The Art of Healthy Living. Denise Kelly

this body type are the lungs, stomach, body fat, and lymphatic system. Heavy and high fat foods, dairy, gluten, red meats, and starchy vegetables are all a no‐no for this type of body. They are best suited to beans, quinoa, spinach, salads, cayenne pepper, ginger, and heating spices. They need positive affirmations daily and good amounts of cardiovascular exercise.

      It’s interesting when you read this information for the first time, because in your head you are now categorizing everyone you know. I would just add that you are not necessarily going to be only one body type – it is very common for you to have a combination of two. For example, I am a classic combination of vata and pitta and have those exact traits if I go out of balance. What helps, though, is that when you understand a little bit more about the differences between us as human beings, it can make you look at people in a different light, with far more love and understanding for what they are and what they need.

      Many of my clients who are fifty‐plus years old seem to have better health than the generation below. I am generalizing here, because of course there are very healthy people in the younger age category too, but from what I have witnessed the oldies are generally cleaner! Internally! My generation and below have been exposed to far more junk and processed foods than ever before. Ready meals in some families can be the norm, as can fizzy drinks and diet foods. The quality of meat is not so good, our fruits and vegetables are laden with pesticides and other chemicals, and sugars are everywhere, in everything.

Alcohol consumption is at an all‐time high among teenagers and some of my clients in the professional and corporate world drink excessively due to the nature and socializing aspect of their jobs. Many of my clients (and friends) are, perhaps without realizing it, functioning alcoholics. Drinking too much alcohol on a daily basis has all sorts of effects on your health. It can increase your chances of developing cancer, cause stomach distress, thin your bones, change your coordination, alter your behaviour, distort your mental clarity, shrink your brain, damage your heart, cause pancreatitis and infertility issues, not to mention creating malnutrition, increasing diabetic complications, and severely battering your poor, very important, liver. If your liver is damaged it can prevent the removal of harmful substances from your body, leading to a backup of excessive toxins, undoubtedly leaving you feeling PANTS!

      Health should be your most prized possession and you should treasure it. Look after it every day. Do not take for granted that it will always be there for you, running in pristine order, because I have seen all too many times how devastating it can be when something goes seriously wrong.

      I have given many talks in corporate settings about health and well‐being. I can always tell from the outset who has been forced by their boss to come to my ‘well‐being day’ and who is happy to be sitting in front of me. I can see the almost childlike look on faces when I start to talk, as they are looking at their watches and thinking ‘I have got so much to do and don’t want to be sat here listening about how to be healthy!’ These people normally have the body language giveaway … they are slumped in their seats, heads down, perhaps biting their nails or fiddling with their hair, looking out of the window. Hand on heart, I actually love seeing these people turn up under the boss’s orders in an attempt to get the whole company interested in how to live healthier lives. To me it’s a challenge. As I talk, slowly but surely I can see something that I have said finally resonate in their brains. Perhaps I have made a connection with a disease that their mother suffered from, or talked about a client who has turned their life around from severe challenges to vibrant health, or spoken about mental health issues and they feel exactly the same, but just haven’t told any of their work colleagues yet. Their body language begins to change. The posture straightens out, their necks elongate like a peacock looking for a mate, they start to make eye contact with me, maybe even raise a little smile, their heads tilt to one side as they wonder how they are going to make a difference in their own lives, and maybe even those of their family. It is the people that looked the least interested at the beginning that are the ones queueing to see me at the end with a list of questions so long I could be there for years giving answers.

When I first started out, I was always very nervous to be in the ‘corporate world’ giving health presentations. Everyone seemed to be so powerful and super‐successful. But strip that back, and client after client revealed to me that it doesn’t matter what you do, how high up in your organization you are, how many promotions you have had or how many bonuses you’ve received. Take your clothes off and stand there naked, remove the title and the flash car and mansion house, and we are all the same. Everyone has their own insecurities (and if you say you don’t you are telling porky pies). Everyone has their life scars, their emotional baggage, their fears, phobias, and health issues. Everyone has wobbly bits, or too‐skinny bits, or more cellulite that they would like. We are fundamentally all the same. It is best for us all to create good health in order to enjoy life to the fullest, and enjoy doing all the things we want to do. So let’s keep it simple and keep it real. We need good food in order to feel amazing, and of course a whole heap of other stuff thrown into the mix.

Maybe you are stuck in a toxic relationship or surround yourself with negative people who suck the life out of you, or you’re with someone who thinks its clever to make you feel utterly worthless, in order to elevate themselves and their own ego. What do you do? You, my friends, need to work on yourself. You need to build your strength up in order to get out of the kitchen (so to speak)! Well, hopefully you are going to be in the kitchen doing a lot more preparations, as you need to get super‐strong in order to create and raise your vibration. You attract exactly what you are putting out there. It’s as simple as that. In order to know how much you are worth, or to change yourself to be a better version of you and get rid of any life‐sucking vampires or change your own negative thought patterns and behaviours, you need to get in control of yourself, your life, and your health … pronto.

      Life is very unpredictable, people come into your life, situations change, challenges occur … so be ready and fully equipped. Whether you have a family or not, the person you need to take the most care of and rely on is yourself. You are far better for all your loved ones if you are in a good physical, mental, and emotional state of being, and the chances are you might be a much nicer person to be around too. Put in the work and the rewards will be magnificent. The stronger and more robust you can make your body, the better you will be in every way. The more vibrant you become, the more you can cope with, so when you are faced with a stressful situation, or a complicated dilemma, or a heart‐wrenching blow to your trust in humanity, you are ready to take it on … head on!

       The glory comes from daring to begin!