10 healthy lifestyle tips

My sister-in-law, Sofia Elizalde, had a guest yoga teacher Bela Lipat teaching in Steps Dance Studio and invited me to take a class. I was hooked after the first class. I slowly shifted from gym workouts to yoga,” shares Marilen Gonzalez Elizalde.

“I have been a gym rat since I was a teen — weights and aerobics. I was doing Pilates and felt that I needed more.”

Eventually Marilen got her first certification in 2009 from the Centered Yoga Institute in Thailand and continued to study under several teachers here and abroad. Some of her teachers were Paul Dallaghan, Richard Freeman, John Scott, David Keil and OP Tiwari. The rest is history.

Today, Marilen is a Certified FLAG (Fast Like a Girl) Lifestyle Coach. She studied and trained under Dr. Mindy Pelz, a nutrition and functional health expert, certified yoga teacher and certified aromatherapist, and she went to the New York Institute of Aromatherapy under Amy Galper.

Marilen has been practicing yoga for over 20 years and teaching for about 15 years. She continues to conduct private yoga classes.

As a Fast Like Girl certified coach, Marilen offers one-on-one coaching, where she educates women into understanding how their bodies work from the inside and by helping them develop sustainable, personalized programs.

Marilen also conducts wellness workshops. The core of her workshops emphasizes sustainable lifestyle changes for women (and men, too) that you never knew was attainable! She will show you how easy it is to make a simple change in one aspect of your life to move closer to your health goals.

When we asked how she sees herself five years from now, her immediate reply was, “I see myself thriving and still teaching and coaching women. My goal is to be able to create awareness among women on how to keep our bodies functioning at an optimum level and how to use lifestyle as a tool to stay above the wellness line.”

Marilen is married to Santi Elizalde and mom to Santiago, Enrique, and Isabel.

Here she shares with us her 10 healthy lifestyle tips:

1. Movement. Our bodies need to move every day. It does not take much. From your brain to your joints, moving every day has the power to improve every part of your body. Whether you choose to implement small movements into your daily routine, or introduce a new activity like cycling, yoga or simply walking around the block, this will improve and upgrade your overall health. It will improve your muscles, your bones, your joints, your brain, your heart and your lungs.

2. Sleep. Most adults need seven to eight hours of good-quality sleep on a regular basis each night to feel rested and prepared to tackle the next day. Sleep affects every tissue in our bodies. It affects growth and stress hormones, our immune system, appetite, breathing, blood pressure and cardiovascular health. Research shows that lack of sleep increases the risk of obesity, heart disease and infections.

3. Diet and nutrition. Whether we want to admit it or not, diet plays a very important role in our lives. The saying “We are what we eat” is somewhat true. Whatever we eat affects our bodies, our minds our spirits. We may not realize it, but a lot of diseases come from what we put in our mouths. We need to be mindful and kind to our bodies. We need to be aware of what we put in our mouths. We can slowly make changes in our eating habits, like eating a whole-food diet and avoiding processed foods; eliminating food sensitivities like dairy and gluten; addressing nutrient deficiencies like magnesium, zinc, and fatty acids; incorporating fasting in our daily life.

4. Spiritual practice. It is important to have a spiritual practice. To have a relationship with your God. Daily prayer and gratitude will keep you grounded and focused on what is most important in life. My day always begins with prayer and meditation before I start my yoga practice.

5. Meditation. Giving yourself quiet time and allowing your mind to be still is one of the most important gifts we can give ourselves. I meditate because it helps quiet my monkey mind. It helps give me a blank canvas every morning so I can focus and be mindful of what I would like to achieve during the day. It helps rid my mind of the little, unnecessary chatter that a mind can do to help give you negative thoughts. If I have a big event, or life-changing activity that I need to prepare for or do, my mind can be filled with “Nega Nancy” thoughts that will make me lose focus of the big picture. Meditating helps me focus and helps me train my mind so I can tell it what to do.

6. Time in nature. If we have the opportunity, step outside! Feel the fresh air and sunlight on your skin! Go on nature walks, hug trees, swim in seawater. There are so many benefits in spending time in nature. Twenty to 30 minutes outside quickly improves our mood; reduces feelings of stress or anger; makes us more relaxed; and improves our physical health.

7. Emotional wellbeing. It is important to be mindful of our emotional health. When we are emotionally well, we can handle the daily stresses of life without losing control and we can easily bounce back.

8. Detox. By definition, detox “is a process or a period of time in which one abstains from or rids the body of toxins or unhealthy substances so you can improve health and promote weight loss.” This word is often only associated with food and diet. However, I feel that there are many aspects of our lives that can also benefit from a good detoxification. Physical detox from the food we eat and medicine that we take. Mental detox from our work environment. Emotional detox from a toxic relationship or a toxic friendship; detox from toxic ingredients in our cleaning products, cosmetics and toiletries; digital detox from all the gadgets we cannot live without.

9. Self-care and relaxation. As women, we want to do it all. Whether it be in our homes as wives and mothers; in our work environment as corporate leaders, or in the gym as the strongest and fittest. Yes, we can do it all, but it comes at a cost of creating too much stress in our system that we end up hurting ourselves. Too much cortisol does not do us any good. We need to stop the rushing woman inside us and allow ourselves to take pause and inhale and chill sometimes. Massages, alone time. Girl time. Me time. We give ourselves “me time” so we are better for “we time.”

10. Relationships. Relationships are the foundation of radiant health! We need to nurture our relationships with our partners, children, parents, relatives and friends! No man is an island and with positive relationships, we are armed with love, support and understanding in whatever we do. Having good social connections lowers rates of anxiety and depression. People with good relationships have higher self-esteem, and greater empathy. *

We welcome your suggestions and comments. Please e-mail me at [email protected]. Follow me on Instagram @monsromulo.