Hello my friends, welcome back to Simple Happy Zen it's Vera here.
And in this video, I'm going to be sharing some of the healthy habits that changed my life.
These healthy habits are simple self care routines that I have incorporated into my life and that allowed me to feel my best.
They helped me with my mental health, my physical health and my emotional well-being. And so I hope these will inspire you as well.
Honestly, I could have made a much larger list than today's because they have many more healthy habits that I can share with you.
So if you'd be interested in hearing more
Let me know down in the comments, because maybe I can make this into kind of a video series with healthy habits and self-care.
The first healthy habit that changed my life
is something I call intuitive exercise. And you may have heard about
intuitive eating, where you're just really connecting to your body's cues and
make food choices based on what feels right at any given time. And that is how I now approach exercise.
I have done so many different sports in my life, from tennis to
full-contact karate, to yoga, to tai chi, to running and weightlifting and so many more and
While I have always enjoyed it
I was also quite strict with myself and I always had some sort of plan or schedule
That I forced myself into. And I don't know if you're also like this
but for me when I make it into something that I have to do a certain way or
certain days of the week
it takes a lot of the fun out of it and it becomes a chore, something I dread.
And when you do this
You're kind of setting yourself up for failure. And it's easy to become disheartened when life gets in the way of your schedule
which it tends to do. And so for the last three years or so, I have changed it around into exercising however
and whenever it feels best for me. So there are weeks that go by where I'm just doing daily yoga. And
sometimes I take it easy and I just do a little stretchy meditative kind of yoga, and some days
I feel like heating it up and I do a power yoga session. And then there are weeks when I'm doing high-intensity interval training
Right in my living room
But there are also weeks that I'm just focusing on going for a daily walk or kind of a brisk stroll outside and that's it.
So I do whatever I need to do to feel my best, and like with everything in life, that
changes from week to week or even day to day and that's okay.
So instead of forcing myself into a very strict exercise regimen,
I exercise intuitively now. And I have to honestly say at first I was kind of scared that
I wouldn't exercise enough, if I let go of that need to control it.
But really, I exercise a lot more now on average because I actually enjoy it and it feels great.
It helps me to feel fit and I'm not afraid to ditch my heavy workout session for a
stretching session if that feels like something my body needs.
nNxt healthy habit that changed
my life is self care Sunday.
And this is something that I have actually kind of re-introduced into my life only a couple months ago.
Because I used to do this when I was still studying in college, but for the last couple of years.
I haven't really done a self care Sunday. And lately with getting my business started, and working from home
It's just so tempting to work all day every day.
And I found that I really wanted my self-care Sunday's back.
Honestly, this doesn't always happen because I don't have a free Sunday every week.
So I try to do it at least once or twice a month.
Or maybe just part of a Sunday if I only have to do something else in the morning, for example.
So during a self-care Sunday I can do whatever whenever. And that is what I try to do for myself.
Because I can be a little bit of a control freak sometimes. And I tend to be my own worst critic.
And so I always tend to work hard and not allow myself breaks or time off until
my entire to-do list is completed.
That is just my natural way of doing things. And I know that's not healthy
And I know that my feelings matter just as much or even more as the tasks that I want to complete.
So self-care Sunday for me is a way to practice being kind and sweet with myself.
Being attentive to my needs and just taking care of my physical and emotional well-being.
I am an introvert and so to decompress I need a long time. And
I communicate this with the people around me and they respect it. So sometimes on self-care Sunday
I will go out and visit a friend or do something fun together with my boyfriend
But only on days when I feel like being outgoing and I feel like being around people.
So most of the time I spend it by myself and the only rule of
Self care Sunday is there are no rules
So if I want to sleep in a little bit later
I do, if I want to exercise I do, but I don't make myself do it. And I usually get groceries the day before
So I usually spend a lot of time in the kitchen cooking a lovely breakfast or lunch or both.
I watch movies. I read books. I do yoga, whatever feels right.
Sometimes I noticed when I take that time off some feelings surface that have been building up through the week.
And so I noticed sometimes I get cranky or sad or
whatever and I just allow that to come up and go and I work through it. And some days
I'm just having the best day ever.
So it really depends on the week.
Next healthy habit changed my life because it improved my sleep, tenfold. And this helps me to be happy and
energized throughout the day and this is, no screens before bed. When I'm not sleeping
well
It affects me very strongly. And my mood shifts easily and I find it hard to be positive and optimistic
If I'm really tired
So for me, a large part of feeling good and happy in life, is making sure that I'm getting proper sleep.
Now the problem with screens before bed is twofold. First
they emit a very strong blue light that our body thinks is daylight
And so when that happens it produces less melatonin
Which is a hormone that regulates our sleep cycle.
So less melatonin means that our sleep quality is going down. And
second, the things we see on our screens are very mentally engaging.
So if you're on your phone on social media for example before going to bed,
Your mind is going to be very active about everything
you just saw. And it's going to be hard to calm the mind and fall asleep.
So at least one or preferably even two hours before going to bed
I try not to use any of my devices and instead. I am just drinking some herbal tea.
Chamomile is one of my favorites. And I'm chatting with my boyfriend or doing some sleep yoga or reading a book
Whatever feels good and then in bed
I again read a book and I'm usually out like a light, within 15 minutes after my head hits the pillow.
Before we continue, I'd like to take a quick moment to thank Organic Basics for sending me this shirt that I'm wearing today.
They make ethical and sustainable
basics and underwear, and they were kind enough to send me some of their products.
I am transitioning towards being more mindful of where my clothes are coming from. Because I have learned that the fast fashion
industry is in the top five most polluting industries in the world. And so a company like Organic Basics
that's trying their best to make a positive difference, I can really get behind. So far
I've used their sports bra, this shirt, a top, and a long-sleeve shirt
And I'm really happy with them, because they are nice and comfortable. Their basics are all very high quality
And they will last you a really long time.
They cost a little bit more than your average fast fashion brand.
But that also means that they are produced ethically and
sustainably and they also use a special kind of fabric, which I really love, that makes it so you don't have to wash them as
often, which again is better for the environment. If you are interested, check them out with a link in the description
It'll also give you a 10% discount on your entire order
If you decide to do that and by ordering you will also be supporting my channel because I'm an affiliate there.
Alright, let's get back to the video. This next healthy habit that changed my life
is also a relatively new one and that is journaling Monday.
So I always start my work weeks on Mondays.
and
What I used to do is, just turn on my laptop and start working. If I hadn't made a schedule yet for the week in
my bullet journal, I did that first. And then just started working on my tasks.
What I do now is, before I even turn on my laptop
I spend about 15 minutes journaling. And I kind of reflect on the previous week and I think ahead on the week to come and
I just identify things that I want to take into consideration.
I've also been doing a journaling exercise where I kind of write like a diary entry from the future as if it has already happened.
So in the present tense.
And I describe kind of like my dream day where I've already accomplished things that I want to accomplish in my life.
And I describe what I did that day, how I felt, in detail, in the present tense. And this is a journaling exercise
that's kind of a manifesting exercise that I really enjoy.
The last healthy habit that I want to share with you today is taking scheduled breaks. As I mentioned before
I'm the type of person when it comes to working that my natural default mode is just to make sure that the
tasks get done and they get done well
And that is my top priority and it has always been that way. And that is also something that partly contributed
to me getting burned out two years ago, Because I wasn't mindful of taking enough breaks and
Making sure that yes, the tasks get done, but that also I am NOT working myself into the ground.
So what I do is I take my phone and I set an alarm in my phone. After one hour of working
I need to take a ten minute break. And this break has to be away from my laptop
And I also make sure that I'm drinking a glass of water, because this is also something that I can easily forget to do.
So that's kind of just two birds with one stone. And after that short break
I feel refreshed and energized again and I can continue working. And this also works the other way around because if you have trouble with
procrastinating, then this tip also works really great because you know that there will be time for a break soon.
So you can just continue working until your alarm goes off. And then during your break, you can do something fun
Maybe watch a youtube video, and then continue working.
So this will also make sure that you're being more productive. If I'm working
I can concentrate really easily and I just forget about the entire world around me basically.
So I forget to eat or drink or pee.
And I forget that it's maybe sunny out that day.
So the alarm really helps me to be mindful of that and take a moment to stand with my feet in the sunshine and
enjoy the warm sensation, while drinking a cup of tea. It is really amazing and it helps me a lot.
Alright, let me know what you think about these and if you have any of your own share with the rest of us
Please do that in the comments
And if you're interested in that healthy habit series also, let me know.
There is a productivity tips video right here and right here is a video about building more self love
Click here to subscribe, and I will see you all next week. Bye. Bye
