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Health and Living – Physical Health

 Active Fitness Word Cloud CollageHey Earth’s Enrichers

Did you know there are basic principles to  healthy living? These  six principles  develop a well-rounded, healthy life. These  principles are physical health, intellectual health (mind), spiritual health, emotional health, social health and environmental health. In the next few weeks, we will feature each one of these principles and explain what exactly they entail and how they can easily be included into the healthy life that you deserve.

This week we will focus on physical health, which represents the body’s health. This principle refers to anything that benefits your body’s physical fitness, safety, nutrition, and medical responsibility.

As a part of physical health, physical fitness such as exercising and activity promotes the idea of keeping your body functioning the way it should whether it’s increasing flexibility, tracking  your calories, or staying active. This also means maintaining your physical health. It is important to pay attention to your body and understand its physical limits.

Try to practice safe fitness and try not to put your body in awkward positions. For instance, when  with exercising, try machines and workouts that support your body’s needs. If your balance isn’t that great, perhaps running up and down stairs isn’t the best option for you; instead, try an elliptical or stair climber. If your knees are a weak point, try to refrain from workouts that hyperextend them or require sudden twists or movements. Trust us, the last thing you want is to blow out a knee. So, be safe and smart about your fitness.

This principle also encompasses the ability to take care of the outer most properties of your physical health—this means your skin. Your skin is your most important source of protection for your body. It repels germs and other radicals from just entering your body. It comes in contact with tons of bacteria and possible dangers every minute of every hour and it needs your help to continue its job. Properly keeping your skin healthy and clean with natural and organic means protects it. This means keeping it clean, moisturized, and exfoliated. The better your skin feels, the better you feel.

Another aspect of this principle is nutrition—what you put into your body. You can’t keep up with your outer most physical health (muscles, joints, and skin) without taking care of your inner physical health (vitamins and nutrients). This means your body’s diet is necessary to balancing out your physical health. For instance, food and water are necessary when working out your body. The water keeps your body hydrated and keeps your muscles from cramping too much during exercise. Food, such as proteins like in chicken, gives your body energy and helps replace the fuel in your body lost after working out.   . 

Thus, it is important to keep your body properly hydrated and fed but this doesn’t mean put any ol’ thing in your body. Also try to include as many healthy fruits and vegetables as you can.  Try limiting  consumption of processed foods. Work out a healthy and affordable diet to increase your inner fitness. In order to do this you may need to know a few things about your medical health and/or consult a professional (nutritionist).

Knowing what you’re lacking in your nutrition can help you build a better plan. Also, it is important to consider what foods are good for boosting your immune system and are great for certain conditions and diseases you may have like obesity or diabetes. This is a part of your medical responsibility. Knowing that these conditions exist and could be a part of your everyday life, it would be beneficial to incorporate what you need to keep yourself healthy.  

We know that there are other factors that affect our ability to eat properly and exercise. These factors are time, money, and personal taste. However, with proper researching and planning, a healthy, timely, and affordable diet and fitness plan may be achieved.

The EE 411: 

Do you all know the difference between physical activity and exercise?

We will give you a hint, physical activity is what you do every single day. Have you figured it out yet? It’s as simple as walking through the parking lot to get to your car, or walking to the bus or metro. Another example of physical activity could be taking the stairs, instead of the elevator.

Physical activity is the basic movements your body makes on an average day. This would even include biking or walking to work instead of driving. This is equivalent to walking casually around the mall. The important part of this is that your body should get some physical activity every day. If you find, you’re sitting still the majority of the day, get up and do something!

If you’re sitting all day at a desk, stand up for a little bit and type. You might even want to stretch a little. However, this is where we move into the meaning of exercise. Exercise is an intentional workout that usually has an end goal or outcome. Folks usually tend to work out to relieve themselves of stress, lose weight, tone their bodies, etc.

Yoga is a great example of exercise! It’s an intentional flexibility and muscle endurance/strength work out. The end result is to either become one with your body or increase your core strength and range of motion. Jogging is an intentional workout, the end goal is endurance and cardio. It may also be used to regulate and maintain your body.

Either way, incorporating more physical activity in your everyday life  is crucial to healthy living, especially if you . If y don’t necessarily have the time to work out every day. Don’t be afraid to put aside some time to work out, you and your body deserve it.  Maybe even join a fitness class or a gym. You could bring your friends along or meet new people. It’s a great way to socialize.

When you have finished your workout, reward yourself! Break out the Lavender of the Valley, Calming Spa Seaweed, or Lemon fresh Shea baths salts and draw yourself a bath. This is a perfect way to look after your skin and relax your muscles—trust us, you deserve it. ^-^

Share with Us: What is your favorite type of physical activity? 

(This post was brought to you by Earth’s Enrichments.  Similar posts can be found by visiting our Blog.  More information about our  company and products (USDA Certified Organic Soaps, Organic Bath Salts, Organic Sugar Scrubs, Organic Body Balms and Organic Lip Balms) can be found on our Website. Thank you Earth’s Enricher!) 


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Living Health – Yoga

 

????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????Hey Earth’s Enrichers

Even during those summer days, waking up can be a nightmare especially when it’s early, but what do you do when you wake up? Think about it, the first thing you do is stretch to wake up your muscles. Stretching your muscles is and should be a part of your everyday physical activity and/or exercise.

If your body is getting its preparation, what about your mind? Is there an exercise that prepares your body as well as your mind? Well, there is! You all have heard of yoga, right? Yoga is an exercise and meditation activities that helps you unite your mind and body. It uses techniques or poses to help with your posture, flexibility, and strength. It also teaches you how to breathe during the practice of these particular exercises.

Before we go on to the physical part, let’s talk about the meditation (or the mind exercise) that happens before or during your practice of yoga. Meditation is not always a religious practice; it’s a way of getting your mind together whether you’re contemplating your spirituality or how to make your kids eat their vegetables. It’s a way to get in touch with your body as well. Remember how we always say get to know your body? Meditation can help you with that during the poses in yoga.

When or if beginning yoga for the first time, you may not find it easy for your body and you may discover new things about your body. For instance, you may discover poses that you like or poses you don’t like. This depends on how the poses feels to your body. It also shows you where and how you need to improve physically. It’s challenging but yoga is a progressive exercise practice. When we say “practice,” we mean with more practice comes more improvement. You’ll find, over time, those uncomfortable poses won’t be so uncomfortable anymore.

Yoga inspires stretching and positioning your body in ways that will improve your flexibility. It also encourages you to use muscles you haven’t used or never knew you had. When your yoga instructor directs you to take a specific pose or certain posture, it conjures those dormant muscles. Over time, they build and tone.  For instance, the use of good posture strengthens your core muscles.

If you’re looking for a way to become one with yourself (an exercise for your mind and body), and to progressively improve your fitness (flexibility and strength), give yoga a try. It may be one of the best ways to exercise for you.

The EE 411: For the Newbies 🙂 

There are a few things that beginners should keep in mind when starting yoga: (1) how do I prepare for yoga and (2) what type of yoga do I like or is best for me?

How do I prepare for yoga?

  1. Determine if yoga is right for you by checking with your doctor. Medical considerations like hip surgery or pregnancy should be taken into account. Although, it is recommend that those expecting should not practice yoga—still consult a professional.
  2. Keep Hydrated. This is important in general! This is also really important if you are thinking about practicing Hot Yoga or Bikram.
  3. Eat. A rational meal two to three hours before practicing will give you energy to put forth the necessary effort.
  4. Know your limits. Do not perform a task just because everybody else in the class can. If you cannot do it, do not push it to the limit. Do what your body is prepared for; in time your flexibility and strength will improve. Also, know what time of day you are more flexible. For instance if you are your stiffest in the morning, morning yoga classes may not be the best for you.
  5. Warm up! Pre-stretches for ten or fifteen minutes help ready your body for the work it’s going to put in during yoga.

What type of yoga do I like or is best for me?

  • Anusara- Popular and designed in the US, this type of yoga inspires elegance with a focus on alignment.
  • Ashtanga- This style encompasses a series of postures with matching breathing. It is a physically demanding work out, so bring a towel.
  • Bikram –This yoga is heated, literally. It takes place in an artificially heated room. It consists of 26 poses in a sequence. You will sweat—this is another towel demanding yoga practice.
  • Hatcha- This is a generic, universal form of yoga. It is one of the common practices and is generally used for introduction because of its gentle style and more relaxed environment.
  • Hot Yoga- Do not forget your towel! It is similar to Bikram except the sequence of the poses is different, but the room is still heated.
  • Iyengar- this yoga practice is scrupulous and requires you to pay the utmost attention to detail. It requires configuration in your poses. It also summons the use of props during the practice. It requires plenty of discipline and is not for the faint hearted or fidgety.
  • Restorative- Do you consider yourself a nervous person? This yoga works to relax and calm the nerves. This yoga also uses props like blankets and instructs the students to take less disciplined poses. It requires less effort and restores your body to its proper balance.
  • Vinyasa- If you like to dance this may be the yoga for you. Its practice is to incorporate more harmonious movements that are sequenced to flow smoothly. However, the sequences are almost never the same. So, it is less consistent.

(This post was brought to you by Earth’s Enrichments.  Similar posts can be found by visiting our Blog.  More information about our  company and products (USDA Certified Organic Soaps, Organic Bath Salts, Organic Sugar Scrubs, Organic Body Balms and Organic Lip Balms) can be found on our Website. Thank you Earth’s Enricher!) 

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Healthy Lifestyle – Daily Health: Physical Activity

 

Dear Earth’s Enrichers

Active Fitness Word Cloud CollageYes, we said it—physical activity! Do you know what it is? Some of you are thinking exercise. A full work out for a certain amount of time, which can target certain areas of the body. Relax—this is not what we mean; although setting aside time during your week to exercise is an extra plus.

Physical activity is incorporating exercise-like activities into your every day schedule. For instance, biking to and from work. Or if you catch the bus and there is some walking involved, power walk the little distance you have to go. Even something as simple as maintaining your posture while you sit at work can be a part of daily physical activity. 

Your body requires certain things to help it get through the day and maintain a balance of good health. Without these things, it could produce small signs which are messages or SOS signals, if you will, from your body saying it needs them. So your body’s basic needs boils down to sleep, food or nourishment, physical activity, sun, and water.  This week our topic will focus on physical activity.

These modern times come with every convenience. When you go to the mall or market there is always the option of parking close to your destination so you don’t have to walk far. Leave those close up parking spots for individuals that need them! Take a parking lot challenge and park farther away from the door, that way you incorporate extra activity in your day.

If you drive to work and you happen to be within good time, find a parking space that is just out of the way. Do something new for your body! When working out or exercising, it is important not to let your body get too comfortable with the work out. The same applies for physical activity- switch it up.

If you have a job that requires you to sit on a daily basis, it is important for you to look after your health. If you find yourself getting tired or your back is hurting, stand up and do some stretches. You know a little in-office yoga. Not only is it good for your muscles and joints, but it helps oxygen flow through the body. This helps to refresh and energize it.

Also, when sitting your posture is important.  Good posture can help prevent tension in your back and lower back muscles. It is also great for your core/abs. Having bad posture means you do not use your core strength appropriately. Your abs and core help maintain your posture and utilizing those abs actually can help you burn calories. How do you like them apples?

All in all, give your body something physically new to look forward to in a day. If you usually walk to work, put a little pep in your step or bike there. Also, stretch constantly throughout the day; it makes you feel better. Work on your core while sitting in the office or during a meeting. Little tips like these help increase your body’s health and fitness over time.

The EE 411: Physical Activities

When in the office:

  • Stretch
  • Occasionally stand while you’re working
  • Bring a yoga ball with you to work to sit on instead of your chair
  • While sitting, stretch one leg and then the other

At the mall:

  • Instead of the escalator take the stairs (same goes with the elevator)
  • Power walk between stores. (Don’t do it to the point where you look silly J)
  • Park farther away than the door.
  • Walk around the mall for fun

On the commute:

  • If you can walk or ride a bike please do so
  • During your lunch break, walk somewhere healthy

At home:

  • Stretch while watching TV
  • Instead of sitting in chairs sit on the Yoga ball
  • Instead of letting the dog out, take him/her  for a walk.
  • Play with your children outside

There are many things you could do to incorporate physical activity into your daily life. There is a way of doing it so that it does not interfere with your day. These were just a few suggestions. Know what your body needs and look up or chose physical activity that works best for you. 

Share with Us: What kind of physical activity do you do daily?

(This post was brought to you by Earth’s Enrichments.  Similar posts can be found by visiting our Blog.  More information about our  company and products (USDA Certified Organic Soaps, Organic Bath Salts, Organic Sugar Scrubs, Organic Body Balms and Organic Lip Balms) can be found on our Website. Thank you Earth’s Enricher!)