Ready! Set!
Go! Here come the holidays! The preparations for the holidays begin
earlier each and every year. A month
before Halloween we already see Thanksgiving Day decorations and cards taking
space in Hallmark stores. One look at
those cards and we can feel the squirt of adrenaline release.
Now I can hear you saying, “She’s
exaggerating.” So why is the biggest
shopping day for Christmas the day after Thanksgiving? Before that second piece of pumpkin pie is
digested, you get into bed and set the alarm early enough to beat the crowds in
the morning. After all, it’s important
to get the sales of the year and cut down on the annual debt caused by
purchasing “loved ones” their holiday gifts.
It’s no wonder that by
January 2nd we feel like we’re ready to collapse, and many of us are
in the middle of a winter cold or flu.
How can we survive the last
months of the year and come out on the other side calmer, healthier and with
some joyful memories?
Instead of waiting to add a healthier
lifestyle to your list of New Year’s resolutions why not do it now? Let’s get our immune systems ready for
what’s to come. While we’re at it,
let’s look at it from a holistic point of view and take into consideration our
emotional and mental health. Many
studies have confirmed their effect on our immunity.
Let’s start with the simple
basics: diet, Supplements, Flower Essences, Proper Rest, Exercise and Immune
Modulators.
The type of food we eat and
how we digest it is most important. Find
a philosophy of eating that works for you.
Diets only work when they become a way of life. Instead of crash dieting before the holidays
(and gaining it back immediately after) starts now to eat healthy. Whether you’re going to use the Blood Type
Diet, The Zone Diet, the McDougall Plan or Macrobiotics, they all have the
following points in common:
1 1)
Cut out refined sugar
and white flour.
2 2)
Eat more whole grains,
i.e., substitute long grain brown basmati rice for the Rice-A-Roni.
3 3)
Eat more fresh
vegetables (your mother was right!).
Each day choose at least two green vegetables (broccoli, chard) and two
yellow, orange or red vegetables (carrots, squash, beets). This simple color code will give you a
fairly complete spectrum of vital antioxidants.
4 4)
Choose at least two
pieces of fruit per day that are in season locally.
5 5)
Cut down on meat and
dairy products.
6 6)
Reduce or eliminate
caffeine, alcohol and tobacco products.
7 7)
Take food enzymes or
Swedish Bitters with each meal. After
all, “You are what you DIGEST.” If you
have poor digestion, see a health care practitioner and ask about leaky gut
syndrome and/or candida.
Take a good quality
Vitamin/Mineral supplement daily. Many
fruits and vegetables are picked green and ripen on a truck on the way to the
market. They may look beautiful but are
missing the phytochemicals that are created when produce is ripened on the
plant.
Flower Essences can create
emotional balance. Taken daily over a
period of a few weeks you will begin to notice subtle changes in your
reactions, peace of mind and the ability to experience joy. Get together with a flower essence
practitioner and work through those feelings of resentment, the inability to
let go, an anxious mind, grief, etc. Do it now before you come face to face
with that relative you only see once a year.
Flower Essences can help a person to see the good in others and
establish healthy boundaries.
The combination flower
essence called Rescue Remedy is used for trauma (physical as well as emotional)
and especially stressful times. It’s
the perfect companion to take to the shopping mall and before going home for
the holidays.
Are you getting enough rest
and sleep? Think of a good night’s
sleep as being as important as recharging your cellular phone. The body requires several hours of down time
to function optimally.
If you are cursed with
insomnia, it is important to find the cause of it. Are you giving yourself a chance to wind down before bed or are
you ending a busy evening with the late news reporting the latest murder and a
Stephen King novel? Herbs such as
Valerian, California Poppy and Passionflower help to relax the body. The flower essence White Chestnut helps to
quiet the mental chatter. Try
Calcium/Magnesium in a 1:1 ratio before bed to relax (it’s also when it absorbs
the best). If the problem seems to be
more chemical in nature, talk to your health practitioner about supplements
like 5-HTP (the precursor to tryptophan) or St. John’s Wort. Try Lavender oil in your bath water or
Aromatherapy diffuser. Finding the
right combination bedtime rituals and supplements will pay off.
Get some form of exercise at
least three times a week. You don’t
need to take up jogging or go into competition with Jane Fonda, but we need to
move! Get out and walk or take a yoga
class. Find something that is enjoyable
enough to you that you will stick to it.
Maybe you need to alternate Tai Chi and Qi Gong. It’s pure will power in the beginning. But stick with it for twenty-one days and something
switches. You become aware that you’re
not as depressed, that you have more energy, the weight is coming off easier
and maybe you even look forward to it because you’re more relaxed after your
sessions. Stay flexible, stay strong
and you will stay younger longer.
Immune modulators help our
bodies to stay in balance and to be more resistant to disease. Siberian Ginseng is an ancient immune
modulator. It gives the body a quiet
energy and its effect builds over time.
Alternating herbs such as Echinacea and Astragalus (Echinacea 2 X day
for one week and then Astragalus 2 X day for a week- repeat) will often help
you to be the one in a group that didn’t come down with the cold everyone else
developed. The homeopathic,
Oscillococcinum is especially valuable when taken just before boarding a plane
and before bed that night to prevent the illnesses so many complain of when
traveling. Don’t forget to repeat it on
the ride home.
If all this seems overwhelming- take a dose of
the flower essence Elm; make a cup of Chamomile tea; spray the room with
Lavender and take three deep breaths.
Pretend its January 1, 2013! Get
out a piece of paper and a pencil and list the things above that make sense for
you. Remember that holistic medicine
respects the fact that each of us is an individual and needs to find our own
rhythm, but don’t put it off. Start now
and make this the best holiday season you’ve ever had.
