12 simple tips towards better health that you can start today.

Dr Bridget 

Interests: Mum's and Kid's Health, Headaches

Do you know how to eat an elephant? One bite at a time. Often, we have big goals for ourselves, but we fail to plan the little changes we need to make to get there. So, we at Ballarat and District Chiropractic Centre are here to help you with the first step. Join our October challenge month by making one small change that could improve your health and committing to it every day for 31 days. Don’t know where to start?
​Here are a couple of ideas.

Changes to your PHYSICAL stress
1. Walk/Run/Exercise every day.
There is so much research out there about the benefits of being active every single day. Take this little push and commit to a small change in your routine to increase the amount of physical activity you do. Do nothing? Go for a walk around the block every evening. Already active? Try something new! Do the new gym class you’ve been meaning to check out, have a go at the pole fitness class (you know you want to try it!)
​2. Posture (pole/ergonomics)
If you haven’t already heard, posture is incredibly important! Not only from a biomechanical standpoint, but also for your emotional wellbeing, posture can affect your stress levels and emotional wind up, as well as causing neck and low back pain if left unchecked. Make sure your desk is set up ergonomically, you are using your smartphone in a posturally correct way (not sure how? Ask us next time you’re in) or commit to using a posture pole for 10 mins every day.
3. Exercises your Chiropractor gave you. 
The adjustment is only a small part of what we do as chiropractors to help our patients. While it is an incredibly powerful tool, and we’re not saying to skip your next adjustment, what you do at work and at home can be incredibly beneficial for your overall health. Make a promise to yourself to do your prescribed exercises every day for the next month and see what changes you notice in how you function!
4. Getting out in nature
As a society we are spending less and less time outdoors. Make a pledge to get outside everyday now that the weather is improving. Even just 10 mins outside in the sun on your lunch break can improve your mood and get you some fresh air. Get into the garden or go for a bushwalk (lovely track can be found here- local http://www.ballarat.vic.gov.au/lae/sports/walking .  Victorian bushwalking - https://bushwalkingvictoria.org.au/frontpage/walks-directory ​

Changes to your CHEMICAL Stress
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​1. Give up the sugar! (or wheat/dairy/soy/corn etc)
The classic response when we ask what people would like to change is to alter their diet. The big changes that people typically make are very hard to sustain in the long term, and it is better to think about these changes as a long term change rather than a fad or quick fix. Small changes are much better for you, and easier to continue. Swap soft drink for water. Swap Cadbury chocolate for homemade (much less sugar!). Add one extra vegetable into each meal.
2. Include bone broths (or probiotics)
Adding bone broths or probiotics are so good for a happy tummy! Lots of people have problems with bloating, gas or upset tummies after eating, try adding in bone broth to your diet every day. The Meadow and Marrow concentrates that we stock can be mixed with hot water and drunk as is or add them to your food instead of stock to get your dose of bone broth!
3. Less plastic
With the ‘War on Waste’ movement, people are becoming more aware of the huge amount of plastic that we use in every day life. While being an enormous environmental problem, chemicals from plastics can also leech into our foods and drinks, with the effect of this on humans not fully understood. Try buying products that are not wrapped in plastic (you’ll cut down on your processed foods in the process), or better yet, bring your own containers and shop at the Ballarat Wholefoods Collective, or The Source Bulk Foods Ballarat.
​4. Try that ‘alternative’ product you’ve always wanted to try but haven’t been brave enough
Decrease the number of chemicals that you put on your skin every day by trying a natural alternative to a product you already use. See Leandra’s Facebook live for some inspiration, or head down to Go Vita Ballarat for a look at some of the body care products available.

Changes to your EMOTIONAL Stress

1. Journaling
Writing down how you are feeling can take a huge weight off your shoulders and can help provide some clarity into complicated situations. When writing in a journal, you can be completely honest with yourself and not have to consider anyone else’s feelings or biases. If it is hard to start, try writing an account of your day, then start adding in how certain situations made you feel, or what you wish you could have said better. Before you know it, there will be a whole page and you’ll feel lighter.
2.Meditation/nostril breathing
Taking time to just stop everything- no planning, talking, housework! It is a lost art to just be able to sit with your thoughts when our phones are always within reach. Put your phone in another room (or turn it off!), sit or lie comfortably, and just concentrate on your breathing. Acknowledge any thoughts that come into your mind, then refocus on your breathing. It will be hard to start with, and you may not last very long, but if you persist you will start to notice the benefits.
3. Self-care – ignore the housework and look after yourself!
That pile of washing can wait! Take a small amount of time each day to do what you want to do, not what you have to do. Whether it is reading a book, catching up on the Batchelor, knitting or crafting, baking, writing, whatever activity grounds you and makes you feel happy or calm.
​4. Gratitude- 30 days of happy!
You probably remember a few years ago everyone was doing those ‘100 days of happy’ on Facebook. You don’t need to make it public if you don’t want to but taking time each day to acknowledge something you said or did that made you happy that day can be very beneficial for your mental and emotional wellbeing. Make sure you record it somewhere though, so you can look back at the end of the month and see everything that made you happy!

You can do anything for 10mins each day. Start changing one small thing every day and see how quickly that small change can become a habit.

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