Soul Blossoming A to Z: H is for Health/Healing

Health: the condition of being sound in body, mind, or spirit

a condition in which someone or something is thriving or doing well; well-being

Heal/healing/heals: to make free from injury or disease: to make sound or whole

to restore to original purity or integrity

to return to a sound state (Merriam Webster dictionary)

Health and healing

Health and healing are areas of life that I’ve thought a lot about in the past few years. Again, I’m writing about these things not because I have the answer as to how to achieve them, but because I spend a lot of time working on and thinking about them. So, rather than how-tos, I’m sharing some of my thoughts.

It’s Day 8 of the A to Z blogging challenge

And today is day. H brings so many wonders–like happiness, hippos, home, humming, hummingbirds, and halos. I’m glad to know that I have plenty of topics for future A to Z challenges. But for today, I’ll stick with health and healing

My own journey to health and healing

I’ve written a little bit about my own health challenges and healing them. For example, I recently wrote about a manicure gone wrong.

My struggles with autoimmune illnesses–celiac disease and histamine intolerance–have led me to appreciate health and to re-define it for myself. The choices I make in my life are mostly made with the goal of fostering health.

I have to think about everything that I eat–might it have gluten or cross-contamination, how old is it (older food has more histamine in it), what ingredients are in it.

I went through many years of feeling crummy all the time and not knowing why. And so I am grateful to know what I’m dealing with and how to support my own health and healing. And, usually, if I don’t feel well, I at least have an idea of why that might be.

While not all of the things that I do would help improve everyone’s health, many of them would be helpful to most people. I wouldn’t avoid gluten, for example, if it didn’t make me so ill.

But here are some things that I do–at least most of the time–to keep myself healthy.

My top 10 principles of health

1. Good nutrition–I’m careful about what I eat and eat mostly healthy foods. If I choose to eat something that’s not so healthy, I at least make sure that I enjoy it.
2. Meditation–I meditate almost every morning. I’m a pretty calm person to begin with, but meditation helps me stay centered.

   

3. Listen to my body–if I’m tired, I try to rest (this isn’t my best thing, but I keep trying).
4. Reduce stress–I’ve done a lot to reduce stress in the past couple of years. Reducing stress especially helps with my histamine tolerance. I’ve been able to add back a few foods that I couldn’t tolerate at all for a while–like bananas, cocoa powder and mustard, although I haven’t had much luck with avocados. But I’ve left my high-stress job and moved out of Chicago and into a small town. Leaving my job brought its own stress about finances, but it was still a big step in the right direction and gave me the opportunity to start my own business- a long time dream of mine.
5. Walk/spend time in nature–walking is my main form of exercise, and I take a walk almost every day. Walking in nature is another form of meditation for me. When the weather is too crummy for walking, I have a rebounder that I use.

   

6. Create–making stuff, painting, and writing keep me calm and healthy. They’ve been a big part of my healing. And I’ve had more time/energy to work on them since I haven’t been working full-time.
7. Community–having a community of friends and family helps me to stay healthy and grounded. I feel truly blessed to have so many wonderful people in my life. I am grateful to them every day. Even so, I’ve just moved, and although it’s easier than ever to stay in touch with people from far away, I’m trying to figure out how to create a community here and how to stay connected to dear friends in Chicago.

   

8. Spend time alone–as an introvert and empath, I need plenty of time alone. Now that I’m working for myself, it’s easier to honor that need.
9. Create a healthy rhythm–I was doing pretty well with this until I moved, and now I’m trying to find my healthy rhythm again. One of the things I like best about working for myself is having quiet mornings to meditate, journal, read, start the day off slowly. And when I do get to bed on time and keep a pretty regular sleeping and waking rhythm, I feel much better. Definitely a work in progress!
10. Be gentle with myself–when I mess up the above (and I do often), forgive myself, listen to my body, and try again.

That’s all for today.

Thanks for stopping by.

xoxo