Invest in your lifestyle

Living without health is a meaningless endeavour. Life is precious, and life without health is like food without taste. Good health allows one to live completely, full of joy and participate in all the activities one dreams and desires to undertake. When you live a healthy lifestyle, your body remains fit, and your mind stays intuitive and fresh. This would prevent many severe diseases, and allow one to live a healthy life to its full extent. It goes without saying, that this is essential now more than ever due to the pandemic. This is also the reason why the wellness sector has seen an uptake in patients and customers seeking to improve holistic health and immunity, rather than just visiting the doctor when they fall ill.

Dr Hafeel Ambalath, Founder and CEO, and Dr Saya Pareeth, Founder and Medical Director, at The Healers Clinic, an all-natural integrative wellness centre, have both observed that the general interest of new and existing patients leans towards understanding how they can improve not just their current health issues but prevent any more from coming up.

Living a healthy lifestyle extends not only your life but also rejuvenates your body and mind; it will help you to feel better. As the Dalai Lama said, “Happiness is the highest form of health.”

It is universally agreed that the body’s health and one’s overall wellness are interconnected. To be in optimal health, one’s body and mind need to be in sync. Emotions have a strong effect on our well-being. If you’re nervous about giving a presentation at work, you feel butterflies in your stomach, you toss and turn all night in anticipation, and even the most delicious and cheesy pizza seems unappetising. Once the presentation is done and dusted and the anxiety lifted, all your hunger and tiredness hits you. In the very same way, people feel this stress and unhappiness for prolonged periods, sometimes several years and sleep, nutrition, hydration consequently take a back seat.

Although healthy habits are hard to develop, all that is needed is a change in one’s mindset. Strong willpower and a list of goals will help you to maintain a healthy lifestyle. Most of us have long-term issues that in turn require prolonged care to cure. For example, many people are overweight, have low stamina owing to a mostly sedentary lifestyle, and perhaps a dull appearance. An active, nutritious and well-rested lifestyle plays an important role in overcoming these issues. A healthy lifestyle includes subtle life changes like daily habits and routine, and most importantly the food you eat because that is what directly impacts your body and behaviour.

Why should you follow healthy habits?

Energy boost

A healthy lifestyle plays an integral role in boosting the energy in a person’s body and providing better performance in every sphere. It minimises the chances of insufficient sleep, and the body will receive all the essential nutrients required to function properly.

Foods that are heavy in fats, artificial colour, chemicals and preservatives are harder to digest thus will leave you feeling lethargic. Sugary drinks and food gives you a boost only for a short while and leaves you craving for more after the ‘sugar crash’.

To keep you on track, sign up for a meal plan or visit restaurants like ZeroFat, which creates a culture where people in the community treat healthy eating as a lifestyle. It prepares and delivers every meal fresh from the kitchen. It has a separate central kitchen dedicated to its meal plans manned by experienced chefs. It also has a dedicated, certified nutritionist who is continuously working with the chefs and monitoring every dish to ensure the accuracy of the macros on the menu.

Eating a healthy balanced diet will keep your energy up the whole day and ensure that you can perform all functions well. A healthy diet includes whole grains, lean meat, low-fat dairy products, fruits, nuts, seafood and vegetables. Having a balanced diet and enough exercise daily affects sleeping patterns and allows you to stay fresh and energetic the whole day.

Live longer

It goes without saying that a healthier lifestyle equals longer life. Of course, there is no 100 per cent guarantee but the odds are in favour of those who practise good habits. Nutrition, sleep and activity collectively result in the longevity of a person’s life. All of these also contribute to younger and suppler skin, nourished hair, and overall well-being. Ease into exercise — start with a 30-minute walk every day and gradually increase either the speed of exercise (to a jog/run) or the number of minutes.

One can even practise yoga, which is not as strenuous but provides a period of calm and improves flexibility while working on different muscles in the body. Body & Mind Yoga Center has classes for children from four years old to adults well into their sixties. The classes are tailored to enhance the capabilities of beginners with a keen focus on breathing practices, and for veteran practitioners, it focuses on intense yoga practices like Ashtanga, Vinyasa, Power Yoga, Mandala Flow, Hatha Vinyasa etc.

Preventative care

It is said that prevention is better than cure, which is aptly the guiding principle behind overall wellness. With healthy habits comes a boost in immunity against several severe and mild diseases, many dangerous viruses and bacteria. Immunity is the foremost thing that a person requires to stay in shape. This is the most obvious reason why a healthy lifestyle is essential now. With an active lifestyle, it is possible to avoid chronic diseases like cancer, hypertension, pneumonia and more; those might be fatal to you and those around you. Transform our daily routine and start eating food that provides nourishment. Regular exercise and a regular balanced diet will increase your metabolic rate and also improve the overall condition of your health.

Mood booster

Like mentioned before, food and emotions have a strong connection. The more natural the food the better one’s mood. Sleep also has a significant effect on your brain functioning — insufficient sleep means a grumpy rest of the day and low productivity. It is human nature that when a person is happy and satisfied, they perform their work more accurately and creatively, but if they’re not refreshed then they are sloppy and irritable. A regulated lifestyle will help one to release stress and tension from the mind, so they can perform all tasks at full power and achieve amazing results.

On the other side — it’s also important to relax at the spa. Getting a massage once a month can release tension from various parts of the body including the mind. A great spa is the Cleopatra’s Spa, which captures the wonders of Arabia, presenting them in a superbly luxurious experience. Tension and stress will melt away as the mind and spirit find peace with restorative treatments there.

Control weight

One’s weight plays a vital part in self-esteem. Yet again, exercise and natural food are at the core but the right company is also important here. If one is attending parties, or going out with friends to fast food joints, they would find it very difficult to resist junk food. Set certain goals and keep on the path — get a buddy or coach if that’s what it takes. When it comes to diet — use whole grain instead of all-purpose or white grains to prevent heart disease, diabetes, and certain cancers. This will also help curb obesity and other weight-related diseases and discomforts.

One needs at least 150 minutes a week to stay active and fit in a week along with a balanced diet suited to their preference.

At the Pharaoh’s Club gym, get an array of services and fitness techniques to try out like cross fit, kick boxing, yoga, dance, high-intensity training and even martial arts. A full body assessment is also conducted and if you choose you can also be trained by a personal trainer.

Another yoga centre to explore is the Pratimoksha studio, which claims to teach yoga like no other centre does. Every session of yoga is customised to the individual according to their issues. It also offers kids, teens, and regular yoga classes, and prenatal and post-natal sessions, as well as advanced level classes and online classes.

Don’t be your own hurdle — live your life in the best way possible with a fit body and sound mind.