why healthy is the new happy

and being happy is healthy

This is not just about juice-drinking and yoga classes. This is about how and why being happy is healthy, and how being healthy can make us happier than what we may have once perceived as “healthy” [fusion_builder_container hundred_percent=”yes” overflow=”visible”][fusion_builder_row][fusion_builder_column type=”1_1″ background_position=”left top” background_color=”” border_size=”” border_color=”” border_style=”solid” spacing=”yes” background_image=”” background_repeat=”no-repeat” padding=”” margin_top=”0px” margin_bottom=”0px” class=”” id=”” animation_type=”” animation_speed=”0.3″ animation_direction=”left” hide_on_mobile=”no” center_content=”no” min_height=”none”][i.e. being thin, lean, defined, looking a certain way, or another one of of those fitness-related words].

I was not always true to my body, nor was I gentle or fearless [per Gandhi’s message in the quote above]. My truth was clouded by a fear of gaining weight and I wound up choosing unhealthy practices because of it: I counted calories like a hawk and instead of whole, nourishing foods I opted for trendy diet foods that would supposedly make me skinnier, even though I was not overweight to begin with.

At that time, I believed that if I were thinner I would be happy as a result. False presumption.

Looking back I would have pressed pause, taken my twenty-something year old face in my thirty-year old hands and said to myself, Why does skinny mean healthy, and how does that equate to being happy?

Being happy and/or healthy is not about scoring an Olympian’s abs, Jennifer Aniston’s stems, Beyonce’s buns or Michelle Obama’s guns [not to discount any of these incredible humans and their fabulous bodies]. It is not about being “bikini ready” – to me this used to mean getting rid of a stubborn pooch on my belly, now it means I am ready to go to the beach like yesterday.

Being healthy is more than sculpting our muscles – even though physical health is important for many reasons and does relate to mental health in various ways, it doesn’t erase the importance of health and happiness of mind and spirit.

Of course it is important to eat greens and clean food, to put good things in and on our body. We are feeding the organs as well, benefiting the entirety of our system. Who doesn’t want a well-functioning physical and mental body?

When we care for our body we are literally showing it how much we love it, simply because we’re treating it well through foods and lifestyle practices that benefit our wellbeing as a whole. Sometimes a new workout regimen or a general dissipation of stress may result in weight loss or toned muscles, but these are neither necessary nor defining factors of a person’s health or happiness. They are merely potential outcomes.

Feeling healthy means feeling good, or happy. We feel good and healthy by treating ourselves well [loving ourselves, feeding our bodies food that nourishes us, getting enough rest so we feel energized, enjoying what we do and who we spend time with]. When we feel happy in our own skin as we are, we feel healthy physically and mentally.

This cycle continues as long as we recognize what makes us feel good and healthy, and act accordingly. To one person it might mean drinking green juice, to another it might mean doing yoga or meditating, to another it might mean traveling or knitting or spending time with a loved one.

Since healthy exists beyond the physical realm, I’m sharing a few other practices that keep me feeling healthy regardless of how my body looks on the outside. These things help me feel healthy on the inside, which we all know is what counts the most in living a full, beautiful life:

• Love yourself as you are, at all times. If and when you don’t, that’s OK. Acknowledge how you feel, accept those feelings as they are, and eventually that love will spread towards your Self as you are. Appreciate your functioning body and mind if loving your physical body feels difficult.
• Laugh often. Lots of studies show laughter is an incredible medicine for all of the feel-good hormones it induces. Plus you know how good it feels to laugh, which is proof in and of itself.
• Let yourself feel your feelings [see Inside Out for references, and yes I am referencing a Pixar movie]. Instead of pushing feelings aside, accept them as valid parts of your whole Self. This is a healthy part of being a human and will cultivate acceptance towards all of the feelings.
• Do things that excite you AND give yourself time off so you can be focused when you’re getting things done. Being healthy physically is usually associated with feeling a balance of energized and rested, so give yourself this deserved time to chill in between work/workouts.
• Pay attention to what foods make you feel good and eat more of those. If you want cake sometimes, there is nothing wrong with you. Honor what you want as well as what benefits the health of your body [if they differ], therefore the health of your mind. When you respect these things instead of push them aside, you might even find clean eating more accessible and enjoyable.
• Shift your perspective every once in a while. It’s good to build these muscles in the brain so we’re not always stuck on one way of thinking or living. What’s something or someone you disagree with, and can you approach it in a new light? If not, can you forgive the person or situation for having different feelings than you?
• Notice what makes you feel happy and healthy, and do more of those things. What are your definitions of each of these things, and why are they important to you? When we inquire and stay curious, and when we truly desire wellbeing of our physical and mental bodies, the universe will often provide answers in ways we may not expect.

What does being healthy mean to you in relation to being happy?

Read the rest of the newsletter for one of my favorite summer dessert recipes, yoga happenings, good music, special discounts and more.[/fusion_builder_column][/fusion_builder_row][/fusion_builder_container]