The quality of our relationships can influence every aspect of our health, we look through the ‘window ‘of past experiences and we then filter our emotions through this book of the past.
These relationships can be with yourself, your children, friends, romantic partners, work friends and so forth and each of these can hold a significances for your short-term and long-term health, the cumulative effect throughout your life has an impact on our health in the now.
Our social and spiritual connections these relationships are integral in how we are able to manage life and feel like we belong. This is part of my wellness wheel when looking at you as a whole.
Our relationships or lack of, can affect our immune systems and our inflammatory pathways at a cellular level creating ill-health at any level.
Have you noticed when you hang out with people who are angry at the world, sad and unhappy with everything and everyone, and how this can affect your mood and drag you down, but if you were around happy uplifting, inspiring energetic people who support you, you feel great, this releases endorphins our happy hormones which combat inflammation.
We must surround ourselves with people who uplift support and appreciate life so that we may also be able to take in this feeling of wholeness and gratitude so we can grow.
As many have heard me say the most important relationship is the one with yourself, you are number one, this does not mean you are selfish but looking after yourself first means then you are able to help those around you.
Ok so If you looking at it from a money perspective- you start with 100 dollars every day , when you give all that away to helping your kids, family, your boss, the neighbour , your mum , work, work and more work , you are now broke and you no longer have any money to buy yourself some food. I hear you say ‘I wouldn’t do that” but think about how many times you do things for others and you are so tired at the end of the day that you sit on the couch eating potato chips or an ice cream as its too hard to cook yourself dinner.
When you put yourself first , you eat nutritious meals , take time out, exercise , get work done, and still be able to help those around you and at the end of the day , sit down to a dinner that supports you.
Without a strong sense of self and an abundance of self-love and self-worth, it becomes very hard to give to those around you fully.
Tuning in to yourself is the first step towards strengthening a positive internal relationship with self and all of the other relationships around you.
1. Breathe into your belly, when we are stressed and over give our breathing becomes shallow and can cause neck and shoulder pain. Try breathing into your belly and count to 4 and breathe out slowly to a count of 5.
2. If your thoughts are ruminating (round and round) let them flow, don’t hold on to them. Activate your senses what can you see, hear, feel, taste and touch as this will put you back in the present. For example what colour is the sky, washing your hands how does the water feel, is the wind blowing your hair…..
3. If you find yourself reactive to family, friends ect… notice what the emotion is, can you identify if it was a past issue (flicking through that book again) or is it current. Is your emotion appropriate for the situation, at the right person, at the right time? If not go for a walk, call a friend, breathe, and ask yourself why I am reacting in this way and get out of your head.
4. A simple 5 minute meditation – sit comfortably, feet on the floor, close your eyes and relax the jaw and shoulders. Feel your breath coming in and going out feeling your belly rising and falling. Allowing your thoughts to come and go with each breath. When you are done open your eyes, bringing your awareness back to your surroundings. Notice how you feel.
Working on your relationships is a vital part of whole body health and wellness.
If you are ready to take a deeper look into your relationships in your life and nourish these bonds, I invite you to book a Naturopathic or Rekindled Ancient Wisdom appointment with me.
In health and Wellness
