Yoga Detox
10 ways to look after yourself better in 2018. By Suzy Reading
W
e all know what we need to do to feel fit, healthy
and happy, but it’s another thing to actually
make it happen! Self-care needs to be simple,
accessible and sustainable for it to be effective.
Here are my top 10 tips for nourishing yourself:
head, heart and body.1
Wellbeing audit: before you make any behaviour change it helps
to become aware of your current lifestyle habits and the effects
they’re having on your health. Use a journal (I refer to mine as my
Vitality Journal) and take an audit of your current choices – record
your nutrition, movement, sleep, downtime and anything else you feel
is relevant to your health, and how these choices affect your mood,
energy levels and mental clarity. Look for patterns and ask yourself,
what’s working (remember to give yourself a pat on the back!) and
what needs to change?2
Get specific: once you’re certain of what you need to do, set
some clear goals. Sustainable change is best achieved via small
increments so if you want to clean up your eating, instead of a
broad sweeping goal that’s hard to maintain, focus on one meal of the
day first and get that healthy behaviour on autopilot before tackling
the next wave of change.Self-care
toolkit
3
Acknowledge that willpower is not enough... the part of the
brain responsible for willpower is just not strong enough to
cope with the volume of temptation we face in modern life.
Reducing the number of decisions you have to make will compensate
for this willpower deficit. Make an appointment with yourself in the
diary for your exercise and plan your meals in advance, taking it with
you if healthy options are hard to come by. Simplifying life and getting
organised are key to carving out healthy habits. I love a good primer
statement too: ‘If I am going out for dinner, then I will choose the
veggie option’. ‘If I am going to indulge in dessert, then I will share one
and savour it’. These psychological contracts reduce self-sabotaging
behaviour by priming your brain for the more life-giving choice.4
It’s not enough to know what you want, you need to know
why you want it. Knowing your ‘why’ is the thing that really
galvanises you to keep going when life gets tough. So think
about what this lifestyle change facilitates...committing to healthy
cooking might be the goal, but the purpose behind it is to better nourish
you and your family, to reclaim the zest required to be the person you
want to be. This is the true motivating factor. Get clear on your ‘why’
and reflect on that when you are in the midst of making choices. Which
choice takes you away from your best future self, and which choice is in
keeping with what matters most to you – choose that!