by Rumer Godden.Living a healthy life is more than just diet and exercise.
While taking care of your physical body is an important part of a well-balanced life, there are also 3 other "rooms" of life that should have daily attention as well.
Physical Room
The Physical Room is usually the one most people think of when they think of losing weight. The main focus is on the body. This is the area which covers what you eat and how much you eat. Your level of activity is also located in the Physical Room.
Emotional Room
The Emotional room is just as important as the physical one, and has a huge impact. If you are not feeling up to working out, there is something that needs to be addressed here in the Emotional Room. Are you feeling sad, lonely, depressed, worried... Have you taken time to step back from the hectic pace of life and really assess your feelings? Feelings are super important. Bottling them up or putting on a happy face only works so long. There are lots of resources online about finding emotional peace and stability. There are even lots of free counseling options out there that can help "get things off your chest." The catharsis of sharing your burdens is often enough to get you feeling happy again.
Spiritual Room
No matter which faith you practice - even it is your own belief and not an organized religion - you need to spend some part of your day nurturing your "soul." Your inner spirit needs care just like your body. Feed it with good words and uplifting stories, exercise your beliefs through prayer and worship.
Mental Room
Do you have too much on your proverbial plate? An overloaded mind is out of balance. Stress is a huge factor in making bad health choices. It wears on the physical body. It makes you cut corners -- grabbing meals on the go, picking something convenient rather than healthy. Your mind keeps you up going over all the issues in your life, and not letting you rest. It is helpful to visit one of the other rooms to get things back in order in your Mental Room.
Most of us tend to live in one room most of the time but, unless we go into every room every day -- even if only to "keep it aired -- we are not a complete person.
My "cure-all" to visiting all rooms in just an hour each morning is yoga. It works your body, mind, and gives a feeling of inner peace.
My favorite Yoga DVD is Yoga Conditioning for Weight Loss
It has 4 different instructors (Fully Modified, Half Modified, 1/4 Modified, and Full Workout) and it really helps you progress!! Even after all these years, I cannot do the full out super bendy work out for all poses. I like that it shows me lots of ways to do yoga, but doesn't try putting my body into a pose I'm not ready for, yet.
When I first started doing this yoga DVD -- I could not even reach the yoga blocks!!! I followed the Fully Modified yoga routine, and used folding chairs until I got flexible enough to reach the yoga blocks!
Try visiting all of your rooms each day, soon you will feel more balanced, energized, and healthy.
