Spiritual Nourishment: 10 Tips for Heart Health
February is Heart Health Month, and of course, we have Valentine’s day right in the middle!
There’s lots of advice in the world for taking care of your heart health. For the most part, it’s sound medical advice we can talk and aspire to walk. It’s also important to remember your physical, mental and emotional well-being rely on your energetic and spiritual nourishment.
Here’s my Spiritual Nourishment twist on some commonly recommended heart health tips.
Stop smoking. If cigarettes are a habit for you, and you’ve struggled with attempting to quit, let’s talk. When the nicotine habit has you in its spell, you will need help unhooking.
Another looking . . . Are you hiding in a smokescreen? Are you BS-ing yourSelf? Declare what you know you want to move forward with and do it! Otherwise, you will be caught in some unhelpful, smoky seeming illusions about who you are and what you can /can’t be/become.
Know your numbers. Your MD would say this means blood pressure, weight, and cholesterol. To me, this means to get clear and specific about your goals, dreams, desires. If they require a team of helpers and/or financial investment, you’ll need to know what kind of numbers you are going for, so you can create that foundation and flow. Those dreams, desires, and goals ultimately do reside in your heart. Your heart will be more resilient, healthy, more responsive when you are actively engaged in moving toward them and know what precisely you are going for.
Screen for diabetes. Certainly, talk with your doctor or medical professional if there are any signs that you may be at risk for diabetes. If you do not seek/feed/nurture what feels kind loving and sweet to you, bitterness builds up and can solidify into different forms of unhappiness, inflammation, and dis-ease. In the meantime, pay attention to what does feel sweet, kind, loving, and nurturing in your life. Are you feeding those thoughts, activities, relationships? If your life is feeling at all dry, sour, drained, or unhappy, chances are you need an attitude adjustment.
Get active! Sure, this means move your body—walk, dance, giggle and jiggle, get off your duff! It also means get active with activities you enjoy and/or find beautiful, get active and engaged with other people. All of us need community—we need to bring our whole heart to the community, to be seen, to be heard, to share, to witness, to make space for another! If you have found yourself isolating, STOP IT! (Can you hear Bob Newhart there?)
Build some muscle! Take care of the muscles in your body. A great resource that works for me is Ana Nieto’s workouts—check that out here. AND remember to strengthen and build your compassion muscles, your courage muscles, your love muscles, your creativity muscles, your adventure muscles, etc. Stretch your comfort zone every day!
Eat smart. Yes, please pay attention to how your body responds, feels energized (or not) with specific foods. If you need help with that you can check out Mind Body Kitchen. Pay attention to what/who are you thinking, reading, and listening to. Is there an aspect of your life that is feeling the effects of indigestion? Let’s De-stress that!
Limit junk. Not just junk food! Release the habit of taking in mind junk, such as news, gossip, complaining, worry, self-pity, can’t, judgment, etc. Be mindful and conscious of what really is valuable in your life, and why. Drop the rest!
Stress less. Check-in with yourself, notice, and name your feelings. When they are in the realm of anxious, angry, fearful, or resentful, you will need to reclaim your breathing space (an inside job!) and then get clear on what truly is important to you.
Practice Mindful breathing
Take a walk in Nature
Sleep more. Yes, get your rest! You can try an experiment of going to bed a ½ hour earlier for a week. Notice what is different. For deeper soul rest, you can experiment with adding one or 2 five-minute pauses (uninterrupted quiet breathing time) somewhere in your day. Your body may very likely receive this as deep rest!
Smile. Smile and breathe simultaneously for even more benefit :). Scientific studies have shown that your pets will love you more when you smile! Your family, friends, and coworkers will too! You will take in more oxygen with each breath. A smile softens conversations that could otherwise become defensive. Practice smiling regularly, even when you are not feeling so happy. It produces dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin, and endorphins!
Here’s to your happier, healthier heart!!
Please post below what you feel most speaks to you. If you would like to explore any of these topics further, please schedule a clarity call with me. Anyone who schedules a clarity call in February will receive a complimentary goal mapping session (it’s like a personal treasure map.)