If this is a philosophy that you believe has legs, then you’re reading the right blog!
I’ve certainly found that there’s a lot of wisdom for us to gain from looking at the Blue Zones. You may have already heard of them, if not – these are the areas in the world where people are living the longest, are the healthiest and they’re the happiest. ¹
Clearly they’re onto something.
There are 3 distinctions that I’ve spotted from the observations of the Blue Zones, which I’ve found personally effective as I’ve been applying them in my life. I’m curious to hear what your experience is or has been in these and any areas you’ve personally found can make a difference in terms of your sense of vitality and health.
The first distinction is about the food that we eat. Ensuring that we pick whole, organic, seasonal foods and especially lots of fresh greens. These have been found to literally be a ‘superfood’. I tend to avoid supermarket greens which have often been bleached and sprayed with a range of chemicals to kill bugs etc.
Whilst we have our own wee veggie garden going, we’re in the process of building new raised veggie beds, and my ultimate goal is to be growing all my own greens – and expanding from there. How about you – do you have green fingers?
The second point is to avoid overeating. Can you relate to sometimes carrying on eating even when your tummy is full? Apparently – and understandably – this is linked to our healthy longevity.
The third key is movement. Seemingly it’s important to be enjoying our body movement, so that we’re avoiding stress.
So it’s about moving in a way that feels good for our bodies, which might be walking, or swimming – whereas for the next person, it’s tennis or getting on the bicycle. Whatever it is that’s actually getting you movin, and if it’s outside and enjoying fresh air – that’s a bonus!
The clincher is finding something that works for you so that you feel good and you’re free of stress, and in fact you’re boosting your feel-good-factor hormones too.
So, talking of the feel-good-factor, I’m looking forward to seeing you on this week’s #ALivewithFi. ‘Til then!, have a great week 🙂
¹It’s fascinating to think that the Blue Zones project began as a National Geographic expedition, lead by Dan Buettner, to uncover the secrets of longevity. And it’s evolved into the discovery of the 5 places around the world where people happily live over 100 years old…
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6125071/
Blue Zones
D.Buettner, BA and S.Skemp, BA (2016)
Fi Jamieson-Folland D.O., I.N.H.C., is The LifeStyle Aligner. She’s an experienced practitioner since 1992 in Europe, Asia and New Zealand as a qualified Osteopath, Integrative Nutrition Health Coach, speaker, educator, writer, certified raw vegan gluten-free chef, and Health Brand Ambassador.
