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Caring for Body, Mind & Energy for My Health | Happyliving.com“Wellness encompasses a healthy body, a sound mind, and a tranquil spirit. Enjoy the journey as you strive for wellness.”
(Laurette Gagnon Beaulieu)

Cotopaxi creates innovative outdoor products and experiences that fund sustainable poverty alleviation, move people to do good, and inspire adventure. Giving is core to their model, and they focus their efforts on global poverty alleviation & give targeted grants to advance health, education, and livelihoods initiatives around the world.

At Happy Living, we applaud Cotopaxi’s founding principles and philosophy, as, of course, our own mission is to improve the health and wellbeing of the world, one person at a time. So, you can imagine how pleased I was when Cotopaxi asked me to share some of my favorite tips for healthy living. I felt like I had plenty to say, as I’ve spent the greater part of my life focused on fitness, and I recently co-wrote a book with my daughter Kaileen called The Belief Road Map, in which I lay out philosophies I’ve developed for leading a happy, healthy, fulfilling life. My philosophies for lifelong exercise, mental fitness and nutrition are in perfect alignment with Cotopaxi’s three different ways to begin your journey to good health; body, mind, and energy. They felt like perfect ‘tips for healthy living’ for Cotopaxi, and I would like to share them with you too.

So, my philosophies for lifelong exercise, mental fitness and nutrition are as follows:

LIFELONG EXERCISE

My philosophy for lifelong exercise is based on four pillars:

  1. Do what you enjoy
  1. Do it regularly
  1. Don’t give it back – It takes work and dedication to get in shape. Once you reach a certain level of fitness, determine that you will not give it back.
  1. Do it slowly – Be careful and take your time getting into shape. Go slowly. Just don’t stop.

MENTAL FITNESS

My philosophy for mental fitness is based on four simple ideas that can work for you too:

  1. Feed my brain – My diet is low-carb and full of healthy fats.
  1. Rest my brain – I aim to get eight full hours of peaceful sleep every night and to meditate most every day.
  1. Exercise my brain – My daily practices of physical exercise and reading give my brain the workout it needs.
  1. Rewire my brain – According to Dr. Hilary Stokes, I rewire my brain by repeatedly aligning my beliefs, feelings and actions[1], which I do with my practice of reflection.

NUTRITION  

My nutritional philosophy has six components:

  1. Eat real food – Dr. David Perlmutter says, “If it can go bad, it’s good for you. If it stays good, it’s bad for you.”
  1. Eat a healthy fat, low carb diet – I eat healthy fats, proteins, and vegetables, and limited carbohydrates.
  1. Nutritional supplements – I supplement my diet with products specifically designed to promote healthy aging and longevity.
  1. Monthly cleanses – Each month, I detox my body with a 36-hour fast and full day cleanse.
  1. Measure and adjust – I track the progress of my fitness, inside and out, by regularly measuring my body weight, resting heart rate, cholesterol and body fat.
  1. Hara Hachi Bu – The Japanese have a teaching that instructs people to eat until they are 80% full. It’s a simple and beautiful message that resonates with me.

Cotopaxi is all about encouraging people to get out into nature, stay active, and do something good for our world every day. Happy Living fully supports them in that wonderful idea. Why don’t you join in too by sharing your favorite ways to live a healthy lifestyle and give back, and by sharing this article with your family and friends?

Together, we can improve the health and wellbeing of the world, one person at a time.

[1] http://www.mindbodygreen.com/0-11762/5-ways-to-rewire-your-brain-for-meaningful-life-changes.html

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