Healthy Living DIY

An affirmation is a positive statement you can use to keep your mind focused on creating an outcome you desire. So many of us, by default, tend to focus instead on what we don't want. If you'll take a moment to observe that "little voice" in the back of your head, you may find that you do it sometimes, too. Today, we'll look specifically at the use of spoken affirmations to enhance desired health outcomes.

Any number of health outcomes have at their core a particular set of healthy lifestyle practices. Things like eating modest portions of healthy foods, getting some exercise, getting enough restful sleep, and thinking about yourself with kindness and compassion are all practices that create health and well-being. You probably know this already. But perhaps, like many of us, you sometimes let other things get in the way.

Let's explore the use of spoken affirmations -- really quite easy to put into practice -- as a way to stay focused on creating a lifestyle that supports your health. Today, we'll consider three different ways to use spoken affirmations.

Affirmation, the process of making the words you use to describe your life tangible in the material world, has a significant impact on your health. In other articles, we've discussed the different choices a person might make from a world of "Why not?" versus from "Why bother?" This time, we'll explore how language creates the shape of your physical body.

As a structural bodyworker, this little puzzle compelled me to learn more about how energy and health go together. I am admittedly rather obsessed with posture! Why? Because I want to know what makes you hurt! In evaluating different pain patients over the years, I became extremely curious about the cause and effect of posture.

Problem posture is a primary cause for any number of common pain patterns, like back pain, neck pain, and chronic headaches to name just a few. Realizing that a person doesn't just wake up one morning *bing* with problem posture, I started to inquire about how it comes about. Sometimes, of course, the process begins with physical trauma such as an accident.

Other times, no such explanation can be found. The problem posture seemingly "just happens." Exploring further, it quickly became obvious that a person's habitual frame of mind has a lot to do with the position of their body in space. This is where the affirmation comes in.

You know all about affirmations. They're positive statements you can keep in mind to stay focused on creating the outcome you desire. Affirmations are great for healing! Instead of dwelling on the problem, affirmations keep you squarely pointed in the direction of an empowered solution. But how do they build your immune system?

First of all, let's consider the value of a healthy immune system. Even though you may be supremely healthy yourself, perhaps you know people who are always catching the latest cold, flu, sinus infection, or something of that nature. Bummer of a way to live, isn't it? Not only do they feel yucky, but it's bad for the family economy! Hard to work when you're sick.

A healthy immune system also provides some measure of protection from other things that most of us don't want, cancer being just one example. And it comes to our aid should we come down with something that we want to relegate to the personal history book, so we can move past it and get back on with life.

All in all, a strong immune system is an extremely valuable commodity.

That said, there are a few supremely simple things you can do to strenthen your immunity. They are free. They are called affirmations. Why not give 'em a try?

Valentine's Day is just around the corner. Time for some fun! Here's what I think we should do. All of us (I'll do it with you) start thinking about something really fun we can do as a "sweetie" treat for ourselves this weekend. In about an hour.

Sure, you can do sweetie treats with your sweetie, too. 'Course that's half the fun of the day.

But why not pick something fun just for you? What could it be... Something you wouldn't usually take the time for, but would really enjoy. An hour by yourself, just to...

• Read. Maybe even some escapist fiction.


• Take a nice long bath, listen to some smooth jazz, and do some stretching.


• Practice the guitar.


• Pick up a hobby you really like.


• Go out and do some window-shopping; maybe have a relaxing coffee or tea.

What would you do? Think about it. And then...

Hi. This is Max!

My person said it's my second adoption anniversary today; kinda like my birthday. She took this picture of me (she thinks I'm cute) so you can see what I look like this year.

Since it's my birthday, she said I can use the typing machine for a little bit and say a few things. Well, hi!

You know, if I think back to how it was before I came to live in this house, I can just barely remember that it was really, really cold outside and I was very scared and lonely and hungry. Just ask my person! I was pretty skinny & kinda stressed-like when she brought me home.

(But she says I was friendly anyway and she knew I was a good dog. I really feel good inside when she says stuff like that. Am I blushing?)

So anyway, I'm really glad to have this nice warm place to live. And I really like all the nice friendly people that come visit us. Ahem... Uhhh...

Amber is at her wit's end and feeling awful. What a headache! Her boss is driving her nuts! As if that wasn't enough, her job is impossible. Sure things are tight, but how can ONE person (her) reasonably be expected to do THREE people's jobs? Her own, of course. Plus two more that just got cut from her department.

The stress is affecting everything. She has to go in early just to get a jump on the day. Fortunately, her mother-in-law can help out with the kids, but they don't like to take advantage. Things are tense at home in the evenings, too. Amber knows she's not as patient as she used to be. And everyone's getting tired of frozen burritos or chicken nuggets for supper -- even the kids!

Amber, while frustrated, is also pretty sharp. She knows this situation is taking a toll on her family relationships and her own health. She's not sleeping well, nobody is eating right, the muscles in her back and neck are in big knots, and she's taking a lot of aspirin for the headaches. That's giving her a stomach ache. And, well, the situation just isn't good.

There's nothing like a friend's health scare to get you back on track, is there? Or you read a story about someone "just like you" with a big problem you don't want. Or you get on the scale and cringe. However it comes about, there are moments when you just know it's time to get on track. And you will. Seriously. Very soon...

Really, you have great intentions. Now let's set you up to follow through! Check out these three reasons people sometimes fall short of their health goals, and then set yourself up for success with the positive affirmation statements.

Health is your natural state. Without even lifting a finger, you are whole and complete. Let's start from that place -- that wholeness is natural. If you're having health trouble, then, it only stands to reason that something has unintentionally slipped. No big deal, as long as you can recreate your natural state of health. But how?

What if the solution was as simple as answering the question, "How can I allow health and wholeness to find me more easily?" Kind of like getting out of your own way.

Simple?

Perhaps it is. Perhaps it's just a teeny little course correction.

We're kind of in the middle of an idea here, and I thought you might like to participate. In the last couple of weeks, several people have submitted questions to my web form about self-healing. At the same time, I've been doing some reading on "resistance."

So my premise is this. If health is our natural state, and I believe it is, then when something other than health shows up, it's just possible that we're unintentionally doing something to resist it. If we could identify what it was, then we could do something about it. So far, so good?

Remember that ridiculous article I referred to a while back -- Will The Recession Make You Fat? We had a few "healthy on a budget" posts to explore some low-cost alternatives to eating a bunch of Happy Meals and breakfast cereal dinners.

Well, just this morning on Twitter, my friend @FarmerPhoebe turned up a wonderful resource! The Less Is Enough blog details a woman who is right now, even as we speak, doing a wonderful "dollar a day" 30-day healthy food project.

Granted in today's dollar, her program is a little more spartan than most of us would prefer for the long-term. From the sound of things, I expect even she would agree. But it's not bad! She's making healthy choices and making it work. Check it out if you have a minute. Send her some encouragement. She is, believe it or not, managing to consume real food.

Affirmations are generally thought of as positive statements that people make up to keep their minds focused on creating a desired change in their life. Yet the truth of the matter is that your entire "inside conversation" throughout the day forms the basis of one big affirmation that doesn't quit.

Included in that perpetual affirmation are things you speak out loud to others and vague feelings that you don't even stop to name or consciously recognize. All these elements put together with the inner dialog you may consciously be aware of form what we'll refer to today as "the long tail."

The term "long tail" is probably familiar to most people who've studied marketing lately. It's the title of a book by a perceptive fellow named Chris Anderson. "Don't just sell shoes," a long tail enthusiast would tell you. "Sell red shoes, green shoes, black shoes, and brown. Sell casual shoes, dress shoes, athletic shoes, and flip-flops."

In other words, in the world of marketing, it's good to have a niche. Maybe several. How come?