Tips on how to talk to your family about health
In most families the reason for having a conversation about health is when somebody in the family or close circle of friends got sick. Even in very active and sporty families the conversation about what health really means - apart from the lack of disease, is missing.
From the yogic point of view heatlh is when the body’s functions are smoothly working together: respiratory system, cardio vascular system, endocrine system and digestive system - and not only that, but when the emotional “body” and the mental “body” are in balance as well. This could sound a bit daunting as it seems a lot to look after. Mostly we are looking these days at a balanced diet and exercise and both topics leave us at times overwhelemed when trying to find out what that means for us.
So if you watned to introduce lifestyle changes in your family - eg a family with school aged children or a partner you shared your life with already fpr years and a certain lifestyle routine is lived - it seems hard to start making changes without running into a brick wall. Let’s imagine that you, the reader, have started enjoying yoga, or have changed your diet away from meat to more vegetarian food, or started to watch less TV and instead started to go for a walk in the evening….. something like that, ok? You started to change and want your family/partner to move in this direction with you.
Here are some ideas that might help you make a shift:
Set a time to sit down with your partner/family and say that you watnt to talk about health and lifestyle. Ask them what health is for them. Find out if they feel energetic or lethargic a lot of the time; if they sleep well, if they are excited about new ideas, or things to learn. Going through a little self assessment is a good start. You might not need to mention somebody in your family or circle of friends who has ailments due to lifestyle choices, but it could be also an idea - because who likes to suffer?
Make the lifestyle changes yourself and don’t try to make them for your partner and family. they have to experience that you are dong soemthing good for you and not depriving yourself from the “goodies” (junkfood that eg. “you deserve after a day of hard work”)
If you make changes for everyone, do it slowly and only change one little thing at a time. Change doesn’t mean taking away soemthing they find a reward for themsleves but adding something that makes them feel good. Here it might be the easiest to start doing a physical activity together as it gets the physical body moving, ready for change, and is also socially rewarding as it is experienced together.
If it is too early to talk about diet changes, then talk about the emotional wellbeing and let everyone find out how they feel after certain foods, certain activities and point out that getting into regular bed time rhythm can be the first step. More about this topic at the end of the week.
Do something everyone in your family loves more often: go and play on the beach or go bushwalking and sit by some little waterfall, go out in the country for a night and look at the endless stars at night together - broaden your horizons and be in awe together.
Never try to cahnge anyone but yourself. Living by example pays out in the long run. Sometimes you just have to develop a very very long breathe for that. ;-)
One practical tip: make a list with all the ways everyone in your family wants to feel and then write next to each point what habit you have to say good bye to - which “NO” is actually your new “YES” - like this it doesn’t fee like a deprivation but as a gift to yourself.
AND: enjoy making changes and know there is a lot of fun to be invited into your life- it has to feel good to be in this body and mind. Laugh with your loved ones and invite the richness of simplicity into your life.
