5 simple tips for a holiday feeling!

Holidays are so relaxing!   I love being with family and those holidays where there's not much else to do but swim, explore and enjoy old or new friendships.  Simple things that are so re-energising.

Now ...  how do we make that relaxed holiday feeling part of our routine back home?!

Distilling it down to what we can do on a daily basis, I've come up with these nourishing tips.  We are all familiar with them, but it's actually finding a way that's easy and enjoyable so we make it happen, they become a habit and then just a way of life.   Thinking about it, the key things for me were having time to rest, not rushing, and spending quality time with friends and family.

1.  Be completely still and focus on your breathe:  we might feel guilty or you're thinking there's no way I have time for that! but... it is so so important.

• It helps put our thoughts into perspective
• gives us a chance to replace negative with positive and constructive thoughts
• allows space to find ways to acheive our goals
• the body relaxes, when it's relaxed (& safe) it heals and repairs
• our bodies are oxygenated.  It's been said disease cannot survive in a well oxygenated body.
• Plus you'll find you have more time - believe it or not.

2.  Eat more greens:  your mum and grandmum are or were right!  They truly are the pharmacy of life:

• They give a 'lifting' energy, thereby help lift our spirits,
• are rich in vitamins, minerals and other nutrients (especially organic greens),
• they feed our intestinal flora and
• help strenghten the immune system and
• detoxify....

Green smoothies are a regular event in our house and a great way to start the day.  We also regularly have sauteed kale or spinach with fresh herbs with eggs for breakfast - so good!  One of my recipes this month is a wonderfully health promoting green smoothie with some real 'kick' that we're enjoying (although not so much the kids)!

3.  Enjoy the sun:  and get into the outdoors, where you can. Our skin is our largest organ for a reason, let's allow it to do its job.  This year I will be riding my bike more to the shops, beach, school etc (it needs a good dust and much love right now)!  but a perfect and fun way to slow down and enjoy the outdoors.

4.  Move:  Something my Dad used to say to me a lot as a kid (especially on the tennis court)!  He's right, whatever you enjoy doing incorporate more of it into your routine. Walking,swimming, cycling, yoga etc.  It helps to:

• keep us young
• reduce infections
• stimulate the growth of new brain cells and
• combat stress.  Supported in this quote by Tony Robbins, 'emotion is created by motion'.  

Personally, I'll be trying more interval training.  It can be fast and effective.  Some research indicates that interval training can take just 12 minutes to be more effective than an hour or more at the gym.  Try a bike ride or run working to your maximum exertion for 1 minute, recovering for a minute and so on.  it's worth a try and takes far less time!  To learn more about it, Dr Al Sears has written a book, 'PACE: The 12 Minute Fitness Revolution'.

5.  Detoxify:  It's an overused word these days, but the reality is we are bombarded on a daily basis with toxins in our environment: the cleaning products we use at home, our personal care and hygiene products, our food, clothes, furniture - they are everywhere.  Here are a few ideas we use to limit our exposure:

• enjoy organic food, particularly animal products
• use glass rather than plastic: buy products in glass and freeze in glass. Store in glass or stainless steel.
• use enjo and when I can, I make our own cleaning products.
• try to use chemical free and more natural personal care products: Miessence has quality products and it's Australian.  We use the Soleo sunscreen.
• turn our wireless router off when not in use and at nighttime to reduce EMF exposure.
• detoxify any toxic thoughts that are making you unhealthy and stressed.

Chlorella is a great supplement that helps with detoxifying, as are greens!

We all know what we need to do.  These are just a few ideas that we're trying.  Find what simple ideas work for you and start incorporating them, one by one and soon - they will be just a way of life!

By squeezing in the good things in life, you honestly feel like less of the nutrient 'dead', soul destroying stuff.  Our bodies are basically walking cellular giants, comprised of millions and trillions of cells.  We need to nourish them to maintain and gain great health.

'We first make our habits, and then our habits make us' 

John Dryden