Go beyond resolve….SOLVE!

Okay, let's admit it. Your list of resolutions may look very similar to last year's. What if this year, you take your "resolve" to the next level and develop a plan to solve some challenges that may be holding you back from achieving optimum health and fitness. 

We have some ideas about those solutions using holistic wellness. Today’s holistic wellness is based on using proven, researched, science-based practices and products that have healed for thousands of years. It's a system that treats the whole person, not just the problem, so it goes a much longer way towards solving your wellness issues once and for all.

So, how do you use holistic wellness practices to reach your 2014 goals? 

Well, for each person, the comprehensive solution should be customized, but we offer a three-point approach to start you on your way.

Put the mask on yourself  before assisting others: Like they advise us on planes, any resolution to be healthier has to start with self-care first. So take a moment right now, and put you, and your own happiness at the top of your “resolve” list. Make a promise to be kinder to yourself. This will enable healing any emotional challenges affecting your resolve. Plus, self-kindness is a great way to celebrate each small victory on your path to meeting your 2014 resolutions – so schedule a massage or a facial into your self-kindness practice as a reward for achievements or just because.

Resolve to recognize you are worth self-kindness right now! Putting that mask of kindness on yourself first is the only way you can then get the mask on those around you.

A circle of wellness: It's sounds simplistic, but putting holistic health practices in place, leads to greater happiness & emotional wellness, and those feelings improve your desire to be holistically healthy, and the cycle repeats again and again.

So why is it so hard to get on that cycle. Take the example of weight loss resolutions. We all know intellectually that we need to exercise more. We all know we need to eat right. So why is it that we reach for the cookie when a tough problem, an argument with a partner or child, or a sense of rebellion runs through our brains? What is it that has us tuning out in front of the TV, when we know that a walk or time on the elliptical would be more productive? 

Sometimes, it's our emotional state that trips us up. Whether its rebellion, fear, anxiety, anger or any myriad of emotions, it is not our most logical self that causes us to lose our “resolve”, but rather our emotional self. Then we feel bad that we've not done the things we should do, then we have less "resolve" and the cycle continues.

Holistic healthcare breaks the negative cycles and puts the process on a positive path. A naturopathic physician can help you unblock emotions or traumas that are impeding your good health behaviors, better health behaviors enable your being stronger in the face of tough emotions. This, in turn, solidifies your commitment to better health. The circle is now a positive "whole-health" process.

Look to nature for support: The days of popping lab-created, dangerous diet pills are pretty much gone --we all know better. But that doesn't mean we don't experience pangs of hunger or miss out on specialized nutrients when starting to eat healthier. Likewise, is popping acetaminophen or ibuprofen by the handful the best way to deal with the aches and soreness of a new workout regime? Probably not.

That's why many people are looking to natural products and remedies to support internal wellness and promote healing. And there are tons of them available that can be accessed with the click of a mouse, or found at your local farmers market. But which ones, how much and how often do you take them? 

This is where consulting an experienced naturopathic physician is most beneficial!  An experienced N.D. will be able to assess and make recommendations for wellness support products based on YOUR unique body, your lifestyle and your needs.

So remember, practice self-kindness, get on a positive circle of wellness and find the right kind of natural support products and do more than just "resolve" this year, SOLVE!

Here’s to your happiest and healthiest year ever!

-Sandra and the team at Phoenix Wellness Center