Here are my nine points of wellbeing for sustainable wellness.

#1 SLEEP WELL 

Getting quality sleep is one of the best medicines. Practising conscious breathwork and relaxation in an intelligent way will enhance the quality of your sleep. 

In sleep, we go through different brain wave phases. One of these phases is called REM, this is where we dream, where we go into a theta brainwave state. This is where we process emotions and consolidate learning. Poor quality sleep will make it harder to do both of these. 

Then there's deep sleep - here the body heals and rejuvenates, whilst the brain cleans itself of the metabolic wastes of the day's activities. 

We go through at least two cycles of these states in a good night's sleep. Poor sleep and medicated sleep tends to reduce the quality of both. 

Breathe well, sleep well. 

#2 EAT WELL 

What you eat. When you eat. How much you eat! Your microbiome and how you eat, all affect your wellbeing. 

What you eat. 

A good balance of nutritional needs, with the minimum of highly processed foods and refined sugars. 

Most people work best on plenty of vegetables with sources of protein and some fruits. Too much red meat seems to be problematic both for our bodies and the planet, so maybe go easy there, that said some people seem to thrive on meat, or seal blubber only diets! Some people thrive as fruitarians. What works for you? 

How much you eat. 

The right amount is the amount of nutritionally dense food that provides all your needs and balances your energy output. Many people find that giving their intestines long enough breaks from having to digest and process foodstuff is a great benefit to the digestive system. Overfilling and too often is often a problem. Listen to your body. 

When you eat. 

Eating directly before sleep spoils the quality of sleep. Eating directly before or during exercise or movement practice spoils digestion and the exercise, best not eat then. 

The body is neurologically primed to digest when resting and be empty during strong exercise or movement. 

Conscious breathwork works better with an emptied belly and for some practices of breath-holding, you will need to be empty for two to four hours before practising. 

How you eat. 

It’s really beneficial to eat slowly, mindfully, and chew well. It's helpful to eat with a peaceful state of mind, as this will assist your digestion. If you feel stressed, it is best to calm the nervous system with some soothing breath before eating, as you cannot digest properly when you are stressed. 

Eating with your mouth open causes problems with breathing and may be imparted in various adverse health conditions, so best not to do this. 

#3 BREATHE WELL

Conscious breathwork will help you destress, find wellbeing and live a powerful life. 

Breath is the core practice you need to make movement practices beneficial and it affects digestion, blood pressure, blood flow, cognition, mental states and just about everything in your body, mind and life. 

Use the practice to access the flow state and the profound wellbeing that this offers. 

Without a systematic and intelligent conscious breath practice as one of the core pillars of your life, your immune system, your stress levels and your whole wellbeing will be compromised. 

# 4 MOVE WELL

Human wellbeing tends to remain in balance when we exercise and move wisely. Moving and exercising wisely means you incorporate structural fitness like yoga, tai chi and martial arts along with cardiovascular fitness. 

Too much exercise is almost as bad as no exercise, not quite, but almost. With a balance of movement practices, cardiovascular system and blood flow, musculoskeletal system, respiration and the neuroendocrine systems all tend to remain in higher states of wellbeing. 

Breath rich optimal movement is great for you, it will keep you flexible enough, strong enough and fit enough to find resilience in all you do.  

#5 THINK WELL

Use your mind well. People's mind stories and busy minds cause disease and poor wellbeing. 

Stress caused by the internal meanings and stories we create causes more illness than just about anything. 

Mind affects the body, every thought releases hormones, peptides and neurotransmitters creating emotions, moods and states that directly affects physical wellbeing. 

You want whole bodymind wellness? Then meditate skilfully. 

Mindfulness, meditation and what we call Mind Mastery in Evolutionary Breathwork, have been shown to have an immense host of benefits to wellbeing.

These practices have also been shown to change the structure and function of the brain to give a more developed perspective on who we are and our place in the world. 

Meditation like conscious breathwork is a meta-discipline that helps to make us more amazing and our world a better place.

Using your mind well also gives access to the profound wellbeing of the flow state. 

#6 BE KIND TO YOURSELF 

Self-care and appreciation for who and what you are will make a world of difference to your wellbeing. Practice self-compassion. 

“To be nobody-but-yourself — in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else — means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight.”

— e.e. Cummings

#7 BE KIND TO OTHERS 

Being kind and compassionate to others has been shown to have a host of medical benefits, and it also helps make the world a better place. Prosocial behaviour builds immunity. 

“Self-care is not selfish or self-indulgent. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. We need to take care of our own needs first, so that we can give from our surplus, our abundance. When we nurture others from a place of fullness, we feel renewed instead of taken advantage of.”

— Jennifer Louden

#8 PRACTICE GRATITUDE  

A gratitude practice is another antidote to negative thinking and the problems it causes, it is also a positive psychological boom creating more joy as the baseline state of life. 

The high-level skill in a gratitude practice is to be grateful for the difficulties, to be grateful for the learning curves and to be grateful to all of life for this precious breath. 

#9 LIVE SIMPLY 

We live in a time of climate emergency. We know that with almost eight billion people on the planet we have to pay attention to the use of resources, carbon footprints, cleanliness of air and water, care of other species we share our planet with, acidification of our oceans, rewilding and so on. 

Living lightly, reducing consumption and living simply is part of the way we can create wellbeing for ourselves and future generations. Without simple living, we will all become extinct. 

Conscious breathwork is a reminder of how joined-up everything is and is the practice of coming home to this in a way that creates satisfaction and contentment with what we have, how we are and with life itself.