National Women’s Health Week encourages and empowers all women to make health and wellness their top priority this week. This year’s theme is “It’s your time!” Take the pledge to get all of your annual check ups and be a wellness warrior! Are you in for the challenge?
Receive regular check ups and preventative screenings. Get active. Eat well. Manage stress. Avoid unhealthy habits. There are just a few of the simple steps that you can take now that will have a major impact on your health in the long run.
Old habits die hard. Are you looking to end an unhealthy behavior? Journey to Joyful author, yoga instructor, and wellness coach Dashama Konah recommends the following three keys for eliminating addictive behavior in the following excerpt:
Meditation and the Observation of Thought | Fundamentally, this is where it all begins. When you quit something, whether it is drinking, smoking, overeating, laziness, or letting go of a codependent relationship, to name a few examples, you reprogram your subconscious mind to no longer need or want that thing, activity, or person in your life or at least not allow it to control your life. On a physical level, we crave what we are addicted to. We have emotional cords tied to these things, and spiritually, we are bonded as well. It is a process of cutting the cords on all levels and this begins in the mind. It is essential that you have a good journal to write down your thoughts as they arise for you. This will help when you feel drawn to relapse. Also, even if you do have a temporary relapse, keep coming back to your thoughts. Observe: is it a specific time of day, or is there a trigger that sends you into a relapse?
Find an accountability partner | When I quit drinking, it was easy, because I was really ready. Additionally, I was with a man who was in the same place in his life and we both did it together. We had had enough. It was clear that it was doing us more harm than good. We had both had run-ins with the law, jail time (only a few hours), and now we were committed to experiencing a higher vibration. We both wanted to create something real and impactful with our lives, and this bonded us in a powerful way. It was a process of eliminating the negative influences/friends and environments that were drawing us into the trap of habituation that led to the negative patterning we were ready to release. We had to reprogram our entire lifestyles, and it was easier to do this since we had each other. It is ideal if you are married, if your accountability partner is your spouse, or even your lover or best friend, since they are often the number-one influence upon your lifestyle choices. If this is not your situation, then ask those to whom you are close to please support you in your new lifestyle choices. I guarantee you will get overwhelming responses of positivity and encouragement.
Replace the Habits | This is key. If you typically find yourself drinking at a bar on a Friday night, or even having drinks at home, or whatever your issue is that you’re ready to let go of, you must find another activity that is equally enjoyable for you to replace the other. I recommend exercise, yoga, meditation, singing, dancing, and connecting with nature in various ways like camping, hiking, walking on the beach—anything that gets your body moving and away from what’s sucking you into the trap. If your old friends are not interested or ready to let go of these negative habits, just find other ways in which you can connect with them. This happened to me. When I decided to quit drinking, it led to a complete transition in friends. This was hard at first. There was a period of time when my only friends were my sisters and my boyfriend. That was fine, however, since I was so excited about the new level of energy, enthusiasm, and excitement about life and my future that I was ready to move on and up from the old habits, thus I was grateful to let them go. Embrace releasing of the old to welcome in the new. It will serve you richly for the entirety of your life.
The fastest way to freedom is to feel your feelings.
—Gita Bellin
