As women, we know all too well what can happen when we don’t prioritize our health–from stress and overwhelm, to unwanted weight gain, sleeping issues, fertility challenges and more. Because of our important roles in our family and society, we’re called to form healthy habits and self-care practices that allow us to be at our best, and to give our best in the situations of work and family that we find ourselves.
Personally–I’ve had to learn the hard way, just what an effect that stress, lack of sleep, and a lack of self-care routines in motherhood can have. (You can read more about that in the about me pages and throughout the blog). Thankfully, that crisis moment was 6 years ago, and the journey that I have taken subsequently has been an incredible blessing–discovering personal tools for non-toxic living, and a brand partner that allows me to always choose a holistic solution to the many many different needs women have. I’ve only lived into my 3rd decade so far, but I’m very aware just how much our health needs change from year to year, and decade to decade, especially as women.
Here are some wonderful summaries of healthy living for women of all ages, that I wish someone had shared with me a decade or 2 ago, as well as some tools that have supported so many of my friends, family and clients, I’m so grateful to share and hope that you’ll feel inspired to share with the women that you love.
You can also find some incredible stories and inspiration related to women and their health in this post, here, also in honor of women’s health month.
I always like to frame and start things with WHY. Why does this matter? When we create thriving, healthy foundations for living, we’re able to give a gift of self that is richer, more abundant, and not depleting of us. We learn to care for self, and accept forms of care, while in turn serving and loving everyone who is in our daily path and our larger call to impact.
HEALTHY HABITS ESSENTIAL FOR ANY AGE
No matter what decade we’re in, these habits matter.
Daily movement–find things that you love–walking, gardening, yoga, barre, running, chasing kids at the playground, whatever it is, be sure to move 30 minutes daily for optimal health, and with our fitness trackers, we can now see just how active or in-active we’re being, and create habits that make that easier to accomplish.
*Additional fitness recommendation for healthy bones: weight bearing exercises are suggested for optimal bone health, starting in 20’s/30’s to build the foundations of a lifetime of strong bones. Don’t be intimidated by weight lifting–have fun, experiment, get a trainer to help you feel confident, or just get in there and make friends and learn as you go. Some gyms offer classes specifically for women looking to learn about and use weights.
Nutrition: “Eat food, not too much, mostly plants”. Michael Pollan’s simplistic words have a wonderful appeal to them, in an age of overcomplications, fad diets, fad nutritional theories and people dogmatically telling you about how you need to go Keto. Every one of us is built to have different nutritional needs; a foundation of healthy supplementation, regular cleansing (through whole foods cleanses like we offer), and more will allow us to trust our body and to understand what it is we most need–ie, our cravings can teach us what our daily eating should be, in the realm of “intuitive eating” which is my hope for every woman, along with body confidence, and a freedom from emotional eating or eating issues. We all know just how challenging all of this can be to navigate–reach out if you want to connect or share what you’re in the middle of. See also my blog post about “why one diet doesn’t fit all” and theory of bio-individuality. It’s ultimately so freeing.
Supplementation: This is critical, and something many of us learn late or take for granted. When you realize that folic acid stores for example, take months to build up, women need to be eating healthy, iron and folic acid rich diets long before they are conceiving or trying to conceive. Similarly with balancing hormones and eating for balanced fertility, which is something many women bring up to me in our work together—well, the key is also to be aware of the larger picture, to work hard to create a non-toxic lifestyle–meaning all skin care, home other products, remove toxins and endocrine distruptors from our lives, and even our plates, and so many of these issues will go away. I really believe that everyone should be taking the vitalizer–a best in class women’s multi that provides balanced amounts of IRON (absorbable) and all the tools for strong bones, and healthy digestion, skin, nails, hair and energy–during those critical pre and childbearing years (it also doubles as a pre-natal, and post-natal, how convenient). After using this daily for 6 years, and I really do feel younger and more energized and balanced than I did 10 years ago in my early 20’s…I know that the whole picture is important, but what we choose to put in our body can be one of the key pieces. Do you research and see just what makes sense for you. I love the rave reviews I get from women ages 18-45 who take this as part of their best life.
Managing Stress: this one is certainly applicable for women across decades. Especially in our fast-paced daily lives that often leave little time for un-winding and being aware of our stress levels–and managing them properly. Some tips are: Identify stressors, schedule personal relaxation time, get good nutrition, exercise regularly (this is the most important one for me!), sleep more, and you can also try botanical support via ashwaganda or L-Theanine, found in our Stress Relief complex and our Energizing tea, among other things.
It’s powerful to reflect on the ways our health needs and bodies change, so we can thrive and enjoy the beauty of each season for what it is.
And our non-toxic lifestyle brand partner even has specific nutritional tools to make sure you are getting exactly the targeted solutions you need for thriving in each decade.
And don’t forget about rounding out the non-toxic lifestyle with clean beauty. This line is free of 2500 harmful chemicals and ingredients–some of the safest stuff around. We might as well look younger longer, since we’re going to feel younger longer.
Cheers to an amazing rest of women’s health month, and start to this summer! Can’t wait to take this journey of healthy womanhood with you–and share your stories and inspiration–those are what encourage and inspire and really lift up the other women in our lives…reminding them of how much their own health and happiness should be valued.
