June 2018: Your Healthy Summer

What are your goals for health? My goal is now health and vitality.

It used to be a lot more complicated. It doesn’t have to be.

All I want now is a sense of well-being that allows me to do my work, travel as needed, do all the things we like to do for fun and relaxation, and feel good while I’m doing all of that. Oh…and I want it to continue until I’m done with my life’s work—which will probably take till about 110 years old. That should be a good run.

Those are my intentions…and most days that’s the reality. I’m very grateful for the health I have now.

But it wasn’t always like this. I’ve lived through the burnout—a few times—the adrenal fatigue, hypo-thyroidism, a car accident, a cardio-myopathy event (not a heart attack, just a severe panic attack that caused temporary heart muscle damage) that led to a catheterization after four days in the hospital, years of New York City stress, infertility and bouts of depression. Oh, and the physical body stuff like arthritis of the knees and scoliosis.

Nothing major, really. Just lots of inconvenient and sometimes painful stuff that probably would have been avoided if I was following my Strategy earlier on.

I hope that following your Strategy and aligning with your purpose makes sense by now—for your ongoing health and well-being. So that you can have the vitality you need to accomplish your goals and dreams. When you are aligned with your purpose, saying what you mean (yes, no or something in between), and speaking your Truth more often than not, you’ll be feeling vital, alive and on purpose.

So let’s talk about the concrete steps you can take to keep your body happy while you’re doing what makes you happy.

Finding an Eating, Sleeping and Exercise Plan that works for your Body and Strategy

If you’re under 40, you can read this section and tuck it away for future reference. I’m not really preaching to you yet. Most likely, you fall into one of two camps: you’ve either found a way that works for you so that you feel healthy or you’re still feeling super-human and haven’t had the slightest need to tune into your physicality yet. Ah, to be young again!

For those who are over 40, this one’s for you! Your physical body starts to change around the time you turn forty. That’s nothing new, I’m sure.

From what I’ve seen as I’ve coached so many with their Human Design, you can follow a plan that’s unique to you and your body and your energy type that will keep you healthy and vital for a long time. But it really helps to figure out this ongoing plan between forty and fifty, if you can. Any time is a good time, but if you can begin the steps to finding your own unique way of eating, sleeping and exercising, it will really serve you in the long run.

What you’re looking for is consistency: a way to eat that feels good for you and keeps you at a fit weight for your body type; a way to exercise that you enjoy and that uses up all your daily energy so that you sleep well; and a sleep schedule that rejuvenates you each night.

Like most other things in Human Design, this plan is unique to you. So I really can’t tell you exactly what is best for you. But I can give you some guidelines:

1. Eating: Many of my clients are experiencing new ways of eating, generally because of food sensitivities. Experiment with what works best for you. Like other things in Human Design, your body knows better than you do most of the time. So ask it. Experiment with different foods, avoiding certain foods and sticking to a plan as much as possible, so that your body gets used to it. Some people need to stay on the plan 100% of the time; some 90% with a little cheating; others can be even more lenient. And please honor the little ones’ needs as much as possible. Given the option, their bodies crave what they need.
2. Exercising: Exercise programs vary more by energy type: Generator types need more exercise each day than non-Sacral types, so that they can run out their Sacral energy and sleep well each night. If you have more than one motor, and especially if you have all four motors defined (Sacral, Will, Root and SP), you must exercise each day until all the motors have run out (this includes physical work and running around after children, of course). Projectors and Manifestors don’t need to exercise as much without the Sacral, which is the biggest and most consistent of the motors. Each type should be doing exercise they enjoy so that they will be motivated to do it as needed.
3. Sleeping: Most people should be sleeping 7-9 hours per night, according to most scientific articles and Arianna Huffington’s book, Sleep. You may think you need less, but it’s rarely true. When I worked at International Management Group in New York in the early 1980’s, the CEO Mark McCormack famously bragged that he only needed 5 hours sleep a night, and worked and traveled most of his waking hours. He had an assistant in each office (about 15 at that point) and they had a hard time keeping up with him. Most people did. Unfortunately, he passed away in 2003 at age 72. Some people like the alpha routine; some don’t. Find a sleep schedule that works for you and stick to it. If you, like many, are already sleep-deprived, try adding 15 minutes per day or week to your sleep time, until you wake feeling rested and alert. For most sleep-deprived people, the catch-up time will take a while. And yes, you deserve it. Projectors should be getting more sleep on a regular basis— usually up to 10 hours, when possible or a nap if you can. You deserve it, too.

If you can get a plan for these three pieces of your life, and get to a point where they come naturally and they make you feel great, then you’ve won the battle. Think of these three steps as part of a new health regimen that doesn’t need to cost you any more, but can add years to your life. Happy years at that…so that you go out like a candle.

Let me gently add: If you are feeling like these suggestions are extreme or would be difficult to achieve with your crazy schedule, kids to worry about, stress at work, and/or troubles in your relationship, then that’s exactly WHY you should be reading this. Take a baby step or whatever feels comfortable for you. Any step toward a healthy lifestyle is a step forward.

Have a wonderful start to the Summer!