21 Ways to Love Yourself to Life

A Living Light Metabolic Coach shares 21 ways to improve health through self-love, starting from her own story of complications after childbirth. She covers mindset shifts, daily practices like 6-second breathing and 7-8 hours of sleep, nutrition, movement, and how your environment and relationships matter.
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Welcome. Welcome, everyone. Thanks so much for being here today. I'm going to Share with you 21 ways to love yourself to life. Our ultimate hope is that with the inspiration and knowledge that you acquire with this presentation, that you take some meaningful action. Because what you learned today can really be transformative for you and your family, but it really relies on you taking action and implementing what you learn. And when you implement what you learn, that's really going to determine if tomorrow is going to be the same day or if tomorrow is going to be a whole new day filled with hope and possibility and so much more health and love. So, based on what's transpired over the last few months, we all can say that having greater health and resilience is really the key to surviving today's world. So be here, be here now. Be present, take notes, make sure you stay on the presentation, turn off all your notifications, and really be present. Thank you again for being here. And let's get started. So I wanted to start off the presentation with sharing a little bit about my story. And you're gonna see some pictures here that I'm gonna share that I've never shared before. And this is really my why, in terms of what I do, what I do every day, and why. I feel like these 21 ways can really help anyone struggling with anything because they really helped me on my health journey. And so I'm going to share a little bit about my background, and then we'll get started with the 21 Ways to Love yourself to life. So these are some pictures of me after the delivery of my son. I've never shared these before. They do make me quite emotional, and so I don't really share them too often, but this is the first time actually sharing them publicly. But my health journey really began during my labor and delivery in 2010. I had a very healthy and normal pregnancy. Although during my labor and delivery, I had ended up having some complications. So after my water broke about, you know, a day and a half or so, I ended up having to get a C section because my son's hand was actually on top of his head, and it was making it very difficult for me to have natural delivery. So immediately after my C section, I actually was literally bleeding to death. And so I ended up having a hysterectomy. It was a pretty chaotic and emergency type situation. And, you know, it was obviously something that I didn't want to have happen, but in order for them to save my life, they had to take these measures. And so I was in the hospital for about a week after my son was born because I had to have several blood transfusions from all the blood I had lost. And then I was also feeling pretty nauseous the whole week. And they told me that that can happen post abdominal surgery. Sometimes you get something called an ileus where the bowels slow down and, you know, you feel nauseous and it's hard for you to have a bowel movement. But I really wanted to go home and be with my son and, you know, spend some quality time with him and just be a regular mom. Right after having a newborn child, you want to be at home and you want to do all the that you are able to do after becoming a new mom. So we agreed that I would go home and the doctor had basically told me that if anything happens to just text him or give him a call and he would be able to help me out if anything was to happen once I got home, because once again, I was feeling pretty nauseous. I wasn't having a bowel movement, but we just thought it would be in my best interest to go home and be with my son and hopefully that would help me feel better. But a few days later, after I was sent home, I was having intense stomach pain and it was really bad and I just did not feel good. And so I had to be readmitted to the hospital. So these are pictures of me when I was readmitted to the hospital. They did a few scans and they basically found that I had developed a small bowel obstruction. So I had to be on a lot of IVs as I couldn't eat anything. I had to be on complete bowel rest. So you can see I have an NG tube here that had to be put in to kind of give my bowel some rest. And they really didn't want to operate because I just had a C section and a hysterectomy. And you know, a lot of the times when someone does have a bowel obstruction, they can resolve on their own without surgery. But, you know, we waited a week. I believe it was like a week and a half. And unfortunately, mine didn't resolve. So. So it was because I had developed so much scar tissue after the C section and hysterectomy that there was no choice but that I had to have surgery again. So this whole time while I was in the hospital, my parents and my in laws took care of my son. And you know, this is my mom here who would bring my son to the hospital every day so I could see him and spend some time with him and you know, they would bring him to the hospital every single day as I was there for almost three weeks. And you know, I was finally able to go home and be with my son after those three weeks. And when I had asked the surgeons before I left how I could prevent this from happening again or what I should be doing to take care of my health, they really had no answers for me. So one of the main reasons I share this story with you is because after all that I had been through, it was really important for me to prioritize my health and well being so I could be there for my son, hopefully prevent another bowel obstruction from happening in the future. So I had to prioritize my mental health, my nutrition, my hydration, my stress, my sleep, you know, as much as you can with a newborn to really regain my strength and take care of myself first so that I could take care of my son. And thankfully I had such a supportive family and most importantly, such a supportive husband. My husband Satchin really helped me recover. He was there the whole time with me while I was in the hospital by my side, you know, did not leave my side at all. And he was just an amazing support system for me. And so I have so much gratitude for him and my family and you know, that they helped me get through this difficult time. So fast forward two years after the birth of my son, I became a certified functional and lifestyle medicine provider. And one of the programs my husband and I developed is our Living Light Lifestyle Reset program, which really focuses on teaching people the foundations of living a healthy lifestyle. And so we love this program so much and we love that it really brings health into people's homes. And I'm going to be talking about that a little bit more. But a lot of the things that we share with our clients I'm going to be sharing with you today. So stay tuned and let's move on to the next slide here. So wanted to share some of our values with you. These are some of the values that we really cherish. We always put love first. Honesty, transparency, integrity, excellence, growth. We really love time and nature, vulnerability. You know, I was just really vulnerable there with you, sharing my story and those pictures that I've never shared before. Empathy, consistency, community, family, timeless wisdom and Paying It Forward are some of our main values. And Paying It Forward is actually one of our favorite because it really allows us to transform communities around the world. So this here is our Living Proof clinic in Uganda and it serves several communities and villages in the area. We also have a orphanage and a school. And this clinic here is able to provide community based health education. As you can see in the picture on the left here, there's a group of people that are getting together for some community based health education. And of course, this was pre Covid, but they really serve the community there and they provide health care to five surrounding villages in the area as well. And so we love contributing and paying it forward. It's one of our favorite values. These are some of our beliefs here. So we really believe health begins and belongs in your home. And I feel like the previous year was a really great example of that, where, you know, we were spending so much more time at home and we can really see that health does belong in your home. Right? So no matter how long your doctor visit is, whether it's 10 minutes or 30 minutes or an hour, it's what you do after you leave the doctor's office that's important. What action do you take? What do you implement after leaving the doctor's office? And we already know that the best doctor and the best pharmacy already resides within you. And that's why we believe the doctor of the future is the patient. And we really believe in teaching you skills over pills because these skills have transferability. So you're able to, you know, if you learn how to sleep properly, if you learn how to manage stress properly, you're able to transfer those skills onto your loved ones, right? Your spouse, perhaps, or your children, perhaps. And so it's really become our mission to teach people lifestyle skills over just giving them pills. And we also believe that your story is important and we want to make sure your story is heard and seen. Because, you know, in the traditional system, you don't really get to share this story with your providers. So just as I had shared my story with you and my why with you, you know, we want to make sure that you guys have an opportunity to share your story as well. And when you become healthy, we believe you come alive, right? So we believe that when you acquire the skills to live a healthy life, you can also live a more meaningful life and you can pass this on to others and the next generation as well. So, you know, when it comes to a pill or a supplement or surgery, it doesn't really teach you how to become healthy or how to eat. So we really want to focus on teaching you behavior changes and lifestyle changes that are not only going to help you, but those around you as well. So this here is something that I did want to cover. It's called normal syndrome. And I really feel like there's a new normal in healthcare. And this is our definition of normal syndrome. It's really when your lab work comes back normal, so you go into your doctor's office and you have all these issues and complaints like low energy, unexplained weight gain, sleep issues, perhaps some anxiety and some sadness, brain fog, poor memory, you know, perhaps you're suffering from some hormonal imbalances and you really have lots of unanswered questions. But because your lab work comes back normal, there really is a lack of a clear diagnosis and treatment, and it really leaves people in frustration. And sometimes what I've observed is that our providers and our clinicians are feeling tired and feeling this way as well. So they really normalize it. And it's hard for them to empathize with you if you are feeling this way. So, you know, just wanted to highlight this, that this certainly is not normal. It's not normal to have low energy. It's not normal to have sleep issues. So it's not normal. But the good thing is that there's lots of things that can be done if you are feeling this way. Even though you don't have a clear diagnosis, there's a lot of things that can be done. And some of the things we're going to be talking about today are really going to help with sleep issues and low energy and things like that. So let's dive right in. So the first thing here I wanted to discuss is love yourself. So, you know, I really want you to focus on loving yourself a little more. And I truly believe that this planet can only heal when we heal, when we heal ourselves, and when we learn to love ourselves, you know, we want to really stop judging ourselves first and become aware of our internal dialogue. So when you wake up in the morning and you look at yourself in the mirror, what's the self talk that's going on in your head? What are you saying about yourself? Are you saying, oh my gosh, look at me, I look so tired, or I don't look good? What is that? Self talk and self dialogue. Really become aware of that. And that's really the first step. So I want you to become more aware of it. And then, you know, the next step would be to change that dialogue. And so how do we change that dialogue? And so what I usually recommend with my clients is to have them write down, you know, perhaps two to three affirmations about themselves and to have them recite these affirmations every morning and every night. You can Even just post them on your mirror with a sticky note. So that way when you wake up in the morning and before you go to bed, they're right there for you on that mirror. And really remind yourself daily that you are worthy and you are enough. And so I wanted to share this here with you from a client who had been going through our program and it had just been a week. And you know, she says here that this program is more than just food. This program is a mind, body, soul approach. It's not just a physical journey and the scale, it's, it's also very spiritual and holistic. It encompasses so much more meditation, journaling, breathing, that and much more that words can't, that words than words can pen. When you set the intention and put your effort into this program and show up no matter what, it has a rippling effect on everything around you. The universe vibrates in every which way, in every aspect of life to help you grow and be a better version of yourself day by day. I'm blown away at how much energetic shift happens when you stay focused, determined and just do your best in truth and authenticity. Thank you Deepa for creating such a wonderful program. Words cannot even describe. So really you can see the shift that takes place place when we write down those positive affirmations when we focus on loving ourselves. As she said in this testimonial, the whole universe vibrates in a different way, right? So that I believe is truly the first step. And then you know, another thing I would really recommend is prioritizing yourself, right? And your health. Take care of your. Taking care of your health is a form of self love. And I truly believe that health is the ceiling and foundation for everything in your life. So if your health is a 7 out of 10, then your relationships are probably going to be a 7 out of 10. Your performance at work is probably going to be a 7 out of 10 and so on and so forth. Because health truly sets the foundation for everything in your life. And so as you can see from my story there, I really had to prioritize my health and my well being so that I could show up and be a better mom and be there for my, my son, right? And sometimes we feel like it's selfish to do this, especially us women, we have a lot of guilt, but we can only take care of others when we take care of ourselves first. So really want you to prioritize your health. Next is the breath. So this past year I learned so much about the breath and about breathing and really about how the breath is such a low hanging fruit and such an important aspect of our health that is commonly overlooked and not spoken about. And the research shows that the ideal breath is about six seconds on the inhale and six seconds on the exhale. And this is something that I've really been trying to do, you know, even just throughout the day is when I'm cooking or driving or you know, doing something passive, I really try to focus on slowing down my breath and making sure that I'm breathing in this six second in, six second out cadence and the way in with the way in which we breathe and the pace of our breath breath will determine if we're in a parasympathetic state, which is a rest, relax and calm state, or if we're in a sympathetic state, which is a stressed out fight or flight state. So when we breathe through our nose in a six second cadence, we activate our parasympathetic nervous system. And that's so important because we can only heal when we're in a parasympathetic state state. When we breathe through our mouth or when we breathe in a rapid cadence, we activate the fight or flight state of our nervous system. And when we're in fight or flight, our digestion is going to suffer, our brain function is going to suffer, we're going to be more reactive, we're going to be more irritable and it's really going to be hard for our bodies to heal. So really want you to focus on breathing more slowly and breathing through the nose. Right. Are you a mouth breather or a nose breather? And if you're a mouth breather, try to really shift your breathing through your nose. And I know some people who have nasal congestion, it's hard to breathe through their nose, but if we don't use it, we lose it. So really try to focus on slowing down that breath and breathing through the nose. The next one here is sleep. And I truly believe that sleep is one of the most important factors if we want to improve our health and if we want to express self love. Right. Our society really rewards doing, doing, doing, and it really penalizes rest. Right. It really makes us feel like we're lazy if we rest too much. And so we tend to stay up late. And a lot of the times if we ask ourselves what we're doing up so late, it's probably not anything that's super productive or necessary. Right. A lot of the times we'll be scrolling on social media or watching TV when we could be sleeping. So really want to emphasize trying to get to bed at a consistent time, waking up at a consistent time as well. It's very important when it comes to regulating ourselves sleep cycle. And we should try to be in bed no later than 10pm because our bodies do follow a circadian rhythm which is, you know, very similar to the, to the sun. So when the sun goes down, that's when we should start winding down. And around 9 to 10pm is when our cortisol goes down and our melatonin starts to increase. So we really want to aim for getting to bed around that 9 to 10pm range. And we also want to make sure we focus on getting the right amount of sleep. So we want to focus on getting at least a minimum of seven to eight hours every night. And when we get less sleep, even one night of less than seven hours of sleep will actually increase cravings the next day. We'll tend to eat more calories the next day, and usually it's calories that we shouldn't be consuming. Things like sugar and salt. We crave more of those type of foods. Our cognitive function declines. So we feel like more brain fog if we don't sleep enough. We also tend to be more reactive the next day too. So that's just with one night of less sleep. So really want to emphasize that and really want to make sure that you're trying to prioritize your sleep, because it really is one of the most overlooked factors when it comes to any type of health issue is most likely the person is not getting enough sleep or getting the good quality sleep. And so this here is a client of mine who after 42 days lost 23 pounds. And one of the main things that she was really struggling with was her sleep. And so her sleep improved drastically. So she sleeping so much better, feeling better, gaining a more positive outlook on life. Still a lot of work to be done. But now I have the energy and outlook to achieve my goals. So getting that right amount of sleep is directly related to our energy levels the next day and how we feel the next day. The next one here is hydration. So I always try to start my morning with about 16 ounces of water. It really helps us rehydrate from the night before, gets our bowels moving. You know, a lot of the times if you're suffering from constipation, it could be that you're not hydrating enough. It also cleanses our body and it satiates hunger. And so we want to try to aim for about 2 liters of water a day. And that last point There when it comes to hunger, sometimes we feel like, I need to eat something. But actually one of the first signs when you feel hungry, it's not that you need to eat something, it's dehydration. So really try to turn to a glass of water or a herbal tea or something like that when you're feeling hungry, because the dehydration is most likely the cause of the hunger. Next is reading. So I try to read for at least 15 minutes every single day, either in the morning or evening, or sometimes I'll do both. And I really enjoy books that help me personally grow and professionally grow. And I feel like reading is such a great alternative to watching TV in the evening and really doing something more productive and learning something, rather than just being in that state of consumption when we're watching tv. And so the other benefit of reading in the evening is that it allows us to decrease blue light exposure. So if you're not familiar with what blue light is, it's emitted from all our screens and our TVs. And what Blue light does is it travels through a part of the brain called the pineal gland. And the pineal gland is what secretes melatonin, which is our sleep hormone. So that blue light, once it travels to that pineal gland in the evening, it decreases melatonin production. And as I said, melatonin is required for sleep and immune function. So we really want to try to decrease or minimize or eliminate blue light in the evening. Which means that we should be trying to be off of our screens an hour before bed and doing something like reading or spending some time with our family members or, you know, doing something else besides watching TV to allow our brains to not be exposed to that blue light. Another one is meditation. So I try to meditate almost every morning. I usually do about 10 to 15 minutes. And I usually just tell people to start with about two to three minutes and just really try to experiment with meditation. And one of the main forms of meditation that I like to practice is called vipassana meditation. When you're just trying to focus on your breath. And what that does is it really helps to bring us into the present moment. And the key with meditation is not just sitting down and doing it for that five or 10 minutes in the morning. It's really trying to carry this practice with you throughout the day. So, you know, if you're feeling overwhelmed or feeling stressed out, then you can always come back to your breath and refocus, get re centered, get grounded again, and come back into the present moment. Because a lot of the times when we get stressed out, we're thinking about the future or the past, right? So really focusing on the present moment can help us to relieve some of that anxiety or depression or whatever we might be feeling, that state of unease. And just put your attention on your breath as it enters and leaves your nose. And, and that right there is meditation for some people. They like to listen to a guided meditation. There's an app that I use sometimes, it's called Insight Timer and it has a variety of different meditations on their guided meditations with, you know, you can select a 5 to 10 minute time range. If you have, or if you have more time, you can select more time and it'll, you know, populate guided meditations based on how much time you have. So really try to focus on making this a daily practice. And as I said, it doesn't have to be very long. You know, even five to ten minutes have such a great benefit to your health. And it really, I believe is one of the most important ways of practicing self love and loving yourself more. The next one here is listen or read to some form of wisdom teaching daily. And this could be any kind of religious or spiritual text. You know, it can be an audio clip from a spiritual teacher like Wayne Dyer or Ram Dass. And for me personally, this really helped me to, you know, get through 2020. It, you know, really helped me to remember the importance of life and remember the importance of connecting with our source and that we're all one. And I really felt like this was such a, huge, you know, game changer for me when it came to my mental health is really trying to listen and read some form of wisdom teaching daily. So whatever that is for you, whatever resonates for you, you know, just five or ten minutes before bed can be a great practice or in the morning. And for me personally, I found that it really helped me with my mental health in 2020. Next one is nature. So nature is so important if you can get out daily. You know, here in Canada, it's winter now, but I still try to get out for a daily walk or sit in nature and really try to observe the beauty around you. Right. Sometimes we take it for granted. You know, observe the trees and this past fall it was so beautiful to just witness the leaves changing color and just, you know, really observing all the different colors. It was just such a beautiful fall. You know, the red, the orange, the yellow colors, they're just so vibrant and just make you feel so much more at calm and ease and at peace. Notice the squirrels, the little animals around you. Sometimes we take that for granted too. You know, look at flowers or go near a river, if you have one close to your home, and listen to the sound of water flowing. It's just so beautiful. And it just helps you really, you know, it's a concept called forest bathing, which helps lower cortisol, helps lower stress, really helps improve anxiety and depression. And just getting that breath of fresh air, it can do so much for you. So really try to get out in nature. And one of the things that we also also try to do in the summer especially is grounding. And grounding is when you put your bare skin on the earth. So you know something like putting your feet on the earth. And that's why when you go away on vacation to a beach and you walk on the beach, you feel so good because you're getting in contact with the earth. And you know, when we're at home and you know, when we're in nature at home, we never really go outside barefoot. So really try to go outside barefoot if you can too, because grounding has such great benefits as well. Next one is eating mindfully and intuitively. So I think intuitively, most of us know what's good for us and what's bad for us, right? So as you can see in this picture, I really try to advocate as much of a whole food diet as possible. So that means eating lots of fruits, lots of vegetables, lentils, beans, nuts, seeds, and clean proteins. And that should really be the foundation of your diet. So as soon as you start delving into packaged food, that's when you have to read the ingredients, right? Whereas if you were to just eat an apple, the ingredient is apple, right? So really try to eat as whole food as possible. And when it comes to food and eating, we don't just want to focus on what we eat, but we also want to focus on how we eat, and we want to focus on eating more mindfully. So, you know, I'm guilty of this too. There's times when I'll eat my meal in front of my computer or, you know, in front of the tv, and so try as much as you can to eat more mindfully and be more present when you eat and really slow down when you eat and chew more. For me, personally, I'm a fast eater, so I really have to remind myself to chew more, take more time to eat, you know, slow it down, be more present. And it's also a great time for us to express gratitude and be grateful for the food in Front of us, who prepared it, who grew it, right? So giving thanks for all of the people that were involved in bringing that food to our table. And so that brings me to my next point here, which is gratitude. So take a moment to express gratitude and perhaps write a few things down that you're grateful for each day. You know, when you put pen to paper, it's so much more powerful. And you know, another great practice is before you start off your family dinner in the evening, have each person say one to two things that they're grateful for. And the reason why gratitude is so important is because it really wires our brain for happiness and it really helps us to look for the positive in every situation, right? So there's so many things, especially, you know, with everything going on in the world right now that we can complain about and be upset about. But when we look around us and when we think about all of the things that we've been blessed with, there's so many more things that we can be grateful for than we can complain about. So just take some time to have a moment of gratitude every day because it really can be such a huge game changer when it comes to your mood and your outlook and your overall happiness. So number 12 here is move your body. So each day, whatever it is, try to move your body, whether it's walking, dancing. I know a lot of people with being in lockdowns have had little dance parties with their family and with their kids. Try to engage in some kind of physical activity. Meet yourself where you're at, right? So if you can't do a lot of physical activity because of some sort of limitation, meet yourself where you're at, right? And it doesn't have to be something, something super strenuous or, you know, an hour workout or anything, just something, right? Because movement is food for the brain. It not only improves our physical well being, but it drastically improves our mental well being. So for me personally, I really enjoy doing yoga. Even if it's 15 minutes, I'll try to get that in at least three or four times a week. And then the other days I'll try to walk, right? So have some sort of schedule or routine with the movement in your life. Especially now with, you know, a lot of places, gyms are closed, we have to get creative and we have to think of other ways that we can incorporate movement into our day. Number 13 is supplements. So I don't really advocate for taking too many supplements, but you know, unfortunately our soils are quite dependent, depleted, and it's almost impossible to get certain nutrients in our diet on a daily basis through food alone. So for me personally and, you know, for each person, it's going to be different. I live here in Canada where, you know, vitamin D drastically can decrease in the wintertime for many people because, you know, we just don't get enough sun exposure and don't get it outside as much. So I personally take vitamin D. I take a magnesium supplement, I take vitamin C, I take a multivitamin, I take some amino acids, and then I also incorporate medicinal mushrooms into my daily routine as well. So those are some things that I do personally. So, you know, work with someone, find out what a good supplement regimen would be for you based on your needs. Okay. Number 14 is plants. So I love plants. I don't know who else is with me here who loves plants and I know there's many plant lovers out there. So surround yourself and your home environment with plants. Houseplants have many benefits. They can elevate our mood, they clean our air, they can lower stress and anxiety. These are just some of the benefits. And with us spending so much more time at home and having home offices, you know, really make sure you prioritize your home environment and declutter your home. Get rid of things that no longer serve you. Surround yourself with plants, right, because they bring a lot of joy. And some plants that are pretty easy to take care of are snake plants, succulents, money tree. These are all, you know, pretty low maintenance plants. For me personally, when I first started getting into plants, I tended to over water them too much and that would obviously end up killing them. So, you know, the key when it comes to plants, what I've learned personally is that it's best to not underwater them, but just water them maybe once a week. And, you know, really stick your finger in the soil. If it's dry, that means it needs water. If it's still moist, you know you want to delay your watering. So I love plants and I always recommend them for people to improve their home environments and their mood as well. Number 15 is follow your passion. So you know, it's never too late to start a new hobby or to start a little side business or a new podcast, whatever that is, whatever it is for you, make some time to follow your passion, follow your hobbies, right? A lot of times as we become adults and get busy doing our day to day, we forget about our hobbies. So think back to what you used to like to do as a child. Did you like to color? Did you like to go on bike? Rides. Did you like to swim? What was it that you like to do as a child? Right. And that can sometimes spark, you know, some interest in what your passion is. And if you've kind of been putting off a project that you want to get started or a business that you want to get started, it's never too late, now's the time. So follow your passion. Number 16 is take care of the earth. And so for me personally, I've really been trying to be more mindful of the long term impact of my purchases, right? So if I buy some sort of cheap gadget from the dollar store and it's not that great quality, then that ultimately is going to end up in a landfill if it ends up breaking a couple of days or weeks. So be mindful of your purchases. Is it something that's going to last? Is it something that you can passed down to someone else? And really the first thing that we should always think about when it comes to taking care of our earth is reduce, right? Reducing our consumption. And then after that is reusing, right. If we do buy something, then can it be reused? Can it be passed down? Can it be transferred to someone else once you're done with it? And then another important thing that we do is we compost. So here where we live, we are fortunate that every week we have with our garbage pickup. So one week is garbage, one week is recycling. But every week there's compost pickup. So all of our food waste goes in the compost and that's drastically reduced our, you know, our garbage and our waste. Right. Because we're able to compost. So another thing is be mindful who you purchase from and support small business whenever you can. Right? And then also when it comes to taking care of the earth is, you know, for. And maybe this should go back to plants. But having a home garden, right. Whether, you know, in the wintertime, I know it's hard, but you can even grow some herbs indoor, right? And in the summertime you can grow some basic plants like cucumbers and peppers and tomatoes, and that can really help with reducing, you know, our environmental footprint when it comes to, you know, if we think about all the foods that have to be imported into the grocery store and all the steps that have to take place to get food to our table, right? So we can grow our own food and that can be very environmentally friendly as well. Okay. The next one here is limit social media and news. So I feel like this has been a huge one for me personally. I've really been trying to limit My social media news intake to no more than 15 to 20 minutes a day. I actually don't watch the news at all. Once in a while I'll catch a little news clip here and there on YouTube. But I find that most of what we watch on the news and even on social media these days is very fear driven. And it's probably going to make you feel sad and depressed at the end of it all. And the reason why I have this picture of this little boy here is because you can see it with kids, right, when they watch tv, they just completely get entranced in the TV and you can call their name, you know, one time, two times, three times, and they just completely tune you out because they've been so entranced by the TVs. So it's called TV programming for a reason, because it does literally program you to think a certain way and act a certain way and you know, really be fear driven. So really make sure that you limit your news consumption and your social media consumption. You know, maybe you can catch the highlights because it has really been shown to increase anxiety and depression. Especially right now with everything going on in the world. You know, there's hardly anything positive going on in the news. So, you know, we want to focus on limiting that so that we can focus on the positive things that are going in our, on in our life and news. Watching TV can also put you into a state of consumption, right? So we're consuming the news, we're consuming the TV program, whatever's coming on. And that hand in hand makes us naturally want to consume food, right? So a lot of nighttime snacking is a result of watching TV at night because it puts us into that state of consumption. So really try to limit your social media and news. I personally have deleted Instagram off of my phone because I just felt that it was just putting me into a bad mood at the end of it all. And you know, just, I just didn't want to go down the rabbit hole. So I've personally been deleted it off of my phone. The next one here is spend time with loved ones, right? So be more present with loved ones. And I feel like right now it's so important, you know, especially with some of our loved ones who may be living alone or you know, feeling quite isolated. Tell them how much you love them, tell them how much you appreciate them, right? Give people a phone call. Even though, you know, we're kind of in this state where we're kind of being told to socially distance, it doesn't mean that you can't pick up the phone and call them or that you can't, you know, you can't zoom call, right? The technology is there, so use it and connect with your loved ones and spend time with them even if, if you can't in person and you know, in the evening. What we've been doing lately is we've been playing a lot of games, right? So we've gotten some games that we really like to play. Some of them there are Rummy Cube, we play Monopoly Deal or Exploding Kittens. These are some of the games that we personally play. And it's a great way to be present with your family members and spend time with them as well. And number 19 is keep your life simple. And I think the, the past year just really forced us to simplify our lives and not be so over scheduled. I think we were all a little bit too over scheduled and we've really been forced to simplify and it just, you know, I feel like simplicity is just so key even when it comes to your health. Focus on the basics, right? Focus on the sleep, eating whole foods, focus on reducing your stress, focus on getting out for walks. All of these things are really simple things that we can do on a daily basis to improve our well being. So really keep your life simple. Number 20 is compassion. So we're all on our own journey, right? We all have different beliefs and upbringings and I feel like if we all thought the same way or had the same beliefs, our world would be pretty boring. So have compassion for others. Especially right now. You know, you see it so much on social media is people just shaming others and judging others and we really don't know what people's stories are and what their background is. So try to have a little bit more compassion for other people and really think about the fact that everyone has their own self story, right? We really never know the full story. So it's easy for us to pass judgments, but we really don't know the full story. So really try to have more compassion. And last but not least is accountability. And I feel like this is such a key one when it comes to showing yourself more self. Love is really having accountability. And it could be a friend, it could be a loved one, it could be a health coach. But you know, sometimes we know, or most of the time we know what we need to do, we know we need to eat better, we know we need to sleep more, we know we need to really take care of our health. But if we don't have an accountability partner or a coach, then it's really hard for us to make these upgrades or changes. So I find that this is the key to health is having that accountability, partner and coach. Once again. We all know what to do, but if we don't have someone to be accountable to, we're human and we'll most likely talk ourselves out of it. So this here is just a little post from our our group and it's a client that I worked with and she basically said that she's so proud of myself for finally following through with a program and doing something positive for myself. I found it easy to follow. I needed to be accountable to someone, which was Deepa and all of you, the group. Although I may have been silent, all your posts were an inspiration to me. Thank you. I still have to work on my heart math. So yeah, so she she's just expressing her gratitude for the fact that the accountability helped her to actually commit and follow through with her health goals. So Those are my 21 ways to love yourself to life. I hope you take away at least one or two of those and implement them immediately. You know, if you ever have any questions, you can always reach out to me. Thank you. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for listening. I love each and every one of you and I wish all of you an amazing day and year ahead. Bye for now.
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