In the last post we talked about "excessive" stress, and how this can lead to what I call the "cascade of poor health". The progression starts with stress- greater than we can handle- which then leads to dis-ease, and then to conditions, to symptoms, and finally to disease and death. We know that if we are already experiencing symptoms, we know our stress loads are too great.
So the answer is to pop a pill, and mask the symptoms, right? Not necessarily. It seems we have forgotten about the incredible healing power of the body.
Contrary to what you might believe, there is much we can do to increase our ability to handle stress in our lives. This is vitally important because we know that the body is capable of healing itself as long as the raw goods for good living are present, and there is no interferences within the nervous system. Overloads of stress cause the interference within the nervous system. The answer, or at least a step in the right direction, is to increase our ability to handle the high levels of stress that most of us live with.
It's pretty simple; Eat right and exercise.
I said simple, not easy. We have a lot of poor choices for living surrounding us; Fast foods, prepared foods, television, bars and other diversions. This is what makes it hard. For those of us who want to tap into the healing power of our bodies, our job is to take small steps towards good living. Add some fresh, organic foods into your daily meals. Start with a salad, if you don't normally eat greens. Try spending just a little more money and buy organic if you already are eating fruits and vegetables with at least one of your meals. Try cooking once per week (and make enough so you have left-overs for the following day or two). If you don't take supplements, buy and start taking a decent multi-vitamin and mineral supplement. Buy minimally processed prepared foods (I like Trader Joe's for some good selections in this area). Visit your local "farmers market"; these are becoming very popular, and there are some great little local farms around the Phoenix area, where I live. If you like to eat out, organic restaurants are becoming more popular, and easier to find. You don't have to change your whole lifestyle at once; a little change instituted here and there adds up over the year.
Exercise can be a challenge for a lot of us. However, you don't have to join a gym to start exercising. Walking is the simplest, easiest and cheapest way to begin an exercise program. You say you have bad knees? Try a ride on a bicycle. Don't like to sweat? Try swimming. You like lifting weights? Start light. Its widely know that its best to exercise a minimum of 20 minutes per day, but start with 5-10, and work your way up. My philosophy has always been to stop exercising at a point where you feel you can do more, and not wait until you feel you've done too much. That way, you always feel like you want to go back, rather than have to recover for a couple of days after because of the weekend warrior approach.
If you do already have health conditions then you will want to talk to a professional before you begin, to make sure that you don't hurt or injure yourself.
Take the first step, however big or small you decide. It generally leads to the next. Keep it simple, and share your journey with others. Do these positive changes get rid of the stress in our lives? Hardly. In fact, it doesn't change your stresses at all. However, it most definitely increases your ability to handle what stresses you are given, and it changes your perception of that stress. This is the biggest part of taking control of our health, by taking responsibility for what we do have control over- what we eat, and what activities we participate in.
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