As good as modern medical technology is, it can never save youfrom the problems caused by a life style that is unhealthy.Instead of getting a modern medical fix for every problem, it isfar better to live in such a way that you will hardly ever fallill.
An ounce of prevention is certainly better than a pound of cure.Here are seven tips on how to live a long and healthy life. Inaddition, the same life style that helps you to avoid illnessalso helps you to lose weight.
1. Get Enough Exercise
In the past people had to use their physical bodies in thecourse of their normal work. But today someone may get up, go towork in a car, then sit down, get up to go home in the car andwhen arriving at home, sit down again for the rest of the day.In such a life there is no physical labor. This physicalinactivity is one of the main reasons for a host of diseases.Sport, running. walking and other things must be added to ourlife if our normal work does not require us to exert ourselvesphysically. I
2. Go to sleep when you feel sleepy
This may sound simple, but many people stay up late even whentheir body is telling them that it is time to sleep. Yoga andAyurvedic doctors also say that it is better to sleep in thenight and be active during the day. However, people such asstudents will take coffee and stimulants to study late into thenight. Others develop the habit of remaining active at night andsleeping during the day. While we can do this, it eventuallytakes a toll on health. Alternative health doctors say that thiskind of unnatural living is one of the contributing factors inthe causation of cancer and other diseases
3. Eat when you feel hungry
This is also a simple idea, but once again we often go againstthe messages of the body. If you eat out of habit or due tosocial pressure at certain time of the day, even when you haveno real appetite, then you will not digest your food properly.Acidity and indigestion begin, and this contributes to thelikelihood of other more complex diseases taking root. Having anappetite is actually a sign of good health, but if you have noappetite you should wait a bit and then eat. (If you have noappetite even after awaiting a reasonable amount of time, thenyou should consult a doctor because something is wrong.)
4.Fast on a Regular, Systematic Basis
If you would ask any person to work 365 days per year withoutany rest, they would complain and say that they must have somerest or else they will break down. But we have never bothered toask or to think about our digestive organs which we compel towork day after day without a rest. They cannot protest the way aperson would to his boss, but they do give us signals that theycannot work non-stop. When we ignore those signals and stillcompel them to work, those organs break down. That is whyperiodic fasting is necessary. Refrain from eating for onecomplete day. This gives a rest to your digestive organs andalso helps in the elimination of wastes from your body. Regularfasting allows a person to gain extra time for intellectual orspiritual pursuits. Fasting is not for hermits in a cave, but isa sensible practice that anyone can practice.
5. Wash with cool water before going to bed
As mentioned above, proper sleep is essential for themaintenance of health. If you wash your important motor andsensory organs (hands, arms, eyes, legs, mouth, genitals) beforesleep using cool water, this will relax you and prepare you fordeep sleep.
6. Perform meditation on a regular basis
Your body is linked to your mind. Many of the diseases of thisera are psychosomatic. Stress and anxiety take their toll on ourphysical health. Meditation is a mental exercise which, amongother things, allows you to detach yourself from the worries oflife. Learn a simple technique and do it regularly.
7. Get up early every day
Once again the old proverb, "Early to bed, early to rise makes aperson healthy, wealthy and wise." I don't know if it will makeyou wealthy, but it will certainly make you healthy. Your bodyneeds just enough sleep, not too much and not too little.
Follow these tips and you can't go wrong.
About the author:Dada Vedaprajinananda is a yoga/meditation teacher with over 35years of experience. He is the main editor of the Life WeightLoss article directory, http://www.lifeweightloss.com, and also the author of Yoga Weight LossSecrets, an ebook with complete yoga-based instructions forhealthy weight loss.
