow to you.

“God helps those who help themselves.” It is your job to look, listen, feel, and be open to these opportunities. When they present themselves, don’t hesitate, act upon them. Take that step that is being offered to you, or you know you should do! It will lead you to the next step and the next, until you reach your goal. You are being given the help you have asked for, you must take the opportunity being given.

Breath – the Diaphragmatic Breath is so important to the health of the body and mind. Find time each day to sit in a quiet place, and breathe through the nose. Allow the stomach to fill, and the chest to expand and rise. Hold a slight pause at the top, and then exhale through the nose, with a additional pause at the bottom. Throughout this exercise it is important to quiet your thoughts. Follow your breath in and out, and feel the breath move through your body.

This will begin to retrain your brain how to breathe diaphragmatically. The more you practice, the easier breathing becomes. This relaxed breathing allows the body to move into a parasympathetic state, and in doing so inhibits stress and the damage stress has on the body. As you become more comfortable with diaphramatic breathing you can begin to integrate the process into your everyday life.

Water, water, water. You know where I’m going with this already, don’t you? My gosh look at yourself, where would you be without water. Water is critical to every body function down to the cellular level.

The noticable effects of dehydration begin as soon as 2% body weight is lost. I weight 168 lbs so 2% is 3.36 lbs of water. That’s just over a quart, and believe it or not that is not a lot.

The quick and easy fix is to begin your day with at least 16 ounce of water and possibly up to a quart. Then spread it out throughout the day. Eight ounces every hour or so, (that’s easy.) Bring a quart water bottle with you or even two.

Here’s another tip. Drink 8 -16 ounces of water 30 minutes before each meal. This helps in digestion and will satiate your appetite so you won’t over eat.

One of the many benefits of water is detoxification. Your skin will look much healthier when you are not overburdened with toxins and dehydrated. Guys might not care about looking like the Marlboro Man but I bet every woman does!

By the way coffee (a diuretic), alcohol, sugar, (including all those sodas, diet or not), will have a similar aging effect, on the skin and body. I’m just sayin.

Food is medicine. It can promote healing or lead to illness and disease. What you eat is critical to your health. Eat the bad kind of foods, or too much of even the good kind, and you are setting yourself up for health challenges. It’s all about giving the body what it NEEDS, not what you want.

I tell all my clients, when it comes to food “Go back to the Old Time Farm.”

All the food you consume should be free from synthetic hormones, antibiotics, synthetic industrialized fertilizers, herbicides, rodenticides, and fungicides. They should not be GMO (Genetically Modified). Animals and fowl should be free range grass-fed, or wild game. Fish should be wild caught, not farm raised. Stay clear of all preservatives, additives, natural flavors (very deceiving) or artificial flavor. All are foreign to your gut, and your liver (the poor thing has to filter it all as best it can) and will build up over time causing issues, and intolerances. The long term effects of GMO foods are unkown at his time, but science is already seeing noticeable health issues.

Exercise. Come on, get out and move that body. “Move it or lose it” is so true. Exercise comes in all forms, from gentle modalities such as Tia Chi and Chi Gong, to high intensity workouts, and everything in between.

It is important to remember that how you begin and what you chose for exercise depends on your overall health and condition. It is recommend you consult your doctor first before starting any exercise program. Once done, I would suggest seeking out a qualified personal trainer to guide you. Postural correction, stretching and exercise selection along with all its variables must be designed for you and your needs, not what everyone else is doing. Following the crowd can often lead to disapointing results, and injury.

As dad would say, “If you’re going to do it, do it right.”

Sleep. Who doesn’t love to sleep? Why then are so many of us suffering from not getting enough quality sleep? We always suffer for it the next day.

Sleep is critical for our bodies because it is during our sleep that the body repairs and rebuilds. Remember I mentioned that our bodies have the innate ability to heal themselves? Well, much of this healing occurs during our sleep. So if you are not getting quality sleep, you are robbing the body of precious healing time.

For starters getting to bed by 10 pm and waking at 6am will help. In general terms 10pm to 2am (during non REM cycles) the body is repairing and rebuilding tissue growth, muscles and organs. Then from 2am to 6am (during REM cycles) the body shifts over to brain function. So give your body the rest it needs and it will give you the health you deserve. Paul Chek; How to Eat Move and Be Healthy; The Chek Institute, 2003.

Life is about expressing our passions and living to our full potential. Creating real health and fitness in our lives will give us the vehicle to do this.

I wish for all of you Vibrant Health!

Published March 2013

Sources

Paul Chek; The 6 Foundational Principles for Health; The Holistic Lifestyle Coach 1, 2; Paul Chek, 2003.

Bob Proctor; The goal Achiever; Life Success Productions; 2003.

Roshi Philip Kapleau; The three Pillars Of Zen; Anchor Books; 1989.

Dr. F. Batmanghelidj; Your Body’s Many Cries for Water; Global Health Solutions;1995.

Paul Chek; How to Eat Move and Be Healthy; The Chek Institute, 2003