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My Heart and the Foundations of Health | happyliving.com - image via Stocksy - Eduard Bonnin

“Sometimes the heart sees what is invisible to the eyes.”
(H. Jackson Brown, Jr.)

February is American Heart Month.

The human heart is the most incredible and complex organ in our body. Beat after beat, it works tirelessly to provide the support we need. It’s up to us to show our hearts love by taking the steps needed to promote heart health.

As I thought about this post, I realized that the human heart is at the core of the seven foundations of health.

My Heart and the Foundations of Health | happyliving.com

Here’s how I use the foundations of health to celebrate my heart and show it the love it deserves:

Physical Fitness

Regular exercise and good nutrition are beneficial for my mind, body, heart, and soul.

My philosophy on physical fitness is designed to make it a daily practice for the rest of my life. Click here to learn my four secrets for lifelong exercise.

A healthy nutritional practice is equally important. My nutritional philosophy is a six-part program designed to promote healthy aging and longevity.

Mental Fitness

Lifelong learning and meditation, two important parts of mental fitness, are good for my head and heart.

I take time to read every day. Reading about health and wellness helps me appreciate my heart and understand all that it does for me. Three useful resources on heart health are the American Heart Association, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and the American Recall Center.

I take time to meditate every day. Meditation is known to lower blood pressure and that’s good for my heart. According to the CDC, uncontrolled high blood pressure is the leading cause of heart disease and stroke. It estimates that more than 67 million Americans have high blood pressure.

Spiritual Fitness

I define spirituality as discovering and cultivating the inner being that is my unique soul. It is learning to detect the differences between energy and ideas created by the mind and those generated deep within the soul.

My spiritual practice is based on slowing down, being quiet, and listening for my heart to show me the way.

Financial Fitness

Being able to provide for myself and for others is good for my heart in two ways.

Having financial resources allows me to invest in a healthy lifestyle. I would prefer to proactively spend money on organic foods, nutritional supplements, cleansing systems, gym memberships, and books on healthy living, rather than reactively spending whatever money is necessary for urgent medical services and pharmaceutical remedies when my health fails.

They say it’s better to give than to receive, which I know to be true from my experience. I have made charitable giving and unexpected kindness a priority within my personal finances for many years. A few of my favorite charities include Make-A-Wish, Mended Hearts, and the American Heart Association.

Love

Spending time with my one true love, my family, and my friends warms my heart.

Being in love with my wife is a very deep connection that touches my soul. Our love gives me comfort, acceptance, and contentment. It is magical. And it needs to be celebrated. My sweetheart and I celebrate our love with annual honeymoons.

My wife and I bought a house on a lake last summer. We are remodeling it into our dream home designed for dual purposes. First, it is a comfortable home for us to live and raise our children. Second, it is a destination for celebrating life and love with our family and friends.

Adventure

New possibilities, unchartered territories, and unique discoveries thrill my heart.

Two of my favorite adventures include the excitement of rafting down the Cataract Canyon with my son and close friends, as well as solo-hiking to the bottom of the Grand Canyon and staying the night at the famous lodge, Phantom Ranch.

Significance

I believe the key to happiness and good health is following my heart.

Just as I am remodeling my home to serve dual purposes, I am also remodeling my life by listening to my heart. Careful listening reveals what I truly care about, and therefore how I should spend my precious time and resources.

Like the quote above, following my heart makes it easy for me to “see” the vision of my future life and focus my attention each day on what is truly significant to me.

So I would like to give a hearty, healthy, heartfelt THANK YOU to my heart.

Help raise awareness about how important it is to show our hearts love by taking the steps needed to promote heart health. Share this post and add your voice to the conversation about treating your heart — and yourself — right.

My Heart and the Foundations of Health | happyliving.com - infographic via The American Recall Center

Image via Stocksy – Eduard Bonnin + infographic via The American Recall Center