Ahh, the holidays! Filled with joy and laughter...and
stress and overeating. Often the light of the season is marred by the
pressure to get so many more things done, and guilt over gaining weight.
Well, Marc David, a nutritional psychologist and visionary author, offers
tips in line with Dahn Yoga philosophy for getting through the holiday
season with your health intact. Marc thinks stress, a fast-paced
lifestyle, negative thoughts about food and our bodies, and being a slave
to external strictures about food and exercise slows our metabolism and
makes us gain weight, which leads to other health problems.
To keep our weight down and even lose it, we need to manage our stress
and create a healthy relationship between our minds, bodies, and
lifestyle. Marc advises us to:
1.
Relax and breathe. Use a mind-body
exercise such as yoga to center yourself and develop relaxed
concentration.
2.
Pay attention to your body. Listen to
the signals it gives you.
3.
Enjoy eating the foods you like while
sitting down and having a meal. Don't feel guilty about eating rich ice
cream, or whatever gives you bliss.
4.
Eat foods of the highest possible
quality, "whether you're eating bacon, bananas, bread, birthday
cake, caviar, or cotton candy." How the food is grown, handled,
transported, advertised, cooked, served, and eaten all contribute to how
much energy you will get from it.
5.
Avoid processed sugars, fats, and
flours that break down the body's metabolic system on the cellular level.
Eat healthy fats and natural sugars instead.
6.
Don't exercise to burn calories, but
for the joy of movement. Do exercises you like and have fun!
Follow these simple tips to tap into your inner health guidance
and let the holidays live up to their joyous potential.
