master a holistic
health routine
holistic health daily routine
Living a holistic lifestyle isn’t just about being more natural and organic, turning to alternative healthcare and using organic products and food. While that can be a big part of it and all of those changes are wonderful to add to your routine, holistic health is a balance between your body, mind, and spirit.
It is within this delicate balance that you are able to live a fully healthy life where total wellness is the goal.
One of the best things you can do in order to find this holistic balance is by creating daily routines. This allows you to fit each component of holistic living into your life without becoming overwhelmed.
SIGNS OF POOR GUT HEALTH
Poor gut health can affect every area of your life. You might imagine that it’s only located within your stomach and intestines and can’t shake up your mental health and wellbeing. For many, the first signs of poor gut health are sluggishness or sleepiness for no reason, digestive issues like irritable bowel syndrome, and skin rashes or allergies. You might also find yourself with extreme cravings that are almost impossible to quench! All of these issues, when seen consistently in your life, can point to issues with gut health and an imbalance in the bacteria of your gut! You might also notice issues like constipation, gassiness, and loose stools, which can lead to bigger issues if left untreated.
WHAT AFFECTS GUT HEALTH?
The core of gut health is the microbiome, trillions of bacteria, both good and bad, that live inside your gut and keep food moving, digestion on track, and your body operating the way it should. Food, exercise, and your mindset all affect gut health in different ways and can have a major impact on your overall health!
Food:
The food you eat is full of vitamins and nutrients that your body needs to stay healthy! When you eat whole foods and foods rich in these types of nutrients, the good bacteria in your gut flourishes and grows. Besides choosing foods that are whole foods and rich in nutrients, you also want to choose a wide range of foods. In Western diets, most of the foods come from only a few sources, so diversifying the types of foods you eat can increase the way your gut interacts with the good bacteria it needs.
- Yogurt - full of live cultures that thrive in the gut and keep things moving! The fermentation provides probiotics for your body that stimulate the growth of good bacteria.
- High Fiber Foods - Everything from oatmeal to beans and fruits are packed with fiber and are great for your gut health. The high levels of fiber move things along within your gut and keep it from getting clogged in your system.
- Polyphenols - These little compounds within the foods you eat, like red wine and dark chocolate, aren’t absorbed by the normal cells within the body. Instead, they make their way all the way down to your gut, where they’re finally broken down by gut bacteria. Once they’re broken down, they help reduce inflammation and keep the gut from becoming irritated.
Exercise:
We all know that exercise has a huge impact on your life. Whether it’s your stamina, your strength, or just overall health, getting up and getting active keeps your body in good shape! It can also have a huge impact on your gut health! When you exercise, you increase the blood flow within your body and into your intestines. The increase in blood flow raises the body’s core temperature and forces the cells to interact more closely within the body.
Mindset:
The mind and gut are extremely interconnected, with signals being sent constantly between the two areas of the body. The simple thought of food can make your stomach start to grumble, and when your gut health is imbalanced, your mind can quickly follow. Creating a positive mindset can help balance and heal your gut! There are a few simple ways to engage your mind to keep your gut healthy that won’t send you searching for a magical cure all over the world.
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for the body
The first category of holistic practices are mostly for the body, though of course they benefit your mind and spirit as well. Here are some holistic habits to add to your daily routine for your physical health:
Natural Supplements to Take Daily
While there are many vitamins and supplements you should take each day for optimal health, the ones we are talking about specifically for holistic health are for preventative health. This means you are working hard to build up your immune system and try to prevent illness.
Some natural supplements that can help build a stronger immune system that are great for your daily routine include:
• Zinc
• Elderberry
• Ginger
• Garlic
• Vitamin C
• Turmeric
Practice Yoga
When it comes to exercise and moving your body, there is no wrong way to do it. But for holistic health and Ayurveda practices, yoga is one of the best you can participate on a daily basis. Even when you are taking a rest day from your regular workout routine, yoga is really easy on your body.
Use Natural Skincare and Haircare Products
When it comes to exercise and moving your body, there is no wrong way to do it. But for holistic health and Ayurveda practices, yoga is one of the best you can participate on a daily basis. Even when you are taking a rest day from your regular workout routine, yoga is really easy on your body.
Replace Coffee with Herbal Tea
A very simple switch you can make in the morning is to have herbal tea instead of coffee. Most tea does have a little caffeine, but much less than coffee or energy drinks. Not only do you have less stimulants in your body to prevent that caffeine crash in a few hours, but you also get the added benefits of natural herbs in the tea.
Types of tea that typically have caffeine include:
• Matcha
• Other green tea
• Black tea
• White tea
If you don’t want the caffeine, consider rooibos, chamomile, or peppermint tea.
Eat Nourishing Meals
Another big part of your holistic health is eating more nourishing foods. You want to try to eat as many foods in their whole, natural form as possible, including fruits and vegetables, whole grains, nuts and seeds. When choosing meat or seafood, go for the kind that is humanely treated and organic, and reduce processed foods as much as possible.
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for the mind
Next, you have holistic habits to add to your routine for your mind, including emotional and mental health. These include:
Write in Your Journal
It doesn’t get much better than journaling when it comes to your mental or emotional health. For holistic habits that improve your mind, writing down your thoughts and feelings is extremely beneficial. This can be a therapeutic experience that is easily done in just 5 minutes a day.
Some things to remember about journaling:
• There are no rules – Feel free to write as much or as little as you want, use any type of notebook you have on hand, and don’t worry about your spelling or grammar.
• Try different methods of journaling – There are many different forms of journaling, including using prompts, brain dumps, stream of consciousness, and daily journaling similar to writing in a diary. Feel free to experiment with what works best.
• Express gratitude – Every time you write in your journal, try to write a few things you are currently grateful for in your life.
Take an Epsom Salt Bath
The reason we included this in the mind section and not body is because many of the benefits help with your mental and emotional health. Epsom salt benefits are wonderful for releasing toxins from the body, but they also release them from the mind. After just one bath, you feel rejuvenated, stress-free and with reduced anxiety.
Many people find that with at least one Epsom salt bath a week in their routine, they feel more relaxed, and at a much calmer mental state.
Practice Breathwork
Breathwork is a term for any type of breathing exercise you do. Breathwork can also be very healing, helping you to work on healing any traumas you have in your life, reduce stress, and calm the mind and spirit. Adding breathwork to your daily routine is a wonderful way to start the healing process.
Use Essential Oils
Essential oils are another great way to improve your mental health and nurture your mind. There are many ways to use essential oils in your daily routine, including in your bath, using a blend that is applied to the skin, adding them to your diffuser during meditation, or lighting aromatherapy candles when you need to relax.
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for the spirit
Holistic practices for the spirit encompass your body and mind, physical and mental health, and really working on your spiritual side. It is the final piece of the puzzle for total wellness. The holistic habits for your spirit include:
Be Mindful
Mindfulness is going to help every area of your life, but particularly with your spirit and emotional health. Being more mindful is something you can do at any time of day, whether you are eating, walking, reading, playing with your dogs, resting, or even watching TV.
Mindfulness is about being present in the moment, without judgment. You don’t think about the past or what your plans are next, but just live each moment fully. During a meal, if you sit down in silence and just really savor each bite, thinking about the colors, textures, and tastes of your food, you enjoy it and appreciate it so much more. This can really light up your spirit.
Try Meditation
You can also nurture your spirit with a daily meditation practice. Before you begin, you may feel a little intimidated, but don’t worry; nobody is perfect right away. In fact, you don’t have to try to clear your mind and be in a meditative state. You can start with just a few minutes of deep breathing each day, and allow your thoughts to come and go naturally.
Use Mantras or Affirmations
For more holistic spiritual habits, try using mantras or affirmations each day. These are really easy to add to your daily routines, and allow you to change your mindset over time. You can use the same ones each day or alternative them based on each day’s intentions.
Spend More Time in Nature
Similar to other holistic habits, being outside more in nature not only helps your spirit, but your body and mind as well. This is a really therapeutic activity that costs you nothing and only takes a few minutes each day. Get outside in any capacity you can, from just going out to your patio or balcony, spending time in your garden, or heading to a nearby park or forest.
The more time you spend outside in nature, the more you will start to feel more connected to the earth and understand how much it benefits you.
create a morning routine
Now that you have an idea of the practices for your daily routines, let’s go over some of the best ones to do in the morning. While you are not limited by doing any of these habits during a particular time of the day, this does help you to get them added to your routine.
• Herbal Tea – Naturally, switching from coffee to tea is best to do in the morning with your first beverage. This also makes it easy to get your body used to not having as much caffeine, so eventually you can switch to just plain water if you prefer.
• Mindfulness – While mindfulness is easy to do any time of the day, adding it to your morning routine is an easy way to get started. Be in a mindful state when you first wake up in the morning and until you get started on the rest of your routine. Those few minutes of quiet and calm really help to set up your day in a relaxing way.
• Yoga – Days get hectic very easily, so if you want to add yoga or any exercise to your routine, doing it in the morning helps you get it out of the way so you don’t have to worry about it.
• Using affirmations – There are many ways to use affirmations and mantras in your daily routine. If you have never used them before, try saying the affirmations out loud in the morning during your morning routine as a way to set intentions for the day.
• Spending time in nature – An easy way to add spending time outside to your daily routine is by doing it first thing in the morning. After you go through your basic hygiene practices in the morning, bring your cup of tea outside on your patio or balcony to enjoy the fresh air.
create a night time routine
There are other holistic habits that tend to fit in a little better in the evening, and provide more benefits when you do them at night.
• Journaling – You can definitely journal in the morning as well, but morning routines get busy and crowded very easily, so when you first start out, save it for the evening.
• Meditation – Meditation in the evening before bed is a great time to practice since it helps to relax your mind and get you into a calm state before bed. You may notice that you sleep much more soundly and have more calming dreams.
• Epsom salt or essential oil bath – Enjoy a nice relaxing bath in the evenings as you get ready for bed. This can be with Epsom salts, other types of healing salts, or essential oils.
• Breathwork – Lastly, doing breathwork in the evening near when you do meditation can also be really calming for you before bed.
Creating daily routines with your holistic habits isn’t about being perfect, but doing so intuitively and adding practices that feel right for you.