As the first post under a new name,  I thought I would give a brief summary of the foundational principles that must be adhered to in order to maintain or regain one's health.  The goal of this column is to flesh out these principles so that they can be fully understood and hopefully implemented.  It does take time for these principles to work - this is not meant to be a quick fix, (deep down you probably know there is no such thing as a quick fix), but I believe that we are meant to be vibrantly healthy and full of energy, and if we do what is necessary to provide for ourselves what is needed, we can do a lot to move in that direction.  If you are sick, following these principles will complement any care you are receiving.

If you have been reading my posts for a while you will have noticed a pattern emerging. We need to learn from the past as we move forward into the future. We are suffering from "convenience disease", and all these new-fangled convenience foods and gadgets that save us time, stop us from moving our bodies and stop us from getting enough sleep, are costing us not only our health but also the health of our planet Earth.  And our health is undisputedly tied to the health of our planet.

So, what are the foundational health principles?

1) How we think is probably the most important aspect to good health. If you find yourself stuck in thought-patterns that are not supportive to your psyche, or you are constantly stressing about all the small stuff in addition to the big stuff, or if you have some emotional baggage that you are carting around, perhaps it is time to find new ways of thinking and dealing with your emotions. There are all kinds of methods out there, from talk therapy to Emotional Freedom Technique (EFT) to Neuro-Linguistic Programming (NLP). Find a method that suits you.

2) Breathe into your lower ribcage rather than into your chest. Breathing right is critical for good health.

3) Drink half your bodyweight in pounds, in ounces of pure water each day. Make sure your water is mineralized adequately.

4) Eat according to your metabolic type, and choose whole food that has not been processed or adulterated in any way, organic if possible. For example, broccoli is a whole food, whereas crackers are not.  Remember that processed food, even if it is labeled organic, is not healthy. As my friend Judy Chambers said so perfectly, "There is nothing healthy about an organic cheese puff".

5) Get to bed as soon after it gets dark as possible. Our bodies function based on the cycles of light and dark, and pushing the "light time" at the expense of the "dark time" reeks havoc with our hormonal system, and therefore our health.

6) Exercise daily. We were never meant to spend our lives sitting in chairs, but rather, just like all other animals on the planet, we were meant to search out food in order to survive. Our bodies need physical activity in order to be healthy.

7) We need to slow down, spend more time enjoying each other, enjoying the great outdoors outside of the city, and enjoying slow food lovingly prepared. (I know ... totally unrealistic in today's world, but at least we can strive for that!)

8) We need to reduce or eliminate if possible our exposure to toxins, mostly in the form of chemicals thatwe ingest, inhale, or that come in contact with our skin. Even though drugs can be lifesaving, remember that most drugs are chemicals that your body needs to detoxify, so use them only if necessary. If possible, choose food that is not filled with chemicals such as pesticides, herbicides, colourings, flavourings, preservatives, and synthetic additives. Be careful of what you put on your skin.

We are very complex entities with all kinds of feedback and feedforward loops in our physiology, all designed to keep us in homeostasis.  But we are also as radically different from each other on the inside as we are on the outside, so sometimes treating specific conditions can be problematic.  A treatment that works well for one person may not work at all for another.  By backing up and looking at the whole person that has the condition rather than the condition itself, often remarkable shifts in health can occur. 

This perspective on health may seem extremely simplistic, but I find that it is actually quite difficult to implement the foundational principles fully.  Ask yourself how well you are doing these days!  I see wellness as a journey, and over time as our psyche gets used to certain ideas, we feel more comfortable taking them into our lives.  I hope you will take this journey with me!

Chek, Paul; How to Eat, Move and Be Healthy!  Chek Institute, San Diego, CA, 2004.