I recently read a great book with this title, by Maryjo Coke. It’s a quick, easy read, full of beautiful drawings explaining the metamorphosis of a caterpillar to a butterfly.  Isn’t this what many of us want to do?  Change…and change for the better.

As I work with individuals, I educate them in ways to improve their health. Using the premise of this book, let’s look at what YOU can do to help your body regain and maintain its health and vitality!  Here we go!

EAT

Eat real food…Eat colorful foods…It’s my mantra!  One of the best ways to maintain your vitality is to eat local and/or organic foods.  Buying local is good for the local economy, too, which helps just about everything around us. 

Real food grows in the ground, not in a box.  Real food spoils if not refrigerated, and then, in just a few days. I once had a loaf of bread (given to us) that lasted for 3 months with no spoilage!  Yuk. Today’s hectic pace makes us need to rely on easy meals.  However, try to keep in mind that limiting processed foods can help you improve your health.

SLEEP

Your body recovers from the rigors of your day during sleep.  Lack of quality sleep is so elusive recently.  To get the best sleep, try keeping your bedroom cool, dark, quiet, uncluttered – and electronic-free. Put your devices in another room if you can.  If your phone is your alarm clock, put it under the bed or as far away from you as possible. 

Try taking a nice Epsom salts bath, do some gentle yoga or stretching, or read a book prior to sleeping. Go to bed and wake up at the same time, EACH day.  When you stay up late and then sleep in – like on the weekends – you disrupt your body’s rhythm and hormone production, and get out of sync with your sleeping.

FLY

Move!!  Get outside! It’s good for your psyche and the sunshine helps with your Vitamin D production, boosting your immune system.  Exercise like a caveman…or a child.  Our bodies were not designed to run long distances at once…on pavement or a treadmill.  Cavemen ran when they were chasing prey…or when they were the prey.  Then they rested.  Kids do the same thing.  They run fast to get where they need to go, then they sit down to play.  Your heart loves this kind of activity.

If you work at a desk or in a sedentary position, get up and move every hour.  Set your alarm on your phone if necessary.  If you have a private area, do some deep stretching and breathing, or drop and do a few push-ups or jumping jacks.  Take the stairs, walk the long way to your parked car…and park your car far away.  If you are just starting to move, go easy. Find ways that work for you to add movement to your day…so you can FLY!

Perfect your own metamorphosis and start today - regain or continue to maintain - your vitality by doing just a few simple things. Eat, Sleep and Fly!  To Your Vitality!