The New Year is upon us – good riddance 2020! So, take the time to Pause, to consider these commitments – what feels right, what feels worth the effort. And to help you focus, here are a few top tips that Will make a significant difference to how you feel in the months ahead as you barrel your way through 2021. (Some of you sharp-eyed Thrivers may recognise these tips from previous years… what can I say? – Truth is Truth, year after year). This is advice I give to my patients, year in, year out.
1. Start your day with 500ml of warm lemon/lemon and ginger water: A whole lemon juiced and zested and a thumb of finely chopped ginger in a jug. Add 250ml hot water and allow to brew for a few minutes. Then top up to 500ml with room temp water and drink it all down in as short a time as possible. This will flush and hydrate and provide essential micronutrients for liver and kidney cleansing – every day!
2. Walk for at least 20 minutes a day: brisk as you like, do not dawdle. This should be the bare minimum of exercise each day – you are welcome to do more. This helps to reduce stagnation of body and mind.
3. Clean House : a la Marie Kondo… the importance of this tip cannot be overstated. We carry everything we own in the subconscious spaces of our mind – the good and the bad, the neat and the cluttered. It weighs on us and is one of the choices we actually make every day – we choose to carry it all. The only way out is to de-clutter, to cleanse our spaces viciously and lighten the load. If you have done this before – even on a micro scale – you know how good it feels. Make a few rules (such as “I will only keep what brings me Joy”) as to how you go about it and get it done, Yesterday!
NB: begin by creating a recycling area (A couple of cardboard boxes) so that as you throw out you can separate the common recyclables. The whole process will feel even better if you declutter with minimal impact on the landfill.
4. Meditate: there is a reason why everyone is talking about this top tip – it has the power to change everything and is certainly a great place to start the process. Even if you do nothing else, the rest may flow from here… Most of my patients will know how I am an incessant promoter of disciplined Diaphragmatic Breathing to slow the breath and calm the farm! This is a practical form of meditation and generates almost all the benefits of the discipline, but there are many ways to skin this cat – you can even use your mobile phone app if that suits you better.
5. Clean up your Diet: try to focus on adding healthier things to the diet rather than paying too much attention to cutting things out – unless that thing is sugar, obviously. Reduce your meat and dairy intake (best contribution you can make as an individual to a healthier climate), avoid processed and tinned foods, and ADD greens and yellows and reds and oranges and blues to the diet, preferably organic home grown veggies if you are able.
6. Fast: find a Fasting routine that suits you – the options are legion – but do it regularly. Rest the gut, reduce the carb intake over time. Your immunity and energy availability will be rewarded by the practice.
7. Make Time Just for You: unplug from your device and make space in your schedule to spend time with yourself – planning, learning a new skill, rediscovering an old hobby, exploring your talents, doing yoga, de-cluttering, meditating, taking a good long soak or just DOING NOTHING. You will find this becomes a time you really look forward to and is a great way to reward yourself for getting some of the other Top Tips done!
8. Sort out your Finances: set a budget and clear your debts and save as much as you can. However hard it seems and however much this item does not seem to belong to this list, if you think about it, it may well be the most important thing on this list as financial worries are probably the greatest source of stress for each and every one of us. The Goal is simple – get out of the red and into the green. How you get there is up to you – just do it with integrity. Integrity is light and ill-gotten wealth is heavy. See mrmoneymoustache.com for some interesting ideas in this regard.
9. Clean up your Relationships: the people we have in our lives have a massive impact on our health and on how we feel about our lives and about ourselves. Put effort into the important relationships and remove the toxic ones. Learn how to identify the relationships that heal and those that harm. Become discerning.
10. Clean up your Tech: Clear out everything that is clutter or contributing to negative thoughts in your life. Everything on your phone, tablet, computer, and your social media. Clear out apps, contacts/people, photos, etc. Unfriend, unfollow, and unlike pages and people that are negative – give them a thorough cleansing.
Give these a try and you won’t regret it.
BY: Dr Bruce Thomson – Registered Acupuncturist and Doctor of Homeopathy
dr.bthomson@gmail.com / Whatsapp or SMS 0837899328 for consultations. Medical aid rates.