At almost 80 years old, Jerry and I feel blessed to be in good health and want to share some healthy habits we have learned to consistently follow - consistency is the key word.

Healthy habits:

Start day - drink 1 full glass of water, deep breathing for 2 minutes

Daily Supplements:

Drink - 1 tsp local raw honey, 1 tbsp trace minerals, 1 tbsp aloe Vera juice

Tabs: Ubiquinol (since I take a statin)

Vit C,

Vit D (2x5,000 iu)

Exercise:

Daily 30 minute walk or hike

Alternating days: stretches, Tai-Chi

Mental exercise

Daily celebrity cipher, Wordle (share with family), Connections,

Cultivate Relationships:

Family -regular breakfast meetings with husband and son

Bi-monthly coffee dates with new friends

Monthly breakfast or lunch dates with old friends

Annual retreat with mastermind friends

Eating healthy

Chicken/turkey has replaced red meat and pork (except when we have green chili at The Pantry) 😀

Gluten free breads

Monkfruit has replaced sugar

Water has replaced sodas

Spiritual

Daily devotions

Weekly church

Biblical principles of thoughts and behaviors - positive thinking; ie 3 new things to be grateful for each day

Keeping mind sharp:

Barbra - sees clients for counseling, writing second book, developing new classes to teach

Jerry - keeps all household books, researches new hiking places, figures out best ways to support family, reading all kinds of books - so easy on a Kindle nowadays

LIVING WELL

In summary, I hope you’ll be encouraged and motivated to take small steps toward living long and healthy lives. Thanks for being my people - we’ll walk and talk and eat our way to long healthy lives together.

"To Be Successful, You Must Invest In Yourself." You've probably heard that before, but what does it really mean? If you're going to accomplish all you were meant to do, enjoy a sense of purpose and "be all you can be," you must Invest In Yourself. And your first investment should be taking care of your body.

Try Something New To Take Care Of You

You don't have to look far to find diet plans, pills and supplements which promise to make your body better than ever! And, every January you will find gyms and health clubs filled to capacity with determined overweight and out-of-shape new members! Unfortunately, however, by May or June the crowds diminish and those New Year's Resolutions to have thinner, stronger, more flexible bodies are displaced by the busyness of every-day life.

Consistency Is The Key To Change

I have found the real key to making lasting change, whether that's taking care of your body, your mind, your finances, your career, or your relationships, is consistency. And if you're going to be consistent, you need motivation but you also need to be realistic! Just ask those January goal-setting, purpose-driven men and women who don't make it to December!

Two Minutes A Day

Here's an example of something you can do for your body that requires only two minutes but reaps much more in benefits: Deep Breathing.

Take two minutes every morning to breathe deeply, all the way down to your abdomen. Fill your lungs with clean air, hold it, then exhale out completely. Repeat. After just a couple of minutes, you will feel a difference. In addition, medical research has shown some proven benefits of regular deep breathing:

Releases toxins in your body
Releases tension
Relaxes mind/body and brings clarity
Oxygenation of the brain reduces excessive anxiety
Relieves pain
Strengthens immune system
Improves posture
Strengthens the lungs and makes the heart stronger
Helps with weight control

Wow! Do you see how a two-minute investment such as deep breathing pays huge returns? Instead of sleeping late, rushing to get ready and and then rushing off to work, try something new to take care of you. Tell yourself, "This will only take two minutes. I can spare two minutes!" Then take some deep breaths and think about all the benefits you are giving your body.

After you've consistently practiced deep breathing for a few weeks, you will start to feel and see the difference. Not only will your body thank you; your self-confidence will grow. When you've exercised such self-discipline, pat yourself on the back (literally and/or figuratively) and feel proud of yourself!

As you do, you'll activate some new brain-wave patterns. Because when you link an event (breathing deeply) with a strong emotion (feeling proud of yourself and dancing around the room in joy) those two get linked in your brain. The positive association creates a desire to repeat that good experience. (Think Pavlov's dogs!) Fairly quickly, what you had to force yourself to accomplish through discipline will become almost automatic.

Try Something New To Take Care of You -- it's just two minutes! And with those two minutes, you've started --- a pathway to success!