Posts Tagged ‘healthy habits’

New Beginnings

Sunday, January 1st, 2012
DesertFathersNewBeginning 229x300 New Beginnings

Desert Wisdom: Sayings From The Desert Fathers - Translation & Art by Yushi Nomura

Health, like life in general, is a journey, a process of constant change. Sometimes we have ups, sometimes downs, sometimes moving forwards, sometimes backwards.

Many of us start out the New Year with good intentions for making positive changes in our lives. Unfortunately, all too often this does not last for long. Establishing healthy habits takes practice and effort, and usually involves some failures along the way.

However, one of the important success factors for staying on track is to focus on the present moment. Yesterday is over and done with, tomorrow is just another excuse to procrastinate - only today are we able to take action.

Each new day, we’re given another chance to start over again; every day is an opportunity to make a fresh beginning.

Becoming More Aware Of Your Health

Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010

In the traditional martial arts is a concept known as zanshin. Literally translated as “remaining mind”, zanshin refers in part to a state of calmness and complete awareness of one’s surroundings, even when there appears to be no immediate threat or danger.

A keen awareness of our environment, both internal and external, is also an important concept in Traditional Oriental Medicine. Because symptoms are viewed as being the result of imbalances in the body, becoming more aware of ourselves and what creates these imbalances in our lives can be useful for improving our health.

Various factors can affect our health, such as:

  • type of work we do
  • location & climate we live in
  • seasonal weather changes throughout the year
  • thoughts & emotions, especially those that tend to be repressed
  • daily eating habits
  • exercise type and frequency
  • trauma & accidents

One suggestion for people suffering from chronic health problems is to keep a health journal. By tracking changes on a day to day basis, patterns can often be discovered, such as certain trigger factors that tend to make symptoms better or worse.

(more…)

Healthy Habits

Tuesday, January 19th, 2010

As a New Year begins, many of us tend to make resolutions for ourselves, whether it’s losing weight, getting in better shape, or improving our overall health.

Unfortunately, most resolutions – however good-intentioned they may begin – don’t seem to last for very long. Our modern society, with a focus on quick fixes, immediate results, and instant gratification, makes it easy to fall back into old habits and patterns.

In the East, a different approach to self-improvement is taken. In fact, much could actually be learned from the Japanese manufacturing field where they used a concept known as kaizen to become world leaders in the automotive and electronics industries. (more…)