Since ancient times, people have strived for longevity – to live a long and healthy life. Do you have a plan? Do you have tools or principles that you practice to optimize your health? How are they working for you? Can you evaluate your lifestyle in detail so you can make the best choices possible to promote health and longevity?

Personal health can differ naturally based on genetics and lifestyle. Each person has their unique benefits and challenges. Genetics can be hard to change but regulating your lifestyle is the area we can all focus on to optimize health.

If I told you there are time-tested ways to balance your lifestyle for greater health wouldn’t you want to know about them? If you were shown a path that you could take towards optimizing your health wouldn’t you take it? Feeling your best allows you to more fully participate in life and be more present for those you care about most. If you agree, health is your most important asset, would it be worth learning practical methods to cultivate and nurture your health to its fullest potential?

There is a lot of information on general health tips for the average person. The principles of natural healing I would like to share offers a higher level of awareness and prevention for each individual’s specific health needs. This is not about perfection but just more specific practices in awareness and prevention for your individual health needs.

Awareness is the first step. Observing your daily lifestyle, knowing your weaknesses and strengthens, knowing your limits, knowing what you can and can’t change and understanding factors that can strengthen or weaken your health over time are practices in awareness and self-care that you can develop. Learning time-tested principles to help you develop a deep sense of awareness and understanding can put YOU in charge of your health.

Prevention is the second step. It’s better to be proactive instead of reactionary. Putting practices of prevention into action is a proactive measure that can keep you on a better path towards greater health. Here’s a known truth – an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.

Instead of the reactive attitude of “not fixing it until it breaks” how about a proactive effort of prevention before it happens? Knowing there’s a drug store around the corner or a doctor down the street, I believe, gives us a false sense of security.

Taking actions in prevention is not only being responsible but it offers the best plan for a long and healthy life.

Adults teaching their children awareness and best practices in prevention can extend the health benefits from one generation to the next. Here’s another known truth I will paraphrase – give a fish and eat for a day, teach how to fish and eat for a lifetime.

Teaching children about awareness and prevention can set them up for a lifetime of success when it comes to making better lifestyle choices to optimize their individual health needs. Greater health embodied in the essence inherited by children from healthy parents can be realized when parents make better lifestyle choices through awareness and prevention.

The modern lifestyle filled with modern conveniences weakens our natural abilities to thrive and adapt. Eating ready-made, processed, prepared foods instead of preparing them yourself is an example of modern convenience that can weaken health. Sugar in ancient times was rare to find. Much effort and many calories were burned to hunt down sugar. Today we just drive up to the Dunkin Donuts window and order – easy peasy!

Exercise is a modern necessity to strengthen a body that is weakened by easy living such as less walking or less physical activity. Patience is a virtue and almost extinct with the modern focus on instant gratification. Learning to be patient is helpful, healthy and crosses into the realm of higher thinking, contemplation and spirituality.

Traditional practices of meditation or the slow movements of Tai Chi have benefits beyond the obvious and can be very supportive. Developing practices in awareness and prevention beyond the obvious can improve your efforts towards greater health.

Relying on government and corporations to supply us with healthy choices has proven to be flawed over the years. How many times have you heard scientific advice changed on which part of the egg is healthy? The FDA finally ruled recently that trans-fat are bad and they’re giving food makers two more years before they are mandated to remove all trans-fats from their products. Does that make you feel like they are looking out for you? Just when you think all is well in the kingdom, look out! Because now I’m wondering what toxic junk they will use to replace trans-fats?

When it comes to food my advice is to commit to educating yourself on this most important and necessary resource to ensure optimal health.

The higher principles of awareness and prevention I’m expressing in this article are not sourced from conventional medical practices or modern pseudo-science. I want to convey the time-tested, natural principles of Traditional Chinese Medicine and the healing arts of Acupuncture, Tai Chi and Chi Kung. You don’t have to be an acupuncturist or a Tai Chi master to practices these principles. You just need to be aware of these natural principles and put them into practice for yourself. Natural principles have a truth that is effective and just makes good sense. Put your mind to learning them and see for yourself.

I will be posting a collection of articles over the coming weeks called – “Diagnose Yourself Naturally”. Look for articles on longevity, awareness and prevention and share with your friends and family. There are all-natural solutions to help you be the best you can be in health and spirit.

Defining terms of Self-Cultivation:

Self-Cultivation: Identifying your unique gifts and purpose. Taking personal responsibility. Being proactive in matters that support your health and well-being. Pursuing higher thinking and spiritual growth. Outwardly vibrating a natural, infectious and positive Qi.

Cultivating Awareness: developing a deeper sense of yourself and your surroundings.

Longevity: an ideal goal of living a long and healthy life .

Qi: vital life force, energy, providing flow and function.