"Imagine you're a spider with just one leg," Dr. Frank King said to us.
"You put forth immense effort to try to haul yourself around and not only does it wear you out, it's frustrating and you don't get far." King is a chiropractor, doctor specializing in homeopathic remedies, and author of The Healing Revolution.
Dr. King explained that the eight legs of a spider represent Eight Essentials we need for optimum mental, physical and spiritual health: Empowering your human spirit; Water; Nutrition; Fitness; Sleep; Nature; Relationships; and Hands On Techniques (touch).
"It would be overwhelming and self-defeating to look at all eight areas and think, 'I have to make significant changes in every area immediately'" he explained. "You can see immediate results by making a few small changes at a time." Dr. King describes three that are easy to make and will have you feeling better:
• Drink half your body weight in ounces of spring or well water every day. If you weigh 150 pounds, that's 75 ounces of water (about 9 cups).
"Many of us walk around dehydrated without realizing it and that can have a significant effect on our health and how we feel," Dr. King said. Dehydrated bodies trap toxins and encourage water retention. "Our bodies need the steady flow of pure, spring or well water. If you don't like the taste, try mixing up to a teaspoon of sea salt into a quart of water," he says.
A simple test for dehydration: Pinch the skin on the back of your hand and hold for three seconds. When you release, if the ridge from the pinch remains for more than a second, you're probably dehydrated.
• Take a few minutes every day to connect with nature. Nature brings perpetual revitalization and ongoing renewal, especially when experienced through multiple senses. "These are not just pleasant little gifts to experience - we need them for restoration, renewal, revival and rehabilitation," Dr. King told us. "The more disconnected we become from the Earth, the more we inhibit our body's natural ability to heal."
• Take a brisk, 10- to 20-minute walk every day. Walking is the simplest, most natural form of exercise. "Three brisk 10-minute walks a day are as effective at lowering blood pressure as one 30-minute walk," Dr. King explained. "Outdoor walking is preferable to walking on a treadmill or other machine, since the uneven surfaces and changing directions of natural walking will engage more muscles and tendons."
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