Fad diets and get skinny quick schemes are out. Why? Because the rise of the number of health conscious people has also brought about a shift in what “being healthy” actually means. 

The health conversation is no longer focused solely on people’s perception of your body. It’s an internal affair on how you nurture mind, body and spirit, and how those aspects of our overall being interact with each other. We’re going to suggest a few ways to find a healthy balance and dive into one very specific tip to staying healthy. 

Side note — if you’ve arrived at this post in search of a quick fix to achieving a boost in your mood or mental health, we suggest skimming through these pics of pups on paddle boards.

The Health Balance

A quick Google search will turn up a number of tips for how to stay healthy, including eating well, regular exercise, skin protection, limited alcohol intake, enough sleep, mental exercise and more. 

It seems that maintaining your health is a balance act. Balancing the internal and external elements of your being and balancing the way you treat said elements. 

You want to treat your body well. From being aware of your food’s nutritional value to promoting energy and strength by being active a little bit each day, there are a number of factors to keeping your body in good health. 

Eat those blueberries, take the brisk walk, skip the hour long Instagram scroll and actually go to sleep at a decent hour. Once you conquer the little things, it’ll be that much easier to set yourself on a strengthening exercise routine or commit to a long term healthy diet that cuts out the impulse sugars and fast food runs. 

You want to treat your mind well. What you think and how you act on a regular basis are directly correlated to the wellbeing of your mind, or mental health.

Interestingly enough, a couple of top ways to support mental health is to stay active and get good sleep. Meaning good physical health can help promote good mental health! Managing stress and supporting brain health through diet and exercise also lead to a strong mind. 

You want to treat your spirit well. While maybe the most abstract element of our balanced health journey, caring for the spirit is still closely interconnected to our physical and mental health. 

Meditation through yoga, prayer or on its own is a fantastic way to nurture the spirit. And there’s science to prove that meditation benefits other aspects of your life and health as well! Acts of kindness, spending quality time with loved ones, practicing mindfulness, or focusing on self care through hobbies or pampering routines are also contributing factors to treating your spirit well. 

How About An Activity That Promotes Good Health

To finish the heading, we actually mean an activity that promotes good health in all three of those above categories at the same time. Yes, of course, we mean stand up paddle boarding. 

It’s not without reason that we believe life is better in balance here at ISLE! When you get on your paddle board, whether it’s daily or not, you get the holistic health experience. 

SUP being good for the body is a pretty intuitive statement if you spent more than 5 minutes on a board. This outdoor activity engages your core, literally promoting balance, and is also an arm and leg workout. You can also easily make it an aerobic or cardio exercise by paddling faster or through choppy waters to get oxygen moving and your heart pumping.

SUP is good for the mind for numerous reasons as well. Not only does it encourage deep breaths, bringing more oxygen to your brain,  the repetitive movement of paddling has a meditative quality that allows you calm your mind. You can even use paddle boarding as a way to relieve stress. 

SUP is also good for the spirit by connecting you to nature and a creator while you’re also enjoying an activity that you’re doing for yourself. Plus, you can double task a number of hobbies on your board like fishing, yoga or spending time with your dog! Not to mention that increase of oxygen to your brain mentioned above that helps you calm your mind and find inner peace. Definitely feeds the spirit as well. 

When it comes down to it, most people want to be healthy so that they can enjoy life to the greatest amount possibly for the longest that they can. Enjoyment may come to us each in different forms — by way of quality time with loved ones, chasing the next adrenaline rush, investing in a hobby, etc. On the other hand, tactics to achieving health are pretty universal. Nurturing our body, mind and spirit through food, exercise, rest and self care