RESILIENCE....A SUPERPOWER

We all know that person….one who is able to recover quickly from setbacks or difficult circumstances; who seems to be ironclad; who very well could be part superhero—and always seems to come out STRONGER after enduring a tough time.

Maybe that person is you. Maybe you’ve developed some key skills or habits that allow you to face a storm, endure its’ wrath, and then rebuild with strength and grace. Truth is: we each have “stress bucket,” so to speak. How quickly that bucket gets filled and how much that bucket can hold is different for everybody. The goal is to keep the contents in the bucket from spilling over and making a big ‘ole mess. How do we do this? Become more resilient.

Resiliency, in the world of wellness, is one of the most powerful indicators of health. If we train, nourish, and care for our bodies with the goal of becoming resilient, everything else sort of falls into place. I read a great quote once that said, “Make your body hard to kill.” Pretty straightforward, huh? A resilient body can: 

• recover faster from an injury

• heal more quickly from an illness (or not succumb to an illness)

• effortlessly burn stored body fat as fuel

• handle a string of sleepless nights without excessive damage

• consciously indulge at a party and not feel wrecked the next day

• age at a slower pace, or age in reverse

• face periodic external insults (stressors, toxins) and not suffer excessive damage

• avoid chronic illnesses

• maintain a positive outlook in the midst of hardship

• use creativity to find solutions to problems

• maintain a sense of humor despite life’s circumstances

Being resilient means that when you get knocked down, you get back up, which earns you the right to walk through life like a superhero….”RW”….”RESILIENT WOMAN!” Who wouldn’t want that title??

So, how do we get there? What do we need to do to forge that impenetrable armor? There are a number of things, and today, we’re going to focus on 3….and helpful bonus: they all begin with the letter ‘R.”

REMOVE

Start by immediately removing from your diet offending foods like anything highly processed & packaged, overly greasy, or super sweet.  Some of the most common dietary offenders are: wheat, corn, dairy, refined sugar, soy, and alcohol. You can test your sensitivity to these foods by removing them for 2 weeks, then rotating them back into your diet one by one, and observing how your body reacts. 

Food isn’t the only factor to consider. Almost everything we come into contact with on this planet has the potential steal our resiliency. Look at the products you use daily and begin to make adjustments…skin, beauty & hair products, household cleaners, and chemicals sprayed on your lawn or garden all contribute to your toxic overload, which weakens your body. An excellent resource for finding alternative household and beauty products is http://www.EWG.org.  

While you’re in the removal process, consider removing certain commitments or activities that are causing your “stress bucket” to overflow. You don’t have to say “yes” to everything. There’s power in “no.” Annnddd….don’t forget those toxic people and relationships that are also destroying your health….yup, I just said that….because it’s true. People can be toxic, too. You gotta protect you. 

REPLENISH 

Here is where we take the body from a state of deficiency to a state of sufficiency. Focus on consuming LOADS of deeply pigmented organic vegetables (9 cups daily), fruit in moderation, clean & grass-fed animal proteins, wild-caught fatty fish, nuts, seeds, and fresh herbs and spices are the ultimate medicine.

Getting consistent quality sleep is a non-negotiable for a resilient body, so if you are deficient in this area, it’s time to rework your sleep habits. Start by committing to a regular bed time each night and then removing all screens/devices from your bedroom. I help my clients hack their sleep hygiene because our sleeping hours are our healing/detoxifying hours. Gotta get those zzz’s.

Addressing digestion is part of replenishing, too. When our bodies are stressed and deficient in nutrients, they are also likely deficient in stomach acid and digestive enzymes, too. Both of these are needed for proper breakdown and absorption of nutrients. If you suffer from gas or bloating after a meal, if you burp a lot, or see undigested bits of food in your stool, you might need more stomach acid and/or digestive enzymes. Try drinking 1 tbsp. of apple cider vinegar in a bit of water right before a meal to increase stomach acid, and add fermented foods like krauts and kimchee to your meal for enzymatic support.  

RECOVER

A resilient body maintains a storehouse of nutrients and energy to pull from—like an emergency stash, so to speak….but in order to have such reserves, a resilient body must rest and recover well. Instead of using every bit of free time to “get more done,” or “crush that to-do list,” use downtime to help your body recover from life. What if you took a 10 minute break every 2 hours? Radical, huh? Try it! Movement and exercise are part of a healthy lifestyle, but so is recovery. Getting a massage, taking a nap, sitting in a sauna, basking in the sun, meditating, and nurturing your spirituality are all highly restorative and allow the body to better recover from stress….which builds that storehouse of resiliency. 

Incorporate these 3 key areas of wellness into your life and you will begin to nurture your body now….and build reserves for later. This is the essence of resilience. 

In Good Health,

Lori Z.