February: Heart
Health Heart – Physical, Mental, Emotional and Spiritual
In February you see hearts everywhere. What do they bring to mind for you? Love? A romantic dinner with your spouse? Valentine’s you need to get for your kids for school? February is also Heart Month, so If we talk about wellbeing and the heart, maybe you think of the actual heart and heart health like blood pressure and heart rate variability and cardiovascular health.
But I see the heart, much like I do energy – it’s multi-dimensional. Wellbeing of the heart is physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. And they are highly interconnected when it comes to the wellbeing of both the heart and our lives.
When we live and work wellbeing of the heart, we bring the best of ourselves and our potential to the people and situations that matter most. Our creativity blossoms with possibilities. We have more to give and so we help others wholeheartedly and are fulfilled, not drained, by our acts of giving. And we inspire positive change for families, friends, co-workers, and communities.
This month I invite you to explore the different dimensions of heart health:
The Dimensions of a Healthy Heart
Physical Heart Health
Too often we overlook our actual health. What we eat. A sedentary lifestyle, which has been even more sedentary during the pandemic. They say sitting is the new smoking it’s that bad. And I don’t know about you, but I sit a lot throughout the day, which is why I must be intentional with stretch breaks and such. But the pandemic has also caused a disconnection from ourselves and others, and too much stress. All these things contribute to inflammation in our bodies, lower energy and cognitive performance, and higher incidences of heart illnesses. The World Health Organization states the #1 cause of death globally is cardiovascular disease, much of which could have been prevented or reversed through lifestyle changes
Emotional Heart Health – Love
In his book, Love and Be Loved, Sam Keen talks about the different types of Love. Too often we focus on the romantic love. But the range of our love and the richness of it is an art. Attention is a precious gift we give others – a spouse, a child, a friend and even a co-worker. Giving others our full attention is a form of love. And in these days where most of us are too reliant on multi-tasking we forget that means that our attention is often scattered. I talk about this in the Exhaustion Fix (now The Recharge). Scattered focus leaves us more drained and clearly has an impact on our relationships, often with those closest to us.
Self-love is another richness of human love that we may sometimes overlook. Too often we come to love ourselves by being loved by others, especially if we feel unworthy. I know I have struggled with self-worth throughout my life. You make a vow to love and cherish your spouse, but do you love and cherish yourself?
How can you love and cherish yourself more? You are just as important to love and cherish as your spouse and your kids. Make a commitment to yourself through self-love. If you need help with learning to love and cherish yourself, check out this month’s challenge – a 28 Day Self-Love Challenge.
Mental Heart Health – Compassion
Compassion is the recognition our shared human condition, our commonality, as fragile and flawed as it may be. It involves feeling for those suffering, but more than just empathy, it includes a desire to help alleviate the suffering.
But much like self-love, how much self-compassion do we show ourselves? What are we doing to help alleviate our own suffering? Then again, to alleviate our own pain, we must acknowledge we are in pain. And too often as busy women we are taught to just carry on, to not acknowledge it for fear of falling apart. And what if that pain comes from self-judgment? We are often blind to that pain.
Compassion is another one of Sam Keen’s elements of Love. And it is one of the Love to Spa tenets:
We seek change through our daily choices. Helping and uplifting others starts with helping and uplifting ourselves. Showing kindness toward ourselves is our first act of compassion. And we treat others as we want to be treated
Those who are compassionate, especially toward their own failures and imperfections have greater levels of wellbeing and happiness. One of the cornerstones of developing more self-compassion is mindfulness.
Spiritual Heart Health
Passion isn’t limited to romance and sex. We can be passionate about causes and our interests. Our passions often lead us to our purpose in life. And purpose is a powerful motivation in making new habits. Passions often give us a time and space for more ease and flow in our lives, a reprieve from the stress. So, pursuit of passions are an important part of self-care and overall wellbeing. Don’t overlook the important of your passions and your purpose and the role they play in your heart health.
Creativity is an important part of passion and purpose. I talk about this is my course – The Recharge (aka The Exhaustion Fix). And did you know that destination spas can also give you an opportunity to explore your creative side? They feature creative pursuits on their list of activities. I painted a silk scarf at Ojai and connected to my inner Hermes.
Julia Cameron in The Artist’s Way talks about monthly Artist’s Dates. Where you treat yourself in a solo excursion to honor your creative side. This could be going to see a movie or going to the museum.
Here Are 7 tips for greater heart health: physically, emotionally, mentally, and spiritually
Physical Heart Health
- Eat for a healthy heart – Choose fresh, local, and organic foods when possible; get an abundance of fruits, vegetables, nuts, legumes, and whole grains; use plant-based oils and proteins; eat less red meat, refined grains, and sugar-sweetened foods and drinks; and strike a good balance between the calories you consume and the calories you expend.
- Give your heart a workout – We are designed to be move! I call this Vitamin M – for movement. So we need regular movement, and I’m not just talking about exercise, although that is important for cardiovascular health. But get more movement into your day. Take that virtual meeting for a walk, use a standing desk, take the stairs, and incorporate an exercise routine and unstructured play into your life.
Emotional Hearth Health: Love
Spread love – Give a handwritten note of appreciation to someone and ask them to do the same for others. Or volunteer for a cause that matters to you. Through the doorway of the heart, you have the power to set off a positive contagion!- Monitor your inner dialogue – What tone do you use with yourself? What messages do you send yourself, especially when glancing in the mirror, where perhaps you are harsher, focusing more on what you don’t like? Can you catch yourself and rephrase it to be more kind, more like you would speak to a dear friend? (Note: Mindfulness helps with developing more awareness, which helps you catch yourself in the moment.)
Mental Heart Health: Mindfulness & Compassion
- Meditate for your heart – Experiment with a five-minute breath focused on your heart, do a simple seated or moving mindfulness practice, or try a meditation technique. Mindfulness and meditation help you shift from the physiology of stress to a state of inner calm—and these practices can improve heart function and reduce your risk for heart disease.
- Loving-kindness meditation – Another way to cultivate more self-love and self-compassion, is to cultivate feelings of loving-kindness towards yourself. This is particularly helpful if you do a lot of self-judgement.
In a loving kindness meditation, you can begin by placing your hand on your heart, and set the intention to offer yourself kindness, understanding and compassion. Then settle into the meditation by focusing on your breath. When ready you can begin to repeat the following phrases to yourself:
May I be safe
and May I be peaceful
May I be kind to myself
and May I accept myself as I am
Similar to other mindful meditations when you notice your attention wondering, you can gently bring it back. When you are ready you can slowly bring your attention back to the room.
Spiritual Hearth Health: Passion, Purpose & Creativity
- Schedule an Artist Date – What creative pursuits can you make time for this month? An arts and craft project? Is there a friend you can call for an arts and craft date? Or just take yourself to a museum or movie or some other creative pursuit for the afternoon?
Summary
Heart health is so much more than cardiovascular health, blood pressure and heart rate variability. There are emotional, mental, and spiritual aspects to our heart health. This month I invite you to explore these different dimensions of heart health, including love and compassion and for yourself.
Love to Spa Resources:
- February 30 Day Challenge
- The Recharge (aka The Exhaustion Fix)
- American Heart Association: Go Red for Women
- Listen to my good friend Gayle Allen’s podcast Curious Minds as she interviews Kristen Neff on Self-Compassion
The following contain affiliate links which may earn Love to Spa a small commission on your purchase at no extra cost to you.
- VariDesk Laptop 30 – Height Adjustable Portable Standing Desk for Small Spaces
- Love and Be Loved by Sam Keen
- The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron
- Self-Compassion by Kristen Neff
Note: The words and other content provided in this blog, and in any linked materials, are not intended and should not be construed as medical, physical, or dietary advice. If the reader or any other person has a medical or mental health concern he or she should consult with an appropriately licensed physician or other health care worker. Never disregard professional medical advice or common sense because of something you have read on this blog or in any linked materials. See full disclosures here.
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