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A Prescription for Wellness
By Mike Moore
The vast majority of the workshops I am asked to
conduct throughout Canada and the U.S.A. have to do with humor and
wellness. It is quite obvious to me that a huge number of people
in business, the professions and in private life are unwell and want to
do something to improve the situation.
There was a survey done here in Canada within the past year, the results
of which were interesting. There was an overwhelming consensus, among
those surveyed, that stress was the leading cause of their unwellness.
When polled as to the source of their stress 14 percent said, their
children, 22 percent said, finances and 45 percent indicated, their
work. What was more disturbing was the fact that 10 percent of those
surveyed admitted to considering doing physical harm to their bosses. 25
percent of respondents agreed that stress is having a serious negative
impact on their sex life.
When you analyse the results of this survey with an
awareness of the fact that depression, anxiety, worry and fear are
plaguing people everywhere we see a serious need for wellness.
Let me briefly outline the basics of wellness for you
with the encouragement to commit yourself to creating your own
individual program. The important word here is commitment. Do it
and stick to it!
* Humour:
Learn to laugh...A LOT! The physical and psycho-social benefits of
laughter are clear. Live better, laugh more. Laughter, if not the best
medicine, is certainly very good medicine.
* Attitude:
Behaviour is attitude in action. Positive attitudes result in positive
behaviour while negative attitudes result in negative behaviour.
When you change your attitude, you can change your life. Develop
positive attitudes and you begin to live in the brilliance of the
healthy emotions they produce.
* Relaxation:
Learn the restorative art of positive relaxation. Make time each day to
rest your mind and body completely for, at least, 20 minutes. You can
relax sitting in a chair or lying down. Just do it. You begin by
closing your eyes and taking three, deep, slow breaths. As your exhale
feel and visualize your body and mind letting go and peace and
tranquillity rushing in and dwelling within you.
* Exercise:
Get moving, physically. Start by going for a walk. Gradually increase
the time, distance and speed of your walk. I like the old saying,, “
In the morning work awhile. In the afternoon rest awhile and after
dinner walk a mile.” Walking has been called nature’s tranquillizer
for good reason. Great things happen when we go for a walk. As your
fitness improves you might want to include other
exercises. This is fine, providing your check it out with your family
doctor first.
Diet:
People in North America today are overfed, undernourished and
overweight. We consume far too much sugar, fat, and empty
carbohydrates. When you combines this with increased stress and lack of
exercise it becomes clear why we aren’t well.. Something as simple as
cutting down on non-nourishing foods and increasing the amount of fresh
fruit and vegetables we consume can be a good first step towards
wellness. At present, I am trying to eat three nourishing meals a day
and that’s it. If I do get the urge for a snack I am trying to make it
fruit. Notice I use the word trying. When I fail I don’t beat myself
up, I just start trying all over again. It is important to be
moving in the direction. of wellness.
In your entire wellness program remember that it isn’t perfection that
we are trying to achieve, it’s improvement. We don’t want to become
so fixated on wellness that our quest for wellnes becomes a health
problem. Good luck and good health.
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