We know that having healthy habits is necessary for improving our health, relationships, productivity, and pretty much anything else that truly matters. Healthy habits make it possible for us to get better when we are dealing with any sort of health issue.
Yet, a lack of energy, fatigue, and severe exhaustion can make this seem almost impossible when we are dealing with a chronic illness.
Photo by kira schwarz: https://www.pexels.com/photo/anonymous-barefooted-melancholic-woman-embracing-knees-on-floor-7011532/
Ironically, the very thing that we need most in order to create and sustain long term health can seem unachievable due to our lack of energy.
When setting goals is not enough
In my work with women with undiagnosed (and diagnosed) autoimmune conditions, exhaustion is a major issue. Initially, I tried helping them create healthy, lifelong habits with a focus on internal motivation and setting goals. Our objective was to lay down some SMART (Specific, Timely, Measurable, Actionable) goals which would help them make healthier choices on a consistent basis that would finally become a habit. Very soon I found that setting goals were not enough. This was especially true right at the beginning when they did not have any energy to complete their daily chores or even get out of bed.
For e.g., a woman whom I worked with didn’t have the energy to take action on achieving her goals even after we made them as tiny as possible. While we still created a roadmap to give us a sense of direction, we focused on something else entirely that helped her to get going – RESTORING HER NATURAL RHYTHM!
Restoration and our natural rhythm
Restoration is about getting back into our natural rhythm.
One of the hallmarks of modern living is being completely out of sync with nature, and our natural environment. Our bodies were not designed to be sedentary or run marathons and exercise intensely without adequate breaks, deal with a consistent lack of deep and restorative sleep, live without sun exposure, and eat foods that are highly processed, nutrient poor and remove entire food groups (fat, carbs) from our diet.
We have become so far removed from nature that we have lost track of our natural rhythm and cycles.
Do you know what makes things worse for us? A sick society.
As Pilar Gerasimo said in her book “The Healthy Deviant”
“Currently, we live in a culture that produces more unhealthy, unhappy people than healthy, happy ones”
While she has based her research on data from the US, where 50% of US adults are diagnosed with chronic illnesses. Chronic illnesses are growing rapidly all over the world. For instance, according to this report*, about 21% of the elderly in India reportedly have at least one chronic disease.
This gives you all the more reason to find ways to get back in sync with nature starting today.
Where do you start?
You start where you are, right now.
You get back in sync with nature, the way your body was designed to thrive and heal.
You take one step at a time.
You pause if you need to and then you begin where you left off.
You embrace and respect your body’s wisdom, your inner guidance system.
Most importantly, you develop a healthy relationship with your body.
Photo by Rowan Chestnut on Unsplash
Your inner guidance system
Our bodies have an innate wisdom that has evolved over the ages.
It has helped us survive as a species during extremely challenging conditions over millions of years. For a majority of this time, medicine and/or healthcare was almost non-existent compared to what it is today. It was mostly infectious diseases and acute health issues that people died of.
In our modern world, more than ever before, there are more and more of us who are eager to improve our health.
We are already spending time, money, and effort in doing so but we are not seeing the results.
Our modern-day plague of chronic illnesses includes symptoms like severe exhaustion, pain, weight gain, allergies, headache that are due to causes beyond our body’s capabilities of keeping us healthy.
The good news is that our bodies are constantly trying to communicate with us and letting us know that it needs our support. This inner guidance system is in the form of your thoughts, feelings, emotions, and of course, your symptoms.
By having a healthy relationship with your body, you can learn to heed the warning signals, understand how well you are taking care of yourself and where you can improve.
Finding your rhythm
Developing a healthy relationship with your body allows you to find your rhythm and get back in sync with nature.
By knowing when your body needs rest, when it needs some movement, sleep, and when it is hungry you are able to nourish your body consistently and appropriately. Soon you have enough energy to focus on bigger and bigger changes. As your energy level improves you can create a healing environment by focusing on healthy choices and developing healthy habits.
In other words, you stop following the conventional norms of a “healthy diet” and “exercise” and create lifelong habits that work right for YOU.
References:
- Prevalence and potential determinants of chronic disease among elderly in India: Rural-urban perspectives
- Is the Western diet causing a spike in autoimmune diseases?
- The World Incidence and Prevalence of Autoimmune Diseases is Increasing
https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/article/item/how_cultural_differences_shape_your_happiness
