Seven healthy holiday habits

Breathe deep - Christmas is here! All of the going, doing and bustling about is done. Now you can just enjoy the day and the rest of the season with the people you love, and some that maybe you are just learning to love. You see, we are relational beings and you might as well face it, in order to be in relationship with anyone in this world, you are just going to have to learn how to have a heart of forgiveness.

Yes, I said it, a heart of forgiveness. Life is complicated and whether you believe in what the baby Jesus came here to give us or not, we have to learn to live with that kind of heart every day. I understand that a lot of wrongs have happened to all of us, but one thing that will really destroy our health is our unforgiving hearts.

You see, research indicates that if we harbor pain and heartache, it can make us physically ill - our mind-body connection is that powerful. So, it is up to us to learn the skills we can to take care of this delicate balance. So here we go.

1) Think before you speak! That way, you don't need to ask for forgiveness, and your body will be free to heal every day.

2) Start and end your day with deep breathing exercises. Lie on your back, breathe in for a four-count and feel your stomach rise to the ceiling, and then breathe out slowly to a four-count. Breathing is the best way to relax your body and mind when you feel anxious, or just need to get your body up and moving.

3) Do 30 minutes of aerobic exercise every day. That means that you need to get your heart rate to 60-70 percent of its maximum in order to keep your heart and lungs healthy. (How you figure that out is by taking your age and subtract it from 220, and then multiply it by 60 or 70 percent. So for example, if you are 40 years old, you would take 220-40=180. Then 180 x 60 percent = 108 beats per minute. Then 108 beats per minute divided by 6 gives you your 10-second count, or 18 beats per minute.)

4) Lift weights three times a week to increase your muscle and bone mass, which then helps prevent osteoporosis.

5) Choose a few special friends that you can talk to and connect with, so that you can share your life together. Make a time one to two times a month to have fun together and be each others' support system.

6) Make wise food and drink choices. You need seven to nine servings of fruits and vegetables as your antioxidants to cover the free radicals that cause daily damage to your body. Free radicals can be caused by pollution, smoking, excessive sunlight and stress.

7) Laugh every day. Laughter is the best medicine for the body. When you laugh, it releases endorphins, which makes your body happy. A study showed that patients in the hospital that laughed often left the hospital earlier than the others who didn't. So make sure you have someone in your life you can laugh with every day.

Sheree DiBiase, PT and her staff wish you a Happy Holiday season. They can be reached at Lake City Physical Therapy in Coeur d'Alene at (208) 667-1988 and in the Spokane Valley at (509) 891-2623. We can help you with your Seven Healthy Habits. Your health matters to us!