Top 10 Principles for Long Term Health & Vitality
Nutrition. This is not one size fits all but I’m going to simplify it and give you a basic template that you can use as a starting point. ½ plate or more of vegetables (preferably some cooked leafy greens, ¼ protein (animal or plant) and ¼ healthy fats (nuts, seeds, avocado, olive oil etc) and starches that metabolize slowly (whole grains like brown rice, quinoa etc.). Check out Mark Hyman’s Instagram feed, try Sweetgreen warm salads. At some point and especially if you are not feeling well or have autoimmune issues, try an elimination diet. One of the most important things you can do nutritionally is to find out which foods agree with you and which do not. Whole30 is a very comprehensive (and quite extreme) version of this. Low sugar and simple carbs. Lots of vegetables - and colors. Organic / free range / pastured when possible. Adequate protein - minimum 50-60g/day for most - not all at one meal. When possible take a walk after meals especially dinner to improve metabolism.
Sleep. The Swiss Army knife of health. Take it seriously. Most adults need 7-9 hours to be at their best. The 6 hour thing just doesn’t really cut it. Huberman Lab Toolkit for Sleep is a good starting point. If you are having difficulty even after cleaning up your sleep hygiene, seek out help from acupuncture and/or consider a sleep study to evaluate for sleep apnea.
Movement. The body NEEDS to move. Non-negotiable. Something most days even if its walking. Needs to be enjoyable to be sustainable. Often we gravitate towards are things we are already naturally good at. And, very likely the thing we are NOT naturally good at is the thing that will be the real needle-mover. Do some of BOTH. Balance between strength training, cardio, balance and core strength. Take posture and pelvic floor strength seriously. Pilates, pelvic floor strengthening exercises
Pleasure and play: IMHO Needs to be taken seriously as one of the pillars of health. Sexual energy and the hormones and neurochemicals that go along with it are another treasure trove of inner resources and building blocks of vitality. In East Asian medicine, this is our most valuable, precious energy, called Essence. Take the time to learn your body and your sexuality. Yes, you, yourself. Every woman’s body is different. It’s our job to get to know our bodies and our pleasure circuits and then teach this to our partners.
Rest and replenishment: this is absent or lacking in so many. Niksen. Doing nothing. Preserving cognitive fuel. Be careful with what you expose yourself too, especially early in the day. Don’t deplete your precious cognitive fuel on social Media and low priority tasks. Determine what has the highest impact on your work or life and do those things first. Leave the lower impact stuff for later when you’re tired. 80/20 rule. Leave some empty time to just do nothing and rest the mind and body.
Rhythm: The body LOVES rhythm. Regularity in mealtimes, bedtimes, wake times and sunlight exposure helps the body know when to secrete which neurochemicals. This makes things easier, digestion and sleep function more optimally.
The mind, body, and emotions are not separate, although our culture has long treated them as if they were. So much research disproves this. In East Asian Medicine, the mind and the body have never been considered separate as they have in Western medicine. They have always been seen as intricately linked. Learn to listen to your body. Hear its message and heed its call. So often we hear our bodies speaking to us and we ignore it. Make some time to do this, especially in times of high stress. Body scan (Vipassana) meditation/ yoga / read: The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel van der Kolk
Learn to self-parent. This means learning to listen to your thoughts (not the same as believing them!) and learning to self-soothe. Many of us did not have this modeled for us, but it can be learned. Learning to activate self-compassion and unconditional self-love gives you access to a treasure trove of inner resources that is will always be available and that no person and no circumstance can take away. Tara Brach RAIN meditation, Internal Family Systems
If you have experienced trauma, take it seriously and get some help. Unprocessed trauma can overwhelm the nervous system and inhibit proper function and is associated with higher rates of many illnesses. It inhibits proper flow of Qi and blood. For isolated incidents (like a car accident or an incident of sexual trauma): EMDR. Developmental trauma (ie a parent with alcoholism, mental illness, drug abuse, etc.): Internal Family Systems
Cultivate positive emotions: offset negativity bias. Gratitude meditation, self-compassion / self-empathy, laughter and joy! Deliberately seek out things that nurture these: think of 3 things you are grateful for before you go to sleep and let yourself marinate in the sensations of each one for 15 seconds. Watch some comedy or a good rom-com. Call an old friend you’ve been out of touch with and reconnect.
BONUS: If you are having health issues that conventional medicine does not easily resolve, consider that there may be a another way of looking at things from a more holistic perspective and reach out to us anytime!
Further reading:
The Tao of Health, Sex, and Longevity. A Modern Practical Guide to the Ancient Way by Daniel Reid
Live Well, Live Long. Teachings from the Chinese Nourishment of Life Tradition by Peter Deadman