Each day we are faced with seemingly countless decisions to make. From the minor decisions of what to wear, or what to eat. To major decisions about where to live, what career to have, or who to spend your life with.
Many of these minor decisions we do not consciously make. We run programs, predictable routines that leave us on autopilot. This leaves our limited resource of focused willpower to worry about the big stuff.
The problem lies in that many of our automatic decision-making processes are not designed or chosen by ourselves, and are more often than not products of environment, childhood conditioning and societal pressures.
We all have rules or codes that we live by, the difference is not all of us are aware of them, or have made the conscious decision to define them.
I took some time for self-reflection and dived deep into what are my guiding principles of health. They are constantly changing and evolving, and are personal to me. Hopefully, this inspires you to reflect on or even write out your own.
1. Nature
I make sure to get outside and involved in nature every day. To get clean fresh air from the forests and immerse and cleanse myself in bodies of water. I walk barefoot and connect with the Earth through grass and soil. And I expose large areas of my skin to both morning and afternoon sunlight.
2. Eight Hours Sleep
I make sure that I get my 8 hours sleep religiously and I stick to a regular schedule of sleeping and waking to align my circadian rhythm with the planets. I perform regular sleep hygiene to ensure a good nights sleep, by ensuring the room is as dark and quiet as possible. I avoid overeating or stimulants just before bed and make sure to get early morning sunlight to synchronise my body clock.
3. Whole Food Plant Based
My diet is focused on primarily consisting of unprocessed whole foods, of plant origin. This means I include plentiful amounts of vegetables, leafy greens, sprouts, fruits, mushrooms, nuts, seeds, legumes, whole grains and seaweeds. Foods that are rich in micronutrients and also represent the full colour of the rainbow. When eating I make it a conscious activity, chewing thoroughly, not multi-tasking and whenever possible dining with others.
4. Meditation
I make it a priority each day to spend time in meditation, as a time for gratitude, insight, and connecting with the divine. It gives me the clarity to see what matters most in life and provides the focus to follow through on my purpose in life. This time can include structured meditation forms such as Vipassana, mantra or breath meditation, or unstructured forms such as journalling.
5. Ordered and Clean Environment
I maintain an environment that is both ordered and clean, to promote both cleanliness and freedom from distraction. Wherever possible I aim to simplify and minimise my footprint, conscious of my true needs versus wants. This extends from my physical environment to my digital one as well. I maintain an empty inbox and an organised structure of digital files so as not to get snowed under down the track. Mess = stress.
6. Free Time
I make sure to give myself the freedom to play and enjoy life. Whether for extended periods such as a holiday, or providing a section of the day that is unstructured. This time gives me space to think and my creativity to flow. I am mindful to not overextend myself with too many business or social commitments and feel comfortable saying ‘No’ to requests to maintain this freedom.
7. Pay Myself First
I look after my financial health by making sure the first person I pay is myself. Putting aside 20% of my paycheck into savings allows me to not worry needlessly over money. To know that I have financial support to take time between jobs, or if an emergency strikes. I employ the power of compound interest and aim to invest wisely. I am mindful that every dollar I spend is a vote on what future I want. I focus on supporting businesses and ventures that look after the environment and their employees.
8. Water
The first thing I do on waking is to drink a bottle of fresh clean water. I recognise that the best method of detoxification along with movement is drinking plentiful amounts of water. Whenever possible I will opt for natural spring water, water that has gone through the earth’s natural filtration process and is free from added chlorine, fluoride or pollutions. If I do not drink water, I will drink smoothies, freshly squeezed juice or teas.
9. Movement
I am sure to exercise my body every day, in as many ways as I can. I seek balance and variety in my movement. From structured forms of training such as yoga, weightlifting, cardio. To more freestyle forms of play such as surfing, rock climbing and other sports. I balance the yang aspects of strength training with more restorative yin practices of deep fascia stretching. When I train I make sure to give it my 100% attention to gain the greatest benefit. I set SMART goals and track my progress towards them.
10. Avoid Toxicity
I make sure to avoid wherever possible environments and conditions that are not conducive to health. This includes living in a place with minimal air pollution, avoiding added chemicals and pesticides in my food, avoiding radiation or passive smoke wherever possible.
11. Fasting
I regularly perform Intermittent Fasts (IF) as a way for my body to spring-clean and promote autophagy. During times of sickness or illness, I will reduce my digestive load to give more energy to promote healing. Occasionally I will undergo extended fasts of 3-day duration for the additional health benefits attributed to it.
12. Learn More
I constantly seek to learn more and better understand the miracle that is my self, encompassing body, mind and soul. I am constantly “sharpening the saw” and renewing myself in all aspects of life, not falling into complacency and lethargy. I see each day as an opportunity to learn more, do more, share more and love deeper. I see myself as a life-long learner and recognise there is an infinite depth of knowledge to be gained. I keep an open mind and look for ways my current beliefs could be wrong.
13. Check-Ups
I make sure to look after my health preventatively and get regular check-ups and bloodwork taken. This way I can catch issues before they surface and treat them with less harmful methods. I look to treat my systems, not the symptoms as the symptoms are merely the messenger of an underlying cause.
14. Relationships, Community, People
In one of the longest ever studies on longevity, researchers showed that one of the most powerful influencers on our health is our relationships with others, and how happy we are in those. Tending to my relationships with family, friends and clients is a vital aspect of my own health. Recognising that health extends beyond the body and is interdependent with all of humanity. Everything I do is for my family and friends, for they give me my happiness and health.
15. Enjoy Life
I remind myself regularly that this is it. Wherever I am and whatever I’m doing, I really enjoy the process, for it is the journey and not the destination. I listen to the sound of the birds, notice the smiles on peoples faces, take time to ‘smell the roses’. I soak up each precious moment.
Better than a hundred years of mischief
Is one day spent in contemplation
Better than a hundred years of ignorance
Is one day spent in reflection.
Better than a hundred years of idleness
Is one day spent in determination.
Better to live one day
Wondering
How all things arise and pass away.
Better to live one hour
Seeing
The one life beyond the way.
Better to live one moment
In the moment
Of the way beyond the way.
~ The Dhammapada
Hi, I am Matt. I am a passionate student of health and wellness. The science of yoga is the most effective system I’ve yet found for bringing about physical vitality with mental clarity. By blending a Western approach of anatomy and alignment, with Eastern philosophies and meditative techniques. My mission is to share these modern and ancient teachings to help others find harmony in their life.