Committing to a holistic life

The notion of holistic living continues to evolve, expand, and gradually make its way into what we would comparatively consider the traditional North American lifestyle. Holistic living is, of course, the way we used to live because we had to, less than 150 years ago, before electricity and indoor plumbing became widely available.

We have suffered as a result of not living holistically because our lack of physical activity combined with poor food choices, exposure to toxins, limited sleep, and added stress has thrown us out of whack from how we were meant to live.

While we may not be able to put ourselves completely back in line with our evolutionary adaptations, and it is arguable whether we would want to, we all have an innate sense that holistic living would be beneficial to us in many ways. In that respect, the following are ways you can begin to realign yourself and live more holistically.
  1. Be physically active multiple times every day. Participate in activities that improve your strength, endurance, and flexibility. Alternate between longer sustained activity and shorter, more intense activity. 
  2. Use music and dance to encourage movement and energy in your life. Listen to music you are less likely to choose to challenge your brain and find value in what you hear.
  3. Eat less overall and eat raw or unprocessed plant-based foods as often as possible when you are eating. While the body needs nutrients, we needn’t overdo the calories. 
  4. Sleep more. Sleep up to 9 hours per night and eliminate artificial light.
  5. Reduce the use of electronics and exposure to radiation. Use a cell phone headset and avoid EMFs (electro magnetic fields).
  6. Reduce your level of toxin exposure. Eat more organic foods and reduce the use of chemicals on or around your body (aluminum based antiperspirant, most home based cleaners, smog, etc.)
  7. Be conscious of your contribution to waste. Reduce and recycle as much as possible.
  8. Exert your creativity through art, music, or writing. The quality of what you produce is unimportant, what is important is the neural act of creating.
  9. Challenge your intellect everyday with things like sudoku, crossword puzzles, etc. Logic and reasoning decline with age but can be maintained when used.
  10. Take time to meditate. Give yourself daily quiet time for contemplation and appreciation.
  11. Cultivate strong friendships and family relationships. Share your challenges and encourage others to share theirs with you.

Holistic living is not about doing all of the aforementioned things at the same time, but rather making small changes towards better choices. You may find some of the suggestions very challenging, and if you do, ask yourself why. If you are potentially going to sacrifice your health for choosing something that is less than ideal, you should know why the alternative is so important to you.

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