8 Elements of the West
1: Exercise Everyday
Move your body and energize yourself
15 minutes everyday. Commit to becoming
clear in body and mind through movement.
Circulate. Clear toxicity in body and mind.
Nourish with deep breathing, joint movement
and a connection to self.
2: Strengthen Your Spine
A strong spine and proper posture supports
a healthy body. You are as young as your
spine is flexible and strong. Improve your
breathing. Core movements cleanse your
organs, connective tissue, and even
tension memories in your tissues.
8 as infinite pulsation; lotus butterfly as unfoldment of Self; spinning wheel as karma-time-space; circle as the omniscient unbroken self, supreme wholeness
3: Eat Whole Foods
Commit 80% of your diet to whole, unprocessed natural foods. This gives you the vitality and energy for a full life. Nourish yourself with nature’s abundance.
4: Develop Self-Awareness
Awareness is life navigation. Positive change happens through reflection, imagination and creativity. Your internal environment creates your external landscape. Navigate your world with greater ease through self-understanding. Work with thoughts and feelings to transform yourself.
5: Find Centering Time
Cultivate life balance by returning regularly to the stillness of your center. Meditation, contemplation, a day of rest. With a full schedule, life in balance is easier when you’ve made time to return to your own center.
6: Care for Your Community and Environment
Guide and be guided by trusted friends and family. It takes a village. None of us stands alone. Support and be supported by your community. Give to those you care about. Be kind to the earth.
7: Be Proactive
Your life is your own to guide. Be pro-active, not reactive, in taking charge of your life, your relationships, your health and vitality. Take time for prevention. Your greatest asset is your health. And when you do fall out of health, remember that true health is to be involved in the process, to be in charge.
8: Live From Your Heart
Listen to your heart, and trust it. In the end, you can get your head to follow your heart, but you can’t get your heart to follow your head. Allow the depth of your heart to transform all of life’s experiences. Align mind to heart for greater ease, and fully enjoy your life.
Institute for Somatic Education and Integrative Wellness, est. 1985, La Jolla, California