Each year there are thousands of new articles and books aimed at helping you lose weight and stay in shape. Most of these only focus on the cornerstones of good health: diet and exercise. Same message, new words right?
Well, there is no mistaking the fact that diet and exercise are crucial to your existence. However, what if you want to go deep? What if you want to do something radical to shake up a monotonous healthy routine?
Instead of just getting by, this list will get you started with some uncommon ways that you can help you go above and beyond to create total health.
- Try using Neti pots. This age old nasal rinse technique removes mucus and build up of pollution in the nasal passages. It also helps prevent respiratory tract infections, relieves allergies, colds, sinusitis and is beneficial in the treatment of headaches and migraines.
- Brushing your skin? We all know that the skin is the largest organ in the body. It is responsible for one-fourth of the body's daily detoxification. When you do skin brushing, you help your lymph system to clean itself of the toxins that collect in the lymph glands.
- Make fasting a regular habit. Short and long term fasts can improve health through detoxification and rejuvenation of the body. When the body is not using the majority of its energy for digestion, it is able to use its energy on healing and restoration. The digestive system is given a much needed rest while the body is able to detoxify. As always, you should consult a medical practitioner before attempting a fast.
- Use colon hydrotherapy. Cleansing the colon has many health benefits. It reduces the pressure in the abdominal area, reduces weight, expels parasites and helps promote regular elimination. Colonics helps restore normal muscle tone and removal of constipation. Water is absorbed through the colon which increases the volume of blood. The circulation of blood increases, resulting in greater bathing of the cells. This dilutes the toxins and helps flush them out.
- Breathe, you're alive. Breath is life. We can live a long time without food or water, but without breath, we die in minutes. Proper breathing is one of the most important functions of good health. Yet we often breathe shallowly, due to improper posture, stress and other negative influences. In order to breathe properly, our breath should reach the bottom of our lungs. Practice 6 second breathing, 3 seconds on inhale, 3 seconds on exhale. More oxygen will start flowing through your body and you will begin to feel energized. Just by becoming conscious of our breathing, we can have a great impact on our well-being.
- Tai Chi walking. Recent research has shown that walking may be better for us than the more popular running. That's because physiologically we've adapted as hunter-gatherers (more like gatherer-hunters) to walk long distances. We spent the majority of our time walking, not running. Tai Chi walking can help us to take our walking a step further by learning how to adapt to a new way of walking whereby we gain energy with each step.
- Consider getting a new mattress. New memory foam mattresses can help you get a better nights rest which improves your overall feeling of well being. Some of the benefits include, less soreness and stiffness in the morning, no irritating pressure points and a long lasting mattress.
- Buy Masai balance shoes. Designed around the way you naturally walk on sand, these new shoes are designed to put less of a shock on the skeletal system. They are designed with a unique spring level action which helps to make your core strengthening muscles more active, which in turn helps to improve your posture.
- Improve your posture. Poor posture results in shallow breathing, pain in the neck and back, and results in poor circulation of energy throughout the body. Here are a few tips to improve your posture:
- Sit towards the front of the chair. This will naturally cause you to sit up straight.
- Try using an exercise ball. Dare to be different, try using an exercise ball as a chair. You'll force yourself to sit up straight. =)
- Take breaks away from the desk. Prolonged sitting in front of the computer will cause your back to become tired more easily. It's also easier to keep your back straight standing, rather than sitting.
- Bring more plants into your home and workplace. We all know that plants turn carbon dioxide into oxygen. But did you know plants can also purify the air, removing harmful pollutants? Not only will the air you breathe be fresher, plants also naturally humidify the air reducing allergies and sinusitis. Plants have psychological benefits as well. We are happier, less stressed and more productive in a greener, more natural environment. If you don't have a little plant at your workstation, get one or two!
- Laugh every day! Whoever said life has to be serious? Studies have shown that laughter decreases stress hormones and can act as a powerful muscle relaxer. Laughter can help you breathe deeper, strengthen your immune system, forget about pain and lower blood pressure. As they say, laughter is the best medicine.
- Jonathan
译文:
11种新奇又简单的强身健体之法
Jonathan Mead写于2008年4月14日，也在jonathanmead.com上写过关于寻找清衡的文章。
每年都会有数以千计的新文章和书刊旨在帮助你减肥或保持好身材。它们中的大多数仅仅关注健康的基础要素：饮食和锻炼。换汤不换药对吗？
诚然，饮食和锻炼确实对你的生存非常重要。然而，如果你想要深入分析呢？如果你想做些什么对这一单调的健康惯例进行一次彻底的变革呢？
不是笼统的点到为止，这张清单可以让你从一些不寻常的方法开始，帮助你轻而易举创造健康。
1． 试着用一下洗鼻壶。这项古老的鼻子冲洗技术可以清除鼻腔中的黏液以及附着的污物。它还可以防止呼吸系统感染，缓解过敏、感冒、鼻窦炎，而且对治疗头痛和周期性偏头痛也有好处。
2． 刷刷你的皮肤？众所周知，皮肤是人体最大的器官。它承担了人体每天解毒任务的四分之一。当你拂拭皮肤的时候，实际上是在帮助你的淋巴系统进行自我清理，清理那些集中在淋巴腺中的毒素。
3． 让斋戒成为一个固定的习惯。短期或长期的斋戒可以通过身体的解毒和复苏来促进健康。当人体没有用它的大部分精力来消化的时候，它就可以用精力来进行自我治疗和康复。而人体得以自我解毒时，消化系统是应该得到充分休息的。当然，在计划斋戒前，你最好咨询一下医生。
4． 使用结肠水疗法。清理结肠有很多好处。它可以减轻腹部区域的压力，减轻体重，排出寄生虫，帮助促进日常排泄。这样有助于保持肌肉的正常色调，消除便秘。增加血液量的水是通过结肠吸收的。血液循环加快，促使细胞加速游动，于是毒素便被稀释并排出了体外。
5． 呼吸，你活着。呼吸就是生命。离开食物和水，我们还可以活很长一段时间，但是离开呼吸，我们几分钟之内就会死。正确的呼吸是与健康有密切关系的因素之一。然而，我们经常浅短地呼吸，这归咎于不恰当的姿势、生活的压力和其他的消极影响。为了能正确地呼吸，我们的呼吸应该深至肺的底部。练习6秒呼吸，3秒吸气，3秒呼气。更多氧气会在你的体内流动，你就会觉得精力充沛。只要开始意识到我们的呼吸，我们就可以对我们的健康产生重大影响。
6． 太极步法。最近的研究显示，走路与比之更流行的跑步相比，可能对我们更有好处。那是因为，从生理学的角度出发，早在采猎（更接近集体狩猎）时期，我们就已经适应了长距离行走。我们花大部分时间走路，而不是跑步。太极步法可以帮助我们走得更远，这是通过学习如何适应新的行走方式得到得结果，而这新的行走方式可以让我们在每一步中都获取力量。
7． 考虑一下买个新床垫。新型记忆泡沫床垫能给你一个可以提高你全部幸福感的休息得更好的夜晚。其中一些好处包括：减少早上的酸痛和僵硬，没有刺激性的压力点和一个耐用的床垫。
8．买一双由马赛技术的平衡鞋。根据你的脚很自然地走在沙子上的感觉而设计，这些新型的鞋子被设计成对骨骼系统的冲击更少。对它们的设计融入了独一无二的春天式的行动，它能帮助你的重心更主动的强化肌肉，而作为回报，它能让你的姿势更好。
9．调整你的姿势。不正确的姿势会导致浅呼吸，让脖子和后背感到痛苦，同时会导致差的身体能量循环。这里有一些调整你的姿势的贴示。
* 坐在椅子的前部。这样会让你自然而然的坐正。
* 尝试使用健身球。勇于改变，尝试一下把健身球当椅子。你会强迫自己坐正。
* 不要趴在桌上休息。长时间坐在电脑前面会让你的后背更容易疲惫。站着也比坐着更容易让你的后背变挺。
10. 在你的家和工作的地方摆放更多的植物。众所周知，植物可以将二氧化碳转化为氧气。但是你知道吗？植物同样也可以净化空气，转移有害污染物。你呼吸的空气不仅变得更新鲜，而且植物很自然的使空气潮湿，缓解过敏和窦炎。植物也有心理益处。在一个更“绿色”，更自然的环境中，我们会更开心，更少压力，更高产。如果在你的工作站中还没有植物，赶快放一两盆吧！
11．每天都要笑！谁说生活是严肃的？研究表明，笑可以减少压力激素的分泌，同时可以充当一个强劲的肌肉放松器。笑可以帮助你深呼吸，加强你的免疫系统，令你忘记痛苦，降低血压。就像有人说的，笑是最好的良药。