Health is on my mind lately. Lately has been going on strong for about 3 years now.
In August, I finished yet another challenge: The Wellness Challenge from the beloved Sync Studio for exercising (at least an hour for me!) every single day. Twenty seven fantastic spinning classes and a dozen yoga sessions later, I am already ready for another challenge. Never before have I felt stronger, healthier, leaner, and happier in body, mind and heart! This month of rejuvenation and vitality gave me the impetus for our third podcast!
My obsession with healthy eating has taken me on a fun wild ride and while I am no fan of roller coasters whatsoever, I must say, this one has taken me on the ride of my life. This has been a sweet journey of learning and discovery, of mistakes and lessons learned, and in the end, the most rewarding journey of them all. The experiences from eating raw foods to green juicing adventures to loose-leaf tea drinking habit to a regimen around yoga, cycling (indoor spinning) for cardiovascular strength have made me delirious from happiness and joy – my body has never felt younger and stronger and my mind never more certain of this being the way to live life to the fullest.
There must be gold in the ashes of these trials and tribulations. There must lay some truth behind these pillars of health which feed my body, my heart, my mind and my soul.
We must remember that if we do not change, we do not grow. If we do not try, we do not learn. And if we do not act, we do not receive the fruits of labor.
For our third podcast, I have shared with you my 5 foundational pillars of health and explained how you can achieve your optimal well-being with smart and strong habits around these pillars. Take a listen.
Third Podcast at Prolific Living: 5 Pillars of Health
Podcast Length: 9min30sec
If you are on a mobile device, click here to listen!
*I love Brilliant Yoga!*
An Apple for your Thoughts:
I would love to know your thoughts on this third podcast – on the health pillars covered, the general subject and whether you found it useful – if the details were sufficient or lacking. I aim to keep the podcasts well under 10 minutes and this one cut it close. Most of all, tell me please how do you guard your health? What are some of your secret health pillars to keep going strong well into your 90s? Let’s talk about health!
Vacation Alert: This post is brought to you by WordPress’s fabulous “Scheduling” feature!! I did not want to miss a beat on our Tuesday/Friday posting schedule. I may be a tad bit slow on responding to your comments but respond I shall to each one. Thank you for understanding and sharing your thoughts!
From the collage, the top left and bottom right photos are courtesy of the fantastic photographer, Pascal Monmoine.
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{ 22 brilliant comments, Care to add another? }
Farnoosh,
Wonderful!! I have found that the more natural foods I eat, it just helps me to feel so much better. And I don’t even realize it – unless I veer off that track a bit – and have something that’s not quite as healthy – and then notice how I feel after that (which is not so good).
And as a newcomer to the field of yoga, I will say that I have found that this can be both so meditative and such a good workout too. And – it really works parts of my body that I have oft neglected. What’s interesting for me about yoga – is how there really is a mind-body-spirit connection with it – so whole in doing this practice…
Great to hear your voice today!!
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Dear Lance, thanks for your patience – I am back and so happy to see all these remarks on the podcast. Exactly exactly what you say – you eat well and you don’t notice much difference til you veer off and then your body screams obscenities at you – or at least mine does
And you are of course the new yoga hero in the neighborhood and I am ever so proud of you! You will notice that at first you might even lose a good bit of weight if the yoga is the flow/vinyasa/power yoga kind because you are doing things you are not used to doing at all….and of course the meditative state of it. So happy we resonate so much on the health path and thank you for your comment, Lance!
Dear Farnoosh, you’ve given us yet another instructive, inspirational podcast. I like this one a lot because it resonates with me on so many levels.
I, too, eat primarily raw, living foods. I combine tai chi, yoga, and stretching into a daily morning routine, I meditate after I exercise, and I do my best to take a brisk walk or jog daily. All of which adds up to health and fitness.
Thanks also for your travel tips. Your practice of taking a ziplocked baggie on board your flights sounds like a great idea.
As you mentioned, “your body is your temple”. I believe this wholeheartedly.
One thing I would add is that your health, fitness, and vitality are a package deal. That is, if you compromise one, you compromise them all …
Christopher
Christopher, how nice and kind of you to share such praise of the podcast. I am so happy it was of some value! You know, I’d *love* to eat all raw foods at some point and love to try tai chi but of course yoga passion we share…..It sounds like a wonderful routine altogether – The ziplocked baggie may draw a few looks at first but go about your business and you’ll be all the happier for it!
Thank you for emphasizing the last point – it all connects, and if one is missing, then the effect of it is felt other places. So true! Thanks Christopher for those wonderful additions to our post here!
Bravo Farnoosh! Great podcast. How to retain regain or relearn the ability to be healthy is such an important message today. The modern world encourages people to eat for taste when in fact we should be eating to fuel our bodies. A fundamental shift in thinking is needed. I don’t follow a raw diet but I do follow a real diet. Real food… food that is essentially “grown”… and prepared from scratch using the best natural [and nutrient dense] ingredients I can find. I slip with the occasional coffee… but enjoy my china green tea equally. Also love yoga and feel best when I am practising often. Thanks for the reminder to keep it real [and whole]. It really is what the world needs now!
Dear Jean, health is such a journey – I falter all the time! I found it impossible to be a vegan in Switzerland (well I’d have starved if I just ate dark chocolate
)! so I was vegetarian and now back home I switch again. I don’t eat exclusively raw, just mostly and I think you are doing fantastic with all your wonderful habits – it’s a journey for all of us but it also feeds on itself and the more I do it the less I want to veer off and the times that I do, I just wonder why….Great to know we both love green tea and that good wonderful habit of yoga! So nice of you to share your thoughts here! Thank you!
Hi Farnoosh! I loved your voice, tone, and pace on the podcast, not to mention the content. I pretty much eat healthy (vegetarian, organic, whole, some raw), meditate daily, practice yoga, and run. I’m a bit weak on the fifth pillar but your tips will surely help.
Even though I feel like I already strive to practice the five pillars, your words gave me encouragement to refine how I apply each one. Your broad overview of each subject along with some practical advice was very helpful.
I think you are knowledgeable enough on these pillars that each pillar could benefit from being its own podcast. : ) Loving blessings!
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Dear Andrea, thank you so much – I think we share many values and I think if you do travel a lot, the before/after tricks may help kick things back into gear – although you may be the type to never veer off but let me tell you, it is impossible to be a vegan in Europe – Switzerland was anyway and I’d have starved if I hadn’t switched to plain old vegetarian…Now back on it at home…..You have no idea how happy I am that you received encouragement and I’ll take your request into account and think about ways to explore it for future podcasts. Many thanks for your support and so glad you found value here!
Farnoosh:
I really like what you said about taking on challenges and allowing those challenges to transform into great habits. I had never really thought of the cultivation of great habits from this perspective, but I think it is a great approach. Thanks for the inspiration. Now, I just need to commit to a challenge. It is promising to know that eventually, my body will crave healthy foods 
Great audio post yet once again. I feel inspired to be more healthy
Dear Sibyl, how nice to see your smiling face on my posts – and yes on going healthier! The challenges are so much fun and you really get to know a new person inside – no matter which type you undertake. Habits start to form slowly from them and I promised you on the craving healthy food part, so you can come call me on it if it does not happen. All the best and keep me posted! Thank you for your comment as always!
I like that … “health as your enabler.”
Early on I learned the expression that your body is your temple, and I always put an emphasis on the mind and body connection.
I like the way you framed the challenge and timebox for cultivating habits for health.
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J.D., I am glad you enjoyed the podcast – I love that expression on the body being our temple……Thank you for the comment and I hope you experience the same with health challenges leading to formation of great habits for you!
Hi Farnoosh
This was a very enjoyable and instructive podcast. I became much more interested in health and especially healthy eating after I gave up yo-yo dieting. It is absolutely true what you said – when you start eating well your body starts to crave healthy food.
Your podcast reminded me of a quote I read – when you have your health you have 100 wishes, when you don’t have it you only have 1 wish.
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Hi Marion, I tried yo yo dieting – although I had fancier names for it – when I was a teenager and could probably pull out my calorie counting diaries if I looked hard enough
! And I love, LOVE the quote you shared here with us. So very true. Thank you for your thoughts and for being here!
You. Simply. Amaze. Me.
Love this podcast. Admittedly my overall health regime has been my least focused on area over the past 5 years and was my #1 focus before that.
I love the idea of a “before trip” and “after trip”recommendations. Such a great idea. I know I’ve gotten thrown off my game more than many times because of traveling.
I thank you for this podcast. Your voice is a reassuring reminder of the self love I know resides within.
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Tony, as you know, this podcast is dedicated to you and while I have had ups and downs on the vegan path – Did I mention it’s impossible to do this in Europe – I think I did
) – I return to it again and again. Yes the before and after trip keeps me sane because as hard as I may try on the trip, it’s NOT like being at home and in full control of our diet……thank you so much for the continuous assurance on these podcasts and for taking the time to leave your thoughts here!
Farnoosh,
Great podcast. I really enjoyed listening. Keeping under 10 minutes is a great idea for busy bloggers. I eat a Mediterranean diet – I was raised that way. We eat mostly vegetables – sauteed in lots of olive oil and healthy whole grains such as pilaf, and some animal protein. I was vegetarian for a number years – in the past, but one day I had a craving for some meat – and that was the end of that. I think that avoiding processed foods, or hormone injected protein is key to a good healthy diet.
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Thank you dear Angela…..I really should keep it under probably 7 or 8 minutes even. I’ll aim for no longer than 6-7 next time! Did I mention I am crazy about olives? Coming from Iran and living in Turkey and loving Greek food, I sympathize so much with you. I loved lamb growing up and sometimes I still miss my Mom’s cooking or Greek gyros – I think it’s wonderful that you eat as you like and listen to your body….Thank you so much for listening!
Hi Farnoosh,
First let me say that I have not listened to the podcast but I have spent several minutes on your blog. Reading the posts and comments and you seem so very interesting. Now on this topic of the 5 pillars of heath, I think I was drawn to this because it’s something that I need to take more seriously.
I eat healthy, organic or as organic as my purse allows, BUT I’ve stopped all forms of exercise and dance. I need to get moving because I want to age gracefully, so thank you for this podcast (the title caught my attention). I will now go and listen to it.
Golda
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Dear Golda, welcome to prolific living and I am so happy that you have already found some value here – please be sure to give me your thoughts on the podcast too because I want to continue them but need more reader opinion on what they like!!
It’s ok to stop habits of exercise – we go through phases in life so just pick it back up and start anew! Aging gracefully is the worthwhile goal for all of us. Thanks again for sharing your thoughts!
Hi Farnoosh!
I’ve been a reader of your blog for some months but I have never commented till today. So I want to take the opportunity to thank you for your inspiring and encouraging ideas
I must say that when I played one of your podcast for the first time, I was pretty sure that I wouldn’t understand much, since English isn’t my mother language and I’m not very good at it yet. However, I’ve been able to understand almost it all
and it’s thanks to your clear and slow speech. Please, keep on speaking like that for all of us who haven’t English as our first language… 
In addition, you own a beautiful and gentle voice which makes the listener feel peace 
And if you have some kind of Iranian accent I haven’t been able to distinguish it 
All that flatter stuff said
, I want to add that podcasts are a great complement to written posts, or videos, and each one has its advantages from the others. I think that their length, 10 minutes, is ok, and it’s not necessary to make them even shorter.
By the way, may I ask why do you say it’s impossible to be a vegan in Europe?
I’m an European and I intend to become vegan in the future.
Cheers and sorry if I’ve been a little long on my comment
خدا حافظ!
Dearest Elena, hi! I so so enjoyed reading your comment and all of your expressions and thoughts and questions. Thank you for coming out of the shadows to say hi! You are of course most welcome and I am thrilled that you enjoy the blog. And as for the podcasts, thanks so much for the feedback. I am listening to it again and it’s not bad. I only did 3 podcasts, I need to do more and this is very encouraging.
!
Ok so as for the vegan diet in Europe; well, I travel to Europe once or twice but it is always so so hard to find options that have no dairy, no meat, that means no cheese, no butter, and no fish, and in all of Paris, or Zurich, or Berin, or London (well London is more versatile and international than all of them) it was just so hard for me to find restaurants with many options (unless we looked specifically for a vegan restaurants). If you live in Europe and prepare your own food (as opposed to being a tourist), it WILL be easier and I wish you good luck on your vegan diet. I have my next few posts that are most likely my vegan journey in the last 3months
Thanks again, Elena!! Come back anytime, ok?
{ 2 brilliant comments, Care to add another? }