Living Within the Laws of Nature for Better Health

By Stephanie Wilger

Slow down! What's the hurry? It's winter. Keep going and doing at your summer's pace and you could take to your bed unexpectedly—to recover, ah yes, nature and her infinite wisdom. "Sleep" is my favorite computer command. Sleep when you are tired, 9 hours of sleep a night in the winter, 7 hours or more in summer, nap!

The greatest changes I see in others, myself and my clients, occur when each individual takes to heart and lives within the time of nature: rising with the sun, slowly going about his or her day with plenty of space within. Go to bed shortly (2 – 3 hours) after the sun goes down. Your endocrine and immune systems build and repair themselves when you sleep, during winter's long nights. I naturally fall asleep at 8 pm during the winter hours, when the sun sets at five.

"Nature does not hurry, yet everything gets done," says Lao Tsu. Live within the example of nature: plenty of resting, yin going on with much less yang energy setting things in motion—although the American culture has it backwards.

Other things to consider:

• a place to live that supports you emotionally, people who support you emotionally, a job you enjoy.
• three balanced meals eaten per day at the same time each day. Drink when you are thirsty: 6 - 8 cups or so of fluids, depending upon your external/internal environment and your activity level, water, tea, soup.
• with exposed, sunscreen-free skin, allow at least 20 minutes in the sun daily if your skin is light colored—with dark skin you need hours in the sunshine for adequate levels of sun-vitamins to be absorbed.
• simple, enjoyable exercise. Breathe fully expanding your entire torso, lungs.
• meditation, daily if you can, to keep you connected to source.
• be aware, thankful, relaxed as you go about your daily activities. The human body functions best when it is relaxed, satisfied.

See what you can do of the above each day. Enjoy your life. You can contribute little if you are not content, if you are tired. There is little you can accomplish alone. We need one another. You are needed in your complete and unwavering uniqueness.

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