Our general health is influenced by habits that we engage in every day. In this piece, we examine the ways and justifications for which regularity and habits can improve our health.

The key to optimal health is creating routines in our lives. However, they should provide a broad framework and aid in discipline. Routines don’t have to be overly strict. The assumption that we prefer to go with the flow and do things when we feel like it tends to override our distaste of regularity. Although the Taoist idea of going with the flow is certainly worthwhile, it can only be put into practice within the framework of a steady, tranquil, and grounded lifestyle.

Our neurological system can anticipate what is coming up because of routines in daily life. Predictability brings comfort in a time when our systems are overloaded with information and stimulus from all sides. This contrasts with much of human evolution, during which our forebears were helpless against the elements, unsure of the source of their next meal or where their next shelter would be, and at the whim of the elements. By providing us with stable residences and consistent, trustworthy food supply, human evolution has given us modern-day residents a great deal of stability, convenience, and predictability when it comes to habitation and diet. The remainder is up to us!

Dietary suggestions

Recurring mealtimes. A two-hour window for each meal can help you create regular mealtimes without needing to be overly harsh. Like breakfast from 6 to 8 am, lunch from 12 to 2 pm, and dinner from 5-7 pm. For those whose schedules are unpredictable, this would be more of a challenge.

As the day goes on, meals should get smaller, with breakfast being the biggest and dinner being the smallest. This goes against what many individuals often do. Breakfast is frequently skipped entirely or reduced to a cup of coffee. While dinner usually serves as the primary meal of the day, lunch is something short and on the go. From a historical perspective, the sun, nature’s main fire source, is what we traditionally refer to as our metabolism or digestive fire. Our digestive fire diminishes as the day goes on and the sun sets, so it’s crucial to have a lighter dinner that will be simpler to digest in the evening. Breakfast not being appealing in the morning is most often the result of a system imbalance.

Chew your food thoroughly and gently until it is pasty and squishy. Consider this a type of meditation, a chance to take it slowly and be present. Never eat while texting, emailing, working, or operating a vehicle. Belching, bloating, and indigestion are all symptoms of distraction, which prevents food from passing through the digestive tract smoothly. Unless the environment is excessively chaotic or very emotional, eating in a social situation occasionally is nourishing and a normal part of life and is not regarded as a distraction.

Take a cup of warm water to start your day. This will aid in slowly awakening the internal organs and flush out the accumulation of mucus from the previous day in the digestive tract. Use boiled and cooled-down water from the cold faucet. Warm tap water should not be used for drinking or cooking due to the high impurity level.

People are increasingly adding half a lemon’s worth of juice to their morning drink in an effort to either lose weight or cleanse their bodies. The internal organs are not able to handle the sourness of lemon juice. We don’t want to astring them; instead, we want to gently rouse them and aid in their expansion. For flavour, a few of drops of lemon juice are OK, but not a whole lemon.

A little bit of fluids with each meal is fine. After a meal, sipping on a little warm water or herbal tea is acceptable, but sipping on water or cold beverages will put out the digestive fire by diluting and cooling down the stomach acid, which will obstruct food digestion.

After a meal, take your time. To allow the meal to continue to decompose, remain seated for around fifteen minutes. Rushing to get up and start a strenuous physical activity or simply going back to a desk job that requires mental focus will obstruct digestion by diverting energy away from the gut and onto the muscles in our arms, legs, and brain.

On a daily basis, include more “wet” items in your diet. Ramen, soups, congees, oatmeal, and congee are a few examples of wet foods. Eat moist foods instead of drinking water to be more hydrated. When compared to drinking plain water, which acts more as a detoxifier and a cleanser as it washes away; the water content of wet foods is far more easily digested. We tend to favour quick-to-prepare, drier foods like spaghetti, pizza, and sandwiches because of our fast-paced lifestyle.

For normal digestion to take place, it is essential to give your body at least a few hours between your final meal of the day and bedtime. One of the biggest no-nos is going to bed hungry or with an active digestive system.

After dinner, you shouldn’t really eat anything else until you break your fast with breakfast the following morning.

Recommendations for a lifestyle

Include a movement or stretching workout in your daily regimen for 15-20 minutes. This will facilitate the free passage of energy throughout the body and stop stagnation and obstructions from forming. It doesn’t have to be difficult; it can be gentle exercises like walking, tai chi, qigong, yoga, or a little hike in the woods.

In order to prepare for sleep, try to reduce your mental and physical activity as the day wears on and dusk draws near. Instead, focus on relaxing, soothing activities that will soothe your nervous system. Ahead going to bed, turn down the lights a couple of hours before and avoid using devices.

To adjust to the warmer weather, take cool showers that are followed by warm splashes during the warmer months. Take warmer showers and finish them with a chilly splash during the colder months. The system will become weaker if you act in total opposition to how the season makes you feel.

Especially if you have long hair that reaches your neck and shoulders, dry your hair after showering. When hair is left damp and exposed to cool air or draughts, the moisture condenses in the muscles of the neck and shoulders, creating tension that can lead to headaches, restless nights, attention problems, and blurry vision.

Avoid sleeping on your stomach because it will lead to a variety of problems, including neck and upper back pain and an inability to concentrate. It’s a sign of digestive imbalance in your system if you frequently sleep on your stomach. It is best to teach yourself to sleep on your side or back.

To counteract the pressures of modern life, expose you to the sun whenever you can, and spend some time outdoors each week.

I hope your transition into the fall goes well.