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The importance of a holistic lifestyle

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

What does health mean to you? Most of us would say the absence of illness. However, the meaning of health is much more profound than that.

Health is the balance of our holistic wellbeing, our body-mind-soul connection. There are many aspects that we need to pay attention to in our lives in order to be healthy, not only physically but also emotionally and mentally.

Nowadays, science (specifically the branch of epigenetics) has proven that genetic predisposition affects only up to 25% of a person’s health. This means that external influences, i.e. lifestyle and living conditions, are responsible for the remaining 75%! That includes everything from diet, lifestyle, exercise, daily habits, psychological state, mentality, personal beliefs, interpersonal relationships and so on. Therefore, the conditions we live in and the choices we make every day in our lives are responsible for the quality of our health!

Of course life has its ups and downs and the circumstances are never ideal. There will always be problems and disappointments but the most important is how we deal with them, how we maneuver through the current conditions and how we utilize whatever tools we have. This is why it is important to live a holistic lifestyle, to take equal care of every aspect of our well-being in order to find our center and balance on a daily basis.

The ultimate goal is to maintain a healthy body-mind-soul balance. In Asia, people often (sometimes weekly or even daily) go to holistic health centers to maintain their wellbeing and health. Surprisingly, if they get sick, they consider that the therapist or the respective doctor was not good since they failed to prevent the disease or illness!

Good health is a journey, not a destination. We must be happy and grateful every moment, every day. We need to focus on the positive things and find solutions to the negatives ones using whatever we have available.

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The importance of spring cleaning as a holistic health practice

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

Every year, the natural phenomena of the Spring Equinox falls on either the 20th or 21st of March (depending on the year and time zone) where both day and night are of equal length. Many ancient traditions, such as Persian Zoroastrian, Shamanic and Druid/Celtic Pagan, acknowledge its importance and align themselves with nature by marking it not only as the beginning of spring but also of the beginning of the new year. The Spring Equinox has been celebrated since ancient times as it symbolises awakening, renewal, resurrection, fertility, abundance, balance, equality and new beginnings. This symbolism refers not only to material matters but also to spiritual terms, for example both nature’s awakening and a human consciousness awakening.

In Asia, the ancient traditions of Ayurveda and Chinese medicine suggest more specific practices for overall wellbeing and inner balance. According to Ayurveda, the ancient tradition of holistic lifestyle, hydration is very important for detoxifying and stimulating the lymphatic system both with water and with different herbal teas. Also, a great emphasis is placed on the practice of meditation and breathing exercises in order to clear the mind and the body’s energy system. According to Chinese medicine, detoxification also means releasing negative emotions that have been stored inside our body and they block the natural flow of Chi, the life-force energy. Thus herbal medicinal teas, massage and acupuncture are important as well as eating seasonal food.

What can we do in our daily life to aid the Spring Clearance?

Cleaning

The most known practice is the physical cleaning and tidying of our house . This clearance helps to get rid of unwanted things thus making space for new things and abundance to come, a concept very familiar to the Chinese philosophy of Feng Shui.

Creating

A more artistic practice that combines both creativity, mental stimulation and emotional healing is getting involved in DIY crafts for decorating the house. Gardening is also recommended as it is both creative and it helps reconnect with the awakening of nature.

Detoxification

On a spiritual and energetic level and in line with the general concept of “getting rid of the old, making space for the new”, cleansing and detoxing our body-mind-soul is of major importance. Several healing practices are recommended such as: salt baths, meditation, yoga, detox diet, herbal teas, walking barefoot on Earth (Earthing/Grounding).

Nature

Spend time in nature to reconnect and rebalance ourselves by walking (ideally Earthing, if weather and circumstances permit it), having a pic nic or just enjoying some peaceful time.

Sunlight

Expose to sunlight in order to rebalance our hormones and emotions and stimulate our lymphatic system for maximum detoxification.

Celebrating

Just put your favourite music, sing or dance and enjoy the present moment!

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The connection between life-long learning attitude and holistic wellbeing

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

Have you ever met older people that are active, enthusiastic and look much younger than their age? On the contrary, have you met younger people with a fixed mindset that seem older than their age? Ever wondered why?

According to science, when you keep your brain active and stimulated with new knowledge, you are helping it build new cells and rejuvenate old ones; you are literally keeping it young and healthy by challenging it into new learning experiences. Neuroplasticity (aka brain plasticity) is the scientific term that refers to this ability of the brain to modify and adapt in response to changes in the environment. When we enrich our brain with new information, we create new connections between its neurons and effectively enhance its cells. New information can be anything from sensory, emotional, movement oriented, intellectual. Learning enhances your memory, increases the power of neural circuits and can even form new brain cells. On the contrary however, when you stop learning and simply compromise to a life of habitual survival, that will cause areas of your brain to start shrinking. This happens because, when the brain detects which neural connections are not used frequently, shuts them down to avoid wasting energy on them, while it will divert all energy to maintaining and reinforcing only connections that are actively used. So if you don’t use it, you will literally lose it!

The human brain is a dynamic, intelligent and adaptive organ with power to rebuild and adapt. Thoughts and emotions are either negative or positive energy within us which can either create either blockages and restrictions or bridges and platforms. The choice is ours and neuroplasticity enables us to adapt, respond and evolve our brains to the changes around us. Do you want to form millions of new connections that will lead you to a new enhanced better version of yourself? Then refresh your experiences, keep moving, keep learning, keep changing, keep adapting to new environment and, generally, commit to life-long learning! This powerful self care attitude will keep you healthy not only physically but also mentally and emotionally!

You are literally rewriting and rewiring your brain every single day! Think purposefully, move purposefully, live purposefully!

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How to keep your energy levels high and your immune system strong

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

As Nikola Tesla said, “everything in the universe is energy and vibration”. And those who are practicing energy healing, holistic therapies, yoga, meditation, dance and martial arts, have experienced it first hand.

All the above practices help us keep our energy levels and vibes high by unblocking our energy centres (chakras), releasing negative emotions and rebalancing our electromagnetic system (aura). Apart from these powerful healing practices, there are of course other ways that we can also keep our energy and vibes high. Anything positive really that raises our mood, it raises our energy levels and our system vibrates higher. And why is this so important? Because at this state, our immune system is very strong and can fight off both physical and mental illnesses. There has been cases of people healing themselves from terminal illnesses such as cancer because they made the conscious decision to keep their mood and energy high. Therefore they manifested health, they boosted their system to heal itself and get back to harmony.

On the contrary, having a low and negative mood, will lower the energy and vibes and can generally cause the immune system to lower and become susceptible to illnesses. On the long term, when a person tends to be negative, angry or toxic, this can even lead to serious illness such as autoimmune diseases, multiple sclerosis or even cancer. Fear, anger and stress are literally lethal for our lives and this is unfortunately what is happening with all the negative news we are being bombarded with. Being in a constant state of fear, terror, uncertainty and anxiety will break us down little by little. 

Taking action is vital and a personal responsibility. Just know that you are not alone and that you have the power inside you! The human body and mind are sacred and amazing systems that have the potential to do great. And when we unite in positive ways, we amplify our energy and power!

Tips and practices to keep your energy and vibes high:

  • Practice gratitude
  • Practice positive thinking and having a positive mindset
  • Practice positive affirmations
  • Exercise
  • Spend time in nature
  • Spend time with pets and animals
  • Connect with others in a positive way
  • Read books 
  • Watch positive news, videos
  • Listen to your favourite uplifting music
  • Dance
  • Receive energy healing and holistic therapies
  • Practice yoga
  • Meditate
  • Practice martial arts

Please note: if you suspect or know you have mental health issues, please seek professional help and you can choose a professional therapist that suits you and a therapy that you feel is working for you! There is no shame in asking for help.


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How to manifest new years resolutions into reality with effective results

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

At the beginning of every year, most people are enthusiastic and setting their intentions with a list of new years resolutions, most common ones being related to fitness and diet. But somehow, this enthusiasm fades away and the resolutions are abandoned by mid-February. Why is this happening and how can we change it to achieve our goals and get the results we are dreaming of?

The quick answer to this is that we need to make the necessary changes in our lives. Although the first step is to write down our resolutions, this doesn’t mean our goals will automatically manifest into reality if we don’t work towards them. Real change starts from within and self-responsibility is essential. In brief, we need to change our mindset, our habits, and be consistent with our efforts and work towards our goals. Changing our mindset is number one on the list of success. The real catalyst to making effective changes in life is acquiring a growth mindset as opposed to the limited mindset that keep us in a circle of procrastination and self-pity. Once we acquire this, we have a powerful tool to achieve anything we put our mind into.

Growth mindset vs limited mindset

Growth mindset looks like this:

  • Learning new skills and acquiring new knowledge.
  • I can achieve anything I want.
  • There are no failures, only learning experiences.
  • When one way is not working, find another way.
  • Difficulties are catalysts that challenge us to help us grow.
  • Giving up is not an option, reset, pivot and keep trying is the only option.
  • Feedback is constructive and helps me grow and improve.
  • A positive attitude and constant effort determine the result.

The opposite of this is the limited mindset which is based on limiting beliefs, having a victim-mentality and blaming external factors for our failures. It basically looks like this:

  • I don’t have time or want to learn new skills, I want fast and effortless results.
  • I can either be excellent in something or not good at all.
  • My abilities are predetermined by my genes, my age, my race, my size, my education.
  • Failure proves to me that I am not good at something and I should give up.
  • Feedback is criticism and feels uncomfortable.
  • I don’t like getting out of my comfort zone.

How to acquire a growth mindset

Acquiring a growth mindset is a totally new skill on its own and it can be applied to anything you want to achieve. The first step to having a growth mindset is to have the will and enthusiasm to change. And afterwards working with different techniques such as:

  • visualisation,
  • positive affirmations,
  • reading positive news/information,
  • following motivational speakers or social media pages,
  • being surrounded by positive and encouraging people.

However, for more integrated and long-lasting results, having a life coach is essential to guide you to make the changes you desire. Life coaching can help one discover their inner power and inspire them to new ways of attracting the life they want.

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9 good habits for dealing with stress

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

We are going through a challenging period that forces us to face unpredictable situations beyond our control. It is normal to be stressed and anxious. However, there are many things that we can control and, if we focus on them, we can lift our mood and energy levels. So be careful to stick to the good ones that lift your mood! It is in your hand, you can do it!

First of all, let’s explore some common bad habits that deplete our energy levels and drop our mood. We have all done them and it is very tempting to keep doing them:

  • Overthinking and constant worrying: they take us nowhere while they deprive us of peace and joy from the present moment.
  • Inconsistent sleeping patterns: they cause imbalance to our nervous system which can lead to depression.
  • Eating junk and processed food: we may temporarily think that they relieve us of stress (comfort food) but all the toxins they they contain are actually increasing it.
  • Frequent/excess consumption of alcohol or substances: although we temporarily feel better, once their effect wears off we feel even worse. Furthermore, their harmful toxins deplete our body at all levels.
  • Negative people: they drain our energy and drop our mood.
  • Watching negative news: they bring us despair and anxiety.
  • Social media: their excessive use absorbs us and we end up wasting a lot of time. Furthermore, many times we are tempted to read negative posts or even get involved in debates and arguments with people we don’t even know.

The first step is to acknowledge the bad habits, realise that we fall for them and break the cycle. The second step is to replace them with good ones. Here is a suggested list with good habits that will help you deal with stress as they lift your mood and increase your energy levels:

  • Drink plenty of water!
  • Eat a balanced healthy and nutritious diet!
  • Schedule your bedtime routine: try to go to bed early so you can wake up early.
  • Enjoy time with animals: they give us love and we need it!
  • Spend time in nature: walk in a park, beach, forest, whatever you have available near you. Nature has healing properties; she absorbs our negative energy and fills us with positive!
  • Exercise, dance, yoga: movement generally increases our endorphins, the hormones of happiness!
  • Switch off from everything and listen to your favourite music. Create a space where you won’t be disturbed and dedicate this time to yourself.
  • Connect and communicate with others, especially positive people. Isolation fills us with despair while feeling part of a group/community gives us meaning and motivation.
  • Watch positive news, inspiring podcasts, positive articles, self-help books: feed your mind with positivity!

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The link between emotional stress and pain

Posted on by Fiora Touliatou

Article by Fiora Touliatou

In the universe, everything is energy and vibration. In a previous article, we analysed the healing power of positive words. In today’s blog post, we will talk about the power of emotions.

Whatever we feel is a vibration, an energy that we create. It affects not only our energy system and physical body, but also others around us. We essentially become a source of energy; we emit and vibrate what we feel, think and say. Of course, positive emotions create positive vibrations and strengthen us on all levels. But how do negative emotions affect us?

Whatever negative emotion we have, it creates a negative vibration firstly in our aura (our energy field) and then in our physical body. Having negative emotions is part of life and we all experience it daily. But problems arise when a negative emotion becomes constant due to circumstances or negative thinking. Essentially, this negative energy that vibrates becomes an embodiment and appears as pain or even as a health issue.

Our different energy centers (chakras) and parts of the body are “responsible” or otherwise represent and store different emotions. So let’s see what the different physical pains mean depending on the part of the body that they appear.

  • Headache – when we constantly think about the same problem or do not find solutions to a problem or situation. Also, over-analyzing a problem traps energy in our head and creates an imbalance in our energy field.
  • Neck pain – when we are stubborn and fanatical about our beliefs and behaviours, without accepting other people’s differences, opinions and beliefs.
  • Shoulder pain – responsibilities or emotions that weigh on us. It can either be a pain from the past that we carry in the present or problems of others that we tend to solve and become drained to our disadvantage.
  • Upper back pain (between the shoulder blades) – Lack of emotional support or love from family and our environment.
  • Lower back pain – Lack of financial support. Lack of emotional support from family and close relationships. Also lack of sexual satisfaction.
  • Elbow pain – Difficulty and rigidity in life’s constant changes.
  • Wrist pain – Fear of life’s changes. Inability to take and give to others.
  • Hip pain- Fear and resistance to and move on and go with the glow of life. Fear of the future.

So how do we get rid of these pains and what can we do to prevent them? The solution is to follow a holistic lifestyle. This means following practices that balance our wholeness, the connection of our mind-body-spirit. Some of these practices are:

  • Positive affirmations
  • Meditation
  • Yoga
  • Tai-Chi/Chi Kung
  • Martial arts
  • Dance
  • Holistic therapies such as massage, reflexology, acupuncture and Reiki (energy healing) and crystal healing

If you like to learn more and improve your life and health, you can book for a Holistic Lifestyle Coaching introductory session.

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