The never ending balancing act or my 3 pillars of vibrant health

I have to laugh – not even quietly smile to myself, no, but loudly snort-laugh-kind-of-thing – when people ask me how on Earth I am managing to keep everything always so together?!!! With everything I assume they are referring to my insanely busy life as a small business owner, mum, role-model, wife and ordinary me….and with keeping everything always so together I guess they mean my energy, healthy glow and that I am staying on top of everything that needs to be done.

For a quick, very naughty, brief and tempting second, I cherish the thought of how wonderful it would be to pretend I did. But, no, I will leave the pretending bit up to others…my mission has always been to be real and true to myself and those around me…however ugly this might at times look. So, my dream shattering answer to this question has to be a very down-to-earth, actually ‘I don’t’.

However, what I do have is all the tools I need to keep rocking my world as healthily, well and as much together as I possibly can in my crazy little world. And as magically wonderful as these tools are in terms of keeping me sane, successful and full of energy, there is not much actual magic to them. Instead they are beautifully plain, rock solid and very humbling and I call them ‘my three pillars to make anything possible’.

Pillar 1:

Eat right

And with eating right I don’t mean to count calories or deprive yourself, skip meals or follow the latest food trend. By eating right, I mean nurture your beautiful self with beautiful wholefood. Real foods. That you can recognize for what they are. That don’t have labels or come out of a package. Yes, I am talking about energising wholegrains, filling beans abd pulses, beautifying vegetables, sweet-cravings-reducing fruits, antioxidizing fish, exciting spices and herbs and moisturising nuts and seeds. And I am talking about a lot of H2O. 2 litres at least per day. Fuelling your precious self with those most wonderful foods from Mother Earth will totally change your game. Play with lots of different colours – eat the rainbow – try out lots of new tastes, be adventurous and trust your own body. And instead of skipping meals, skip the sugar, too much coffee and alcohol and if in doubt replace those with kale, lemon juice, ginger, turmeric, avocado, chia seeds, raw cacao powder or the jummiest pineapple you can find.

Pillar 2:

Get moving

It is a very sad reality that we are spending too much time on our butts these days. At work. In the car. At dinner. On the coach. In front of the TV or our computers. Which does not do us very good, because our bodies were designed to move. To hunt, to walk long distances, to sprint away from danger, to climb trees and crawl under bushes if necessary. Not really what usually is on my list of daily activities these days. So, all this inactivity is taking a toll on our beauty, our self-esteem, self-love, our health, our minds, our productivity and creativity, on our self-talk and on our sleep. There is only one way out of what I call ‘the vicious cycle of first wold sluggishness’: to get moving again. In a way that fits into your life. In a way that works with your very unique body and health issues. In a way that makes you do and love it. Many 30 minute walks have stopped me from going nuts, dancing crazily around with my children are great cardio burners, doing a sun salutation in nature replenishes me every time and doing a few push-ups on my knees, lunges or squats have never failed making me feel stronger and sexier and deal better with whatever the world throws at me.

Pillar 3:

Self-nurture your beautiful self

Fall in love with yourself – or if you have to: fake it until you actually make it – and treat yourself accordingly. I have no doubt you are doing everything you possibly can to nurture your kids, your hubby, partner, dog, cat…and that you are fabulous at it. So how about doing exactly the same for and to yourself too? Seems selfish? You don’t have time for this? Well, sorry to let you know that if you really mean it with those health goals of yours and happen and continue to strive for balance in your life, you will have to change your mindset. You cannot pour from an empty cup…So to be this most successful mum, business owner, most beautiful wife, kindest friend, most creative, fulfilled and successful you, you will have to start and nurture your precious self. It is like brushing your teeth, I know you don’t really have time for it, but you know that if you don’t do it, you will have to deal with rather painful and horribly smelly consequences. So, start with as little as 5 minutes in your day and create a habit of self-nurture to recharge those batteries of yours. Do a dry body brush, enjoy a quiet cup of this most deliciously sweet herbal tea, have a bath in cleansing Epsom salts, read 3 pages of this book you have been wanting to read forever, sit down, close your eyes and simply listen to the rhythm of your breath, do whatever you need to do to make sure you stay on top of you’re a-game! And remember: the only limitation here is you!

Now, knowing about the magical un-magic of those pillars is one thing. But the whole balancing act really only starts with making them also fit into your busy life. Every day. Consistently. Not only on the weekend or whenever you feel like it. But every single day.

And yes, I hear you and I can full heartedly confirm ‘it is the biggest balancing act of all’…and as I have said in the beginning I have not totally figured out yet how to achieve this total omnipotent ‘having-it-altogetherness’ either.

But I see glimpses of it and I definitely know that without my magical 3 pillars of superpowers I would long be lying curled up in a corner, totally exhausted, in an unfit body I felt totally unhappy in, running on sugar and adrenalin, totally sleep deprived, dreading the next day and not having the strength or the endurance to keep following my dreams or what I believe is my mission in life. Instead I do. Every single day I get to support and empower other women to uncover the very best, most radiant and vibrant versions of themselves. Instead of feeling weak and out of control, my 3 pillars of health supply with a deep core strength to make things happen that I never thought I was capable of: I have learnt to love, embrace and cherish my body, soul and mind; and have never felt better in my life – with more or less balance depending on how crazy the day gets!

Maybe all of this is nothing earth shatteringly new or teeth clatteringly exciting…but definitely making me the solid rock amongst all those chaotic challenging waves I call life that roll over me every single day. And a happy and healthy one on top of it!

 

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