Skip to main content

Joy

 Hello Natural Health Family! It is a new week and time for another discussion. I imagine everyone was able to enjoy their weekends in some form or fashion. It is that time of the year again when weddings are in abundance. The past weekend I was able to be in a wedding and was able to enjoy festivities with friends and family. Let’s talk about the importance of having joy in our lives. Have you ever thought about the last time that you had to prepare yourself to do something such as giving a speech to a crowd of people or telling someone something that you thought might not be received well? What did it make you feel like? Did you start to have sweaty palms or heavy breathing? Did your heart start to beat faster or you felt like running or not moving? This is because when we think about certain things our bodies react in response to the thoughts that we may be having at the time. This is due to a survival strategy that we adopted to keep us alive back in the day. It helped us gear up when we were getting chased by larger predators like lions and tigers. This response was crucial to our survival in the past but now has become maladaptive. When we are stuck in this state for a long duration then we start to lose energy needed for us to carry out functions to keep our bodies in proper balance. This may lead to eventual health issues if not addressed or changed. 

So what does joy have to do with this? Joy is seen as an emotion that helps our bodies and minds be able to come to balance. Think for a moment about a time in the past that you really enjoyed. Perhaps it was with a group of friends or a family gathering. You might have been dancing, singing, playing games, laughing, etc. You probably felt more relaxed and able to take your mind off of the many different things that you otherwise think about. This helps our brain and bodies reach a state of balance which further promotes health and healing. This is why finding time to do things that you like to do such as walks, sports, reading, etc, can be important during the week. Then if you are able to take vacations with others that can also be helpful. Joy does not always have to come from the big events or occasions that we plan for but can be practiced during the small moments we have during the day.


Of course there are many things going on that can feel overwhelming. That is why it is helpful to look for things that we can enjoy even when it may be something that we are not familiar with. Something as little as waving to a stranger, saying hi to the neighbors or making sure to be present with a family member can help bring joy to someone’s day. This week I encourage you to find some time to create joy in your life or someone else’s. 


Dr. Chip



Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Most People Don't Reach Micronutrient Requirements Through Food Alone

  STORY AT-A-GLANCE Most adolescents are not getting adequate nutrient intake from diet alone — a finding confirmed from other studies in developed countries such as Spain, France, Portugal and Germany Three-quarters of adolescents consumed less than 54% of the recommended amounts of healthy foods like fruits, vegetables and dairy products Nearly three-quarters of the youth exceeded the recommended limit for sweet and salty snacks — by 453% When nutrient intake was considered from diet alone, adolescents often consumed less than recommended amounts of the fat-soluble vitamins A, D and E along with the water-soluble vitamins folate, biotin and pantothenic acid The use of dietary supplements helped to increase the adolescents’ intake of vitamins and minerals, particularly magnesium and vitamin C, but this isn’t a replacement for a healthy, nutrient-rich diet While it’s possible to get all the vitamins and minerals your body needs by eating a healthy diet, most people fall short. The ...
Post a Comment
Read more

Breast Health

  Hello Everyone in Natural Health Nation-             Aren’t the trees beautiful? Fall is such a beautiful time of year and the weather has been outstanding. I hope you were able to get outside and increase your vitamin D stores for the winter. Remember that vitamin D is activated by sunlight so it’s important to get some. Vitamin D is also an oil soluble vitamin so you must be consuming good fats in order to have a good vitamin D source. If you get into the science of vitamin D, you’ll find it comes from cholesterol so the mainstream medicines war on cholesterol causes vitamin D levels to be low and this causes lots of immune system problems and other issues. We help our patients be able to digest and absorb fats and watch that their vitamin D levels are optimum.             The article I’m sending along this week looks at screenings and mammograms and how they can be...
5 comments
Read more

Communication

  Natural Health Family, how is everyone doing? I hope everyone enjoyed the beautiful weekend and got some sunshine. Today let’s talk about communication and why it is important in our lives and for our own health.  Last weekend I explored Colorado. I went snowboarding and hiked a good amount also. I learned a lot just by getting out in nature and noticing different aspects of the forest and parks. One characteristic of the forest that I found interesting was the aspen trees. It appeared that they would appear sporadically in the forest and in groups. I was curious and wanted to learn more about them. I found out that the different aspen trees or tree trunks are not separate but they actually function as one tree. The roots of the tree are well connected so that they are able to communicate and act as one organism. I found this interesting because we tend to think that the whole tree is only about what is on the surface of the ground rather than all the roots and connections...
1 comment
Read more