Well folks, its been a long pandemic of a year so far, and it doesn’t seem like we’re close to wrapping up any time soon. Amongst this never ending global shift, one thing has become clearly evident; stress and burnout has tipped well beyond epidemic levels, it takes more now than ever to counter the effects of stress, and as a whole, ill health is far from slowing down. So what can you do for you and your health that will pay back in dividends right now? By purposefully slowing down your pace of life, you can immediately (yes, within seconds) accelerate your immune system, feel better and be healthier now.
When it comes to health and wellness, there’s a delicate balance required to reap and feel the benefits of a balanced life. With so much happening all around when it comes to health, illness, contagion and the like, there are so many questions about what can be done to bolster ones health. Aside from waiting around or putting your health in someone else’s hands, there are a few simple (and pleasurable) actions you can take right now to literally elevate and impact your health now.
Take A Hike for Immunity!
Ok, at first glance, telling someone to ‘take a hike’ sounds a little insulting, I know. But did you know that taking time to get into nature can physiologically alter your immune system and strengthen your response to contagious viruses and disease? Research continues to prove that immersing yourself in nature (walking on a trail, sitting at a park or under a tree, finding green-space, escaping to a lakeside, the list goes on) will actually immediately raise your immune system function for up to seven days. Many say there is little if anything that can boost immunity on the spot. Within our fear stricken contagion world of today, and its general reliance on artificial means to stay ‘healthy’, it’s so reassuring to know that only twenty minutes at a time or up to two hours per week will quickly and easily do the trick.
Ground Yourself
I will be doing a separate post on earthing/grounding soon, however I can’t control my excitement around the massive and immediate benefits of grounding yourself. Grounding, otherwise known as earthing or barefoot walking, is a practice where you are in physical contact with the surface of the earth. Sounds ‘out there’ right? Here’s how it works: take off your shoes and socks and find an area where you can safely contact the bottom of your feet to the earth (on a beach, patch of grass, dirt, rock etc). Physiologically, humans function as electric beings. Electrical impulses between cells is what essentially makes up every form and function of who we are. Unfortunately, in our manmade, artificial world, we are bombarded by an overabundance of positive (+) electrical charges stemming from wireless networking (EMF’s), stress, pollution, chemicals, fluorescent lighting, and automobiles (this is the short list!). In a case like this, ‘positive’ is not so positive after all. Too much of a positive charge creates an imbalance in our natural cellular and functional state. Thankfully, earth, trees, and natural body’s of water (oceans, lakes, streams) are filled with a never ending supply of negative (-) ion charges. Think of your body like a battery; in order for a proper recharge, it requires a balance between both positive and negative ions. Earthing quickly reduces the ill effects of positive (+) charges and re-fills your physiology with negative (-) health promoting charges. Inflammation, pain, stress, dis-ease, and chronic illness (mental and physical) are all a result of an over accumulation of positive (+) artificially derived charges. Five to fifteen minutes daily (as often as you can) is all it takes to feel a massively improved health shift.
Toast A Drink To Better Health!
Let me make it clear, I’m not talking about alcohol, pop or the like. When raising a glass to promote effective and quick health support, all it takes is a few cups of pure filtered water. No this isn’t a direct way to ‘slow down’ per se, however I’ve often thought that pulling on the reigns of life can effectively help one refocus on simple steps that are best for you. As I’ve referred to before, it’s estimated that upwards of seventy (+) percent of the population are in a chronic state of dehydration. Sound like too easy of an answer to help re-set and re-focus your way to better health? Literally one cup of water at a time can quickly help rehydrate a dried up person immediately and on the spot. One cup of water intake first thing in the morning, last thing before bed, and regularly throughout the day, can wipe out headaches, inflammation, pain, tiredness, mental fogginess, infection, depression and anxiety within minutes. As electrical based beings, water is the medium to help these impulses travel between cells better. Better conduction means more effective communication, and improved cell to cell connection results in less illness and better health (on the spot!) So what’s the most effective measure of whether you’re properly hydrated or not? If you urinate within twenty minutes or so following drinking a pure cup of water, you are hydrated well. If your bladder takes any longer to fill up or want to empty, keep drinking until you get to the twenty minute point.
There are so many effective ways to immediately buffer your health upwards (mediation, positive thought, intentional slow breathing are others to name a few). All are not only for long term wellness, but create an instantaneous improvement on multiple parameters of illness and health. Our world far too often relies on medication, treating symptoms, and accepting failing health as the norm, yet it’s very very simple to turn the health tables and quickly start bettering your health now.
Dr Jeremy Hayman, ND helps patients at Cornerstone Naturopathic Inc. feel better, live better, and achieve optimal wellness and health. Years of patient care coupled with dedication to personal life balance has helped Dr Jeremy employ the adage that “your approach to health should be simple”.
