5 Pillars of a Vibrant Health.

Health is one of the most talked-about subjects in the world. With time and with the new discoveries in the medical field we are more concerned about our health. There are hundreds and thousands of new health problems that have been discovered by the Medical scientists and doctors in the past few decades. Most of these health problems were not common or even unknown to the whole world.

I, being a doctor, write about various health topics and how to prevent certain health problems and deal with them once developed. But the question is, do we really know what health is? Let's find out. Here is the theoretical definition of health:

“A state of total emotional, mental, and physical well-being is referred to as health.”

According to the definition, health is a complete well-being of emotional mental and physical state of the body. In the present times, I don’t think many individuals are healthy as most of us, if healthy physically, deal with mental stress and varying emotional states. If one person is healthy physically we can’t be sure that person has a healthy state of mind.

With advancements in health fields and more and easier access to information, we can learn more about health and how to keep ourselves healthy emotionally, physically and mentally. Although its a vast topic to talk about but I can try to be as precise as possible and hopefully you will find it helpful.

In this article I am going to talk about 5 pillars of a healthy life-style…

1- Diet:

Diet is the fist pillar of health. Our body, like all the other things, needs energy to keep working. If we have to keep focusing on spiritual path we really have to take care of our bodies. If we don’t care for our body and provide it with the healthy nutrients, we have to deal with a bad health, low energy and countless diseases.

— If you don’t make time for your wellness, you will be forced to make time for your illness — .

A healthy diet is very important to keep our bodies functioning normally. We choose best things for everything but for our bodies. We wear branded clothes and jewelry, we buy expensive cars and bikes and we live in big houses or we at least dream about all that stuff but how many of us eat or think about eating a healthy food?

Our diet should contain all the nutrients like lipids, proteins, carbohydrates and fibres. We should eat food that has life in it. Lets think about beans and grains. These are just seeds but have the tendency to grow into plants. Fresh Vegetables are full of life even after being in the refrigerator for days, these become fresh if we put them back in water. In contrast to the food that is processed and canned for many months or sometimes years. Fresh sources of food have more tendency to give life than processed food.

According to American Dietetic Association (ADA) our daily diet should contain 45–65% carbohydrates. Our daily protein requirement is around 1 gm per kg of the body weight. A wholesome diet contains proteins, carbohydrates fats and fibers. Fats are important for energy and growth. Many hormones and other substances needed by the body are made up of fats. Lipids can also increase the risk of various heart diseases. So we should choose them wisely. The best healthy fat containing foods are nuts, seeds, fish and vegetable oils.

2- Exercise and Breath:

Exercise is the second pillar of a healthy lifestyle that should be an integral part of our daily routine. 20–30 minutes won’t harm our daily schedule but these can enhance quality of our physical health. 20–30 minutes a day for most days of the week should be enough to keep you healthy. Physical exercise not only strengthens the body but also sharpens the brain.

There has been a lot of research on exercise for the past decade. We all know it helps our heart (Cardiovascular system) and lungs (Pulmonary system) but what most of us don’t know is that it helps every part of the body. Exercise improves immunity, digestion, makes our joints and muscles stronger. It keeps our brain healthy, sharpens the memory and keeps our moods positive.

There is no downside to exercise and all the exercises from stretching to weight training even yoga are equally effective for the body. Exercises can’t just be performed at the gym or at home and can be performed anywhere. Different kinds of sports can be a great source of physical activity and exercise.

Role of Breath…

Breath is very important in managing stress levels and healing. Proper breathing during the exercise is the key. There should be a mind-body connection while performing any exercise so your brain knows what you are doing. Mind-body connection with a proper breathing technique will deliver unimaginable results.

— Anchor yourself in and let your breath be your guide — (Dr. Carrie Demers)

3- Sleep:

A good health always depends on a quality sleep. It is impossible to have a healthy life without a proper sleep. Sleep has physical and mental benefits and a direct impact on our greater consciousness. It is imperative for our good health. Sleep restores our body because when the body is at rest, its repairing and growing.

Most of us don’t have a 6–8 hours sleep. The reason might be a medical or a non medical. We may have a tough routine leaving a few hours for sleep or we may be suffering from some kind of illness that makes it difficult to sleep well. Without a proper sleep, the body is unable to get enough rest and we feel sleepy and lethargic.

How to get a better sleep?

We can train our bodies to get a proper sleep. Some techniques or routines that can improve our sleep quality are:

1- Follow a routine.

2- Keep your room quiet and dark.

3- Avoid using too much caffeine.

4- Stop using mobiles or laptops while on bed.

5- Exercise. If you are tired, you will have a better sleep.

4- Cleansing Practice:

Cleansing is the fourth pillar of a vibrant health. Gentle cleansing of the body builds a foundation for a clean and a healthy life. Cleaning routines help your body function better and the sense of cleanliness not only improves our mood but also gives confidence. Cleanliness and health are interrelated and it also improves physical, mental and spiritual health.

— If you just keep a machine clean, it will last forever —

Human body is like a machine that needs to be cleaned. If we keep our bodies clean they function better.

How to clean the body?

There are built in ways that keep our bodies clean. Our kidneys and bladder excrete the liquid waste, skin and liver also excrete waste products out of the body. Our lungs release volatile waste in the form of Carbon dioxide that can be toxic in high concentrations. We just have to do a few things that support all these organs to help them perform better.

— Eat healthy diet with lots of fibers and antioxidant foods.

— Exercise helps all the organs with increased sweating and circulation to the body organs.

— Stay hydrated.

— Deep breathing exercises.

— Seasonal cleansing (Nasal Wash).

5- Mindfulness:

By Definition, mindfulness is the quality or state of being conscious or aware of something. This is the 5th pillar of a vibrant health. Mindfulness about a healthy life are choices that we make in our daily routine. What are we eating? Are we doing exercise? Are we going to bed and waking up on schedule? Where are we using our energy? We need to analyze our choices if these are right or wrong for our physical and spiritual health.

We all have different habits like drinking tea or alcohol, smoking, wasting time in front of screens, waking up all night etc. All the bad habits that are affecting our bodies must be analyzed. We need to think about why are we choosing to stick with these habits and not let go of all the bad habits that have negative effects on our health. Sometimes we like something or we like to do something that can have bad effects on our physical, mental or spiritual health. So we really need to be kind to ourselves and avoid those activities for a better health.

We need to pay attention to what we are doing and why. Take notes and assess everything we are doing. Then we would gradually be able to transform our habits that are good to us and the world.

— How to let go of bad habits?

Firstly, we need to be kind to ourselves and to not condemn for what we are doing. Secondly, we have inborn ability to sense if a certain food or a habit is good or bad for the body. Once we have understood, we just need to replace those things or habits with the ones that are helpful to your body and soul. Remember to be kind to you and to others.— The first and the best victory is to conquer self — .

• Thank you for reading this article and I hope it would be an informative one. If you want me to write about any specific health topic, feel free to ask. You can follow and press the bell icon to get notified whenever I post a new story. Appreciate your time and help!!