2020, the new decade is upon us and it is a great time to form healthy habits! It is usually at this time that many people create goals and intentions for the new year, most often in the form of new year resolutions. If you are looking for some inspiration and direction for the new year, but you are not sure of what form, here are 5 super healthy habits that you can cultivate for 2020.
5 Super Healthy Habits for 2020
1. Get Moving
How can there be healthy habits without including exercise? Apart from the obvious physical benefits of regular exercise, keeping in shape and getting fit. Exercise is also a fabulous exercise for your mental body. By moving and getting your heart rate up, this has been known to release certain hormones in the brain such as dopamine and serotonin.
These are the happy hormones, equivalent to the feeling that some people experience eating chocolate but without the heavy fat side effects. From moving and carrying out exercise, this also improves focus, concentration and self-confidence. A perfect habit to create to begin the new year!
How Often: If you are currently out of shape, then start small and slowly build up! If you have to start by working out once a week, then that’s once more than you were going to! After a few weeks and judging by your physical development, gradually increase these to 2 times a week. The goal of exercise for its benefits is to reach 3-4 sessions per week. Each session lasting 30 minutes.
What Exercise? If you are not much of a gym person, there are so many (free) alternatives, such as; power walking, jogging, biking, aerobics, yoga, sports etc. Take advantage of YouTube, find yourself a guided fitness session and follow along from home!
2. Juicing
I have recently gotten into juicing and I have been juicing at least 5 times per week for the last 2 months and all I can say is; get into juicing
The idea behind juicing is that it takes all of the goodness, vitamins and minerals out of whatever you are juicing; vegetables, fruit etc. As the juice is liquid form, this gives your digestive system a rest and your bloodstream receives an instant hit of healthy goodness! The result? I like to think of them as a complete super health shot, as juicing gives you lots of energy, perfect for those slow dark mornings. It is also a brilliant way of getting lots of goodness from vegetables/ fruit into your system in one serving. Did I mention that juicing is also brilliant for weight loss?
Here are some of my favourite juice recipes:
Liquid Sunshine: 1x apple, 1x orange, 2x carrots, 1/2 tsp ginger – Immunity booster, found from Fablunch
Go Green: 1/2 cucumber 1x green apple 2x celery stalks 1/2 lemon juice 1/2 tsp ginger 3x cups kale
Simply pop everything into your juicer and enjoy.
Not got a juicer? I started by peeling and cutting up the ingredients, blending them together and then sieving into a glass. This method is a little longer than a juicer but works just as well!
3. Meditate
“Mindfulness means paying attention in a particular way, on purpose, in the present moment and non-judgmentally.” – John Kabat Zinn
Incorporating some mindfulness and meditation into your day is a wonderful healthy habit to develop for 2020.
Meditation, for those who do not know, is the practice of being in the moment, of allowing your mind to experience a moment of peace and accepting any thoughts that arise with compassion and non-judgmentally.
If you have a busy lifestyle, then meditation will work wonders. If you don’t, meditation will still work wonders!
There are so many positive benefits of meditation, here are a few examples:
Physically: Lowers blood pressure, relaxes body/ muscles, enhances energy & strength, helps headaches & migraines…
Mentally: Helps with focus and concentration, increases creativity, improves learning and memory, develops emotional stability & intelligence…
Spiritually: Develops perspective, increases compassion, sense of purpose, develops wisdom, brings body mind and spirit into harmony.
How Often to Meditate?
If you are new to meditation, as with exercise, start small and slowly increase your practice.
You can even start with 1 minute of meditation, after a few sessions you can increase this to 5 minutes, 10 minutes, 15 minutes etc.
Aspire to reach a minimum of 15 minutes of meditation practice. Ideally every day but if this is daunting, aim to reach 3-4 sessions per week for added benefits!
How to Meditate?
Find a quiet environment where you will not be disturbed.
Get comfortable either sitting down or lying down. If you are sitting, you want to be sitting in a relaxed but alert manner, as though a string is attached to your head pulling you upwards, but your shoulders relaxed.
Focus on your breathing to help with the discipline of clearing your mind. Count your breaths, breathing in for 4 seconds, gently hold your breath for 4 seconds and then slowly release the breath fully through your mouth. Take a moment of calm and then repeat the process.
If any thoughts arise, simply acknowledge them, accept them and allow them to pass returning your attention to your breath.
This is a very basic but effective meditation practice that you can repeat. If you would like to try other techniques or types of meditation, there are lots of useful tips and guided meditations on YouTube.
4. Goal Setting
Setting goals is a valuable habit to develop. I recommend having two types of goals: short term and long term.
Short term: This can really help to develop your organisation, clear your mind by removing those thoughts of things you need to so, which makes room for more creative new thoughts. Having a short-term goal list can help you to prioritise those goals that you want to work towards achieving sooner, and a target date helps to give you motivation.
Long-term: There are no rules here, long-term can mean 1 year, 3 years, 5 or even 10 years. A long-term goal list can help you to see the bigger picture, what you are initially working towards, your long-term aspirations and targets. It can very easy to simply plod on with life if we do not give ourselves goals, targets and purpose.
You could even develop your goal setting as;
The long-term goal is what you want to achieve e.g. create a business, be able to run a marathon etc.
Your short-term goals are what you are going to carry out, to be able to get closer to achieving that long-term goal, e.g. create a business plan, enrol on a course, start exercising 3 times per week etc.
5. Gratitude
Gratitude is a very powerful habit to develop and will serve you well for the new year.
Gratitude can be for many aspects such as; gratitude for people in your life, for the air you breathe, the food you eat…
What most people ignore is the power of gratitude on a personal level. Acknowledge the qualities about yourself that you are grateful for such as; your strength, your memory, your intelligence, your health, your determination etc.
By simply giving thanks for all the blessings both within your life and your self, you can truly transform into a higher level of health, happiness and success.
I hope you have enjoyed this article. Which healthy habit are you going to try?
Wishing you the best of health and abundance for the new year of 2020! 🙂
Emily x
