40 Journal Prompts to Help You Heal, Grow and Flourish
There’s a dizzying amount of health information out there. Doctors, therapists, nutritionists and fitness gurus tell you to follow a Paleo, vegan or a Mediterranean diet, to meditate daily, do cardio or rather strength training. All that conflicting advice can be pretty confusing. But what does it actually mean to be healthy? And who’s the ultimate authority on your health? Does a doctor know what health is simply because they are a doctor?
These are the questions that naturopathic doctor Aarti Patel poses in The Art of Health: Simple and Powerful Keys for Creating Health in Your Life, a book with a fresh approach for anyone who’s sick of all the food hypes, extreme exercise regimens and miracle cures.
“The questions isn’t just, what is health, but what is health to you?” – The Art of Health
According to Patel, you are the number one authority on your health. You’re the only one living in your body and living your life. The human body works in a such sophisticated way that taking care of your health is an art. Each individual has a natural ability to support their wellbeing in their own unique manner. That’s why strict lifestyle rules don’t work: even the healthiest habits are only useful in the long run if you develop a real connection between your health and your lifestyle.
Philosophical at heart, The Art of Health combines a thoughtful view on health with real-life stories and practical exercises. It discusses a wide range of subjects:
- How the mind and body are connected and how your lifestyle is tied to your wellbeing,
- The underlying roots of illness and why chronic health problems are resistant to quick fixes,
- The power of your mind: why ignoring negative thoughts in favor of positive ones is not a healthy approach and how focusing too much on potential health dangers only causes harmful stress,
- Why fatigue is such a common problem,
- A new perspective on autoimmunity,
- and much more.
The goal of the book is for you to learn to pay attention to your body’s signals when it communicates imbalances. It shows how you can improve your health with only a few small lifestyle changes.
In The Art of Health, Aarti Patel shares a sensible, down-to-earth but wise perspective on health. There’s no such thing as ‘perfect’ health and health is not just about your physical wellbeing, but also about having a love for life and enjoying yourself. Her approach is holistic but realistic. She doesn’t advocate hard lifestyle changes but rather small steps you can take to achieve your own picture of health. The Art of Health almost reads like a prequel to my own book ‘How to Make Your Own Action Plan for Recovery’, which focuses more on options of what you can do to support your health, whereas Patel highlights the importance of your underlying view on health.
Because your mind is powerful. The way you talk to yourself matters. The Art of Health stresses the link between your health and your emotions, thoughts and social environment. The book navigates this sensitive subject well, explaining the connection between stress, cortisol and immunity. However I do believe that, although psychological factors always play a part in our health, good or bad, they aren’t necessarily a causal factor for everyone. Sometimes the wear-and-tear of stress comes from things like viruses, poor diet or environmental toxins.
The Art of Health is a helpful read for anyone who wants to get to the core of their health, without resorting to the latest trends. It encourages you to tune into your own body and mind and discover ways to take better care of your health that work for your personality and lifestyle.
“The body itself contains the greatest pharmacy of medicine that nature can make, and if you can tap into that resource, you can take full advantage of your innate potential for health and healing.” – The Art of Health
If you’d like to get your hands on a copy of The Art of Health: good news! Aarti Patel is generously giving away one Kindle gift version on social media. Head to Facebook, Twitter or Instagram and answer this question: ‘What’s one of the most important things in your life that contributes to your health?’ Make sure to tag @d2books and #theartofhealth in your response. The giveaway ends on July 22, 2018 at midnight (CET).
Too late to enter? Don’t worry, The Art of Health is also available on Amazon. Make health less stressful and more enjoyable by grabbing your paperback or Kindle version today!
What does health mean to you?
