Welcome to the modern times. Rush, hectic pace, home, and office workloads, kids and their homework socializing pressures – life gets maddening at times. And that starts reflecting in stress, lack of sleep, frequent infections and nagging aches and pains.
While the demands of modern life cannot be wished away, there is a way to bring balance back to your life. This way is wholesome living.
What’s Wholesome Living
Wholesome living is a life lived, well, wholesomely. Simply speaking, it is a life lived with balance, where one’s physical and emotional healths are in a state of harmony and without conflict with each other. Wholesome living not only goes beyond physical health, it links physical and mental healths as two sides of one whole. A healthy mind helps attain a healthy body and a healthy mind. A win-win situation where one cannot be achieved without another.
Why One Should Practice Wholesome Living
To lead a good, healthy and productive life, of course! To feel peace within and to be able to handle your life without upsetting this peace. To enjoy wellness that’s physical as well as emotional.
Wholesome living recognizes that a person is more than their body; they are also their mental state. Wholesome living is the way to reaching one’s healthiest possible version, the key to reaching a stable and balanced state of wellness.
After all, if you are not in a state of wellness, how will you be ever able to discharge your duties, shoulder your responsibilities, and enjoy a productive and happy life.
How To Practice Wholesome Living
Here are some useful starter tips on living a wholesome life:
Drink enough water
Hydration is vital to your wellness. Do you know that 60% of the human body is made of water? Your body keeps losing water through urination, sweating, and breathing. Surprised at water loss during breathing? Remember how your breath condenses in winter, that’s basically the water vapor present in your exhalation.
Your body needs consistent replenishment of lost water. Your wellness goes for a toss if the body gets dehydrated.
For adults with normal health: Drink your eight to ten glasses a day that’s roughly about 2 litres or half a gallon a day. More, if you have been sweating due to being outdoors or working out.
If you have any underlying health conditions such as blood pressure or thyroid, kidney or cardiac disorders, consult your healthcare provider for guidance on water consumption.
For under-13 children too, the advised quantity of water intake is 5 to 7 glasses but do be sure to check with your healthcare provider.
Get sunlight exposure
Sunlight is linked to the body’s natural circadian rhythm, especially the sleep-wake cycle that’s essential for restfulness and healing. Sunlight falling on the skin triggers your body to make Vitamin D, an essential nutrient linked to bone and muscle health, brain health and immune function. Vitamin D is also required for the absorption of calcium and phosphorus by the body. Exposure to sunlight is also linked to mood boost.
So, get your 15 to 30 minutes of sunlight exposure. Preferably early in the morning when the sun’s rays are less intense. You can go for a morning walk or do your stretching in the balcony or terrace. You could even just lie down and sunbathe in the morning light.
Move more - walk, exercise, etc.
Being a couch potato is unhealthy as your body is not meant to be sedentary. If you don’t move it, you lose it. It is as simple as that. So quit reclining in front of your television. Don’t stay plonked in your office chair for hours at the end. Instead, pick up your 2-3 favorite ways of staying active. Walking, stretching, household chores, stair climbing, exercycling (on a stationary bicycle), or any other that matches your present level of fitness and personal preferences.
We recommend at least an hour’s activity a minimum of four times a week. Staying active throughout the day helps increase the benefits. So, don’t keep a water bottle on your couch. Walk to the kitchen and get it. Play with your pet or small kids. Even simple chores such as dusting and hanging laundry to sundry add activity to your day.
Eat balanced meals at fixed times
Food is nourishment for your body that needs proteins, carbohydrates, fats, trace minerals, minerals, vitamins and fiber to carry out its functions in a healthy manner. The food you eat supplies most of these. Food also gives the body the energy it needs to live and work. So, eating balanced meals at fixed hours (no munching in between that’s plain unhealthy) is a must. One easy way to do so is to eat a rainbow diet with varied colored foods. Also, pay attention to the number of calories you consume. These should be as per your body’s requirements. Too less, you will lose strength. Too much, you will gain unwanted flab.
Another wholesome habit linked to food is to eat slowly and mindfully and chewing it properly before ingesting. Mindful eating and chewing are linked to improved digestion.
Connect with family, friends, and people.
Human beings are emotional creatures and social beings with the need to connect with one another. Just physical existence is not enough to make us happy. That’s why it is a wonderful wholesome living practice to connect with people around you. Dinner with family, a romantic meal with your spouse, a game of cards or ludo, playing with your child – all are great ideas.
We also recommend cutting down on social media, or at least keeping a slot in the day completely free of social media to be able to focus on those around you. Social media is good for keeping in touch with those physically away, for working from home, getting news and more, but it also takes away closeness from those in immediate physical vicinity.
Practice gratitude
There’s something to be said for counting your blessings or feeling and expressing gratitude. As a matter of fact, gratitude is a key requirement for emotional health. A sense of gratitude evokes positive feelings, reduces toxic feelings and that in turn, increases a sense of wellness.
We recommend writing down at least three things at bedtime you had reason to be grateful on that day. You can also write letters of gratitude to people who have done something good for you. It doesn’t matter whether those people are alive or not, whether you have their postal address/email ID with you or not. The very act of writing has a healing effect.
Get good quality sleep
Good sleep is the cornerstone of healthy living. Ensure your bed is clear of clutter and your bedsheet is clean. Wear comfy cotton bedclothes that allow unhindered movement and let the skin breathe. Develop a bedtime routine of showering, brushing your teeth, doing the cleaning, toning, and moisturizing. A simple DIY foot massage also helps the body and mind relax. Go to bed not too late and sleep in a darkened room. Your sleep will be restful, and you will wake up fresh.
Bottomline
Wholesome living is all about bringing harmony and balance to life by giving equal attention to physical and mental wellness. Simple habits such as drinking water, eating balanced time, getting sunshine, spending time with family and friends, feeling and expressing gratitude, and getting good sleep can help you get there.