The A to Z guide to living well, eating right, thinking clearly and feeling all kinds of wonderful.
A is for Active Mindfulness: Find your inner calm by performing your daily activities with a sense of intent and introspection: pay attention to your body, your posture and breath, recognize your emotions, be aware of your surroundings and eat slowly and deliberately. Acting mindfully unlocks your consciousness to align your actions with your intrinsic values.
B is for Breathing: A three-step process – inhale, hold, exhale through your mouth – to re-center, shut down stress and induce relaxation on the spot. If you are feeling stressed, read our post on ways to de-stress yourself.
C is for CBD: The new substance on the block, CBD, or Cannabidiol, comes from the marijuana plant. It doesn’t have intoxicating effects (that is what its cousin THC provides) but it decreases inflammation, helps with pain relief, calms anxiety and provides relaxation that even prompts better sleep.
D is for Digital Detox: Power off all the digital noise from constant lines of communication and social media to let your mind and body recharge in silence. You can download apps to help you with this, you can attend digital detox retreats, or you can simply turn off your phone for an hour a day.
E is for Eco-friendly: Expand the idea of wellness to consider the wellbeing of our planet. Eco-friendly products prevent further contributions to land, water and air pollution. Using less plastic and private transport, utilising green energy sources, eating a plant-based diet and switching to chemical-free products are just a few ways to show the Earth you care. Win and win. Here’s how you can easily live a zero waste lifestyle.
F is for Flow: To be in a state of flow is to be wholly and completely immersed in the now. In focusing all your energy into your current activity, your mind and body become one to simultaneously experience euphoria, clarity and intense focus.
G for Gut Health: As we are discovering, the gut is the epicenter of our overall well-being and is responsible for critical functions within the body including digestion, nutrient absorption, metabolism, immunity and hormone production. The gut has a direct communication line to our brain so a healthy gut is a happy us. Read our post on how you can eat your way to glowing skin!
H is for HIIT: Channelling your energy into a physical pursuit is essential for a clearer mind and a stronger body. High-Intensity Interval Training is a quick and efficient workout compromising of short bursts of intense exercise followed by short periods of rest, pushing your body to maximum capacity and then resting it out. If you don’t have a gym-membership, here’s how you can still get fit.
I is for Intermittent Fasting: Eating during specific time frames and fasting during the rest is an ancient pattern that mimics how our ancestors ate during hunter-gatherer times. Intermittent fasting cleanses your stomach between meals inducing weight loss, reduced sugar cravings, higher energy and resilience.
J is for Journaling: Exploring your thoughts and feelings on page unloads your emotions and provides clarity to your thoughts. Writing for a few minutes every day is a cathartic problem-solving tool that helps liberate our subconscious thoughts, providing us with greater knowledge of ourselves.
K is for Keto: A low-carb (5%), moderate-protein(20%) and high-fat (75%) diet aimed to switch your body’s fuel supply to run primarily on fat or ketones. When executed correctly, the ketogenic diet is a fat-burning machine.
L is Local: Products that are made locally and in season have a two-fold benefit: 1) they are bursting with nutrients and flavour and are usually devoid of chemicals 2) they reduce your carbon footprint by helping support your local economy.
M is for Moringa: Native to India, the moringa plant is incredibly nutrient-dense. The superfood is packed with antioxidants, protein, vitamins A and C, calcium, iron and zinc. Add to that its pleasant flavour, major anti-inflammatory properties and variety of medicinal uses and it’s easy to see why it is now revered as the “miracle tree”.
N is for Natural: Buy food made up of ingredients you recognize and that doesn’t contain added sugars, added colors, artificial flavours, synthetic substances, trans fats and GMOs. The simpler an ingredient list is, the more natural it is which means the better it is for you. The same mantra for what you put in your body applies to what you put on your body.
O is for Omega-3: A fatty acid that comes in 11 forms out of which 3 are absolutely essential to humans, ALA, DHA and EPA, and are required by every single cell of the body. Omega-3 is powerful in several ways including fighting depression, reducing inflammation, lowering the risk factor for heart disease and maintaining brain tissue and eye health, packing a lot of punch in a pinch.
P is for Probiotic: With the spotlight on our digestive well-being, probiotics are our gut’s good bacteria, helping to fight anything that threatens to compromise our health. A probiotic-rich diet aids in digestion, enhances the immune system and improves overall well-being, swinging the balance of microbes in our favor.
Q is for Quartz Crystal: By way of being of the earth, crystals contain some of Earth’s naturally healing energy. Wearing quartz crystal or holding it close to the body helps balance the body and clear the mind, opening out mental, physical and spiritual blockages to amplify your positive energy and manifest your intentions.
R is for Ritual: Forming healthy rituals such as starting your day with meditation, eating wholesome foods, going to bed at the same time every night and dedicating time to sweat it out keep your mind and body energized and help you lead a better life every day. Rituals are sacred so honour and practice them with intent to make the effects all the more powerful. You can enhance 2019 by following these 5 steps.
S is for Self-Care: An essential part of your routine, self-care is all about taking care of you. Treating your body well and revelling in some unplugged activities can strengthen your inner resources such as peace of mind, resolve and motivation, which then radiate outwards to make you better equipped in supporting your friends, family and community. Want to go a step ahead? Detox your skin with these simple steps.
T is for TRX: A high performance workout utilizing suspension training that simultaneously develops flexibility, balance, strength and immense core stability. By focusing on the body’s core, TRX improves the mind-body connection, which in effect, leads to greater overall strength.
U is for Uplift: Your well-being depends on the positivity you attract which starts within yourself. Start the day with some positive affirmations to call forth the good energy and connect to your purpose.
V is for Vegan: A lifestyle that excludes all forms of animal exploitation. By cutting out all animal products (think no meat, no dairy) veganism focuses on a healthy plant-based diet that also happens to be the most effective individual solution to climate change and protecting the welfare of our planet.
W is for Workplace Wellness: In spending almost two thirds of our waking hours at work, it is important that our total environment promotes our well-being. This means scheduling in some healthy snacks, exercise and mindfulness into your workday while also building a supportive and motivated community.
X is for Xenacious: In order to make lasting lifestyle changes, you need to be yearning for change. The first step towards living well is being xenacious and wanting to take the necessary steps to achieve it.
Y is for Yoga: Iyengar, Hatha, Ashtanga or Vinyasa, yoga is a series of moving meditations designed to calm the body to awaken consciousness. Practice helps strengthen the body and find stillness in a world of chaos, leading to optimum physical, mental and spiritual well-being.
Z is Zzz: The foundation of wellness rests on sleep which is when the body restores and repairs itself. Getting high-quality sleep consistently improves every aspect of your body and mind, making you your best self and consequently, able to make the greatest impact on the world. Want to read a book before you doze off, this is what’s on our reading list.
