Health and Business Articles

New Book Offers Seven Low-Cost Habits for a Healthier, Happier Life

Drawing on her experience as founder of a highly successful wellness center, Dr. Michelle Robin shares seven practices for complete wellness in her new book: Wellness on a Shoestring: Seven Habits for a Healthy Life .

People are looking for a magic pill for wellness, and the truth is, the magic is in attending to the basics.

Ask anyone how to be healthy, and they’ll likely share a few tips: eat vegetables, exercise, skip the fast food. Ask if they’re doing those things regularly, and the response is often a longer list of excuses.

One excuse Dr. Michelle Robin, author of the newly released book "Wellness on a Shoestring: Seven Habits for a Healthy Life," hears a lot these days is lack of money.

“People think that healthy living costs a lot of money, and they are afraid that, in this current economy especially, wellness is beyond their reach—that it’s something they could only achieve with a personal fitness trainer, expensive gym memberships or a hefty grocery budget,” she said.

A licensed chiropractor, Robin oversees care for about 100 persons a day at her wellness clinic in the greater Kansas City area. The book draws from her experiences helping patients at all income levels find relief from lifestyle-related ailments such as joint pain, diabetes, obesity, back pain, depression and chronic illness.

“People are looking for a magic pill for wellness, and the truth is, the magic is in attending to the basics,” Robin said. “It’s simple and hard—hard because living well requires you to be intentional, to use your personal power to support your health in a culture where the majority of people around you aren’t practicing a wellness lifestyle.”

Robin’s success stems from breaking “wellness” into a series of manageable steps—or habits—most of which can be practiced anywhere, any time. The book is organized into seven chapters, one for each wellness habit.

Each chapter includes a basic explanation of the habit, a list of questions to help readers assess their current wellness levels, stories from persons who are incorporating the habits into their lives, and practical tips readers can use on their own journeys to wellness. One technique for reinforcing wellness habits is to reflect on them in writing. The chapters conclude with journaling questions.

Beyond the basics of healthy living, Robin promotes complete well-being of mind, body and spirit. “Being healthy is simply being free of disease,” she said. “Wellness is about having lives and bodies that really work; it’s about truly enjoying your existence rather than just making it through another day.”

Dr. Robin’s seven habits for complete well-being are:

1.    Rest, Reflect and Rejuvenate
How the body is positioned during sleep and consistent quantity of sleep are equally important. Robin explains why no one should be sleeping on his or her stomach.

2.    Breathe Deeply
Breathing well is arguably the most important thing for your body. Without breath, there is no life. Proper breathing affects the function of all bodily systems.

3.    Move your body
Exercise is important to cardiovascular health, but in terms of whole-body wellness, it enhances concentration, releases toxins, and maintains and increases range of motion.

4.    Free Your Space
Clutter, whether physical clutter or excess emotional baggage, sets obstacles in the way of goals, saps energy, and prevents clear focus.

5.    Go for the Greens
Green vegetables in particular give cells what they need chemically so they can function optimally. Don’t like greens? Robin shares recipes for fruity “green smoothie” drinks.

6.    Eat from the Sea—and Enjoy the Sun!
From foods, the sun or supplements, fish oils and vitamin D can boost energy and alleviate joint pain, depression and anxiety, respiratory infections, headaches and more.

7.    Drink to Your Health
Consuming fluids does not mean you’re hydrated. Robin explains why there’s no substitute for plain water, and why it’s best to drink it at room temperature.

Wellness on a Shoestring is published by Unity House. The soft cover book is 175 pages, with a cover price of $15.95. It is available through the Unity House (www.unityhouse.org), at www.amazon.com, and through distributors DeVorss, New Leaf and Ingram.

To schedule an interview with the author, or to request a review copy of the book, please contact Paula Coppel, Unity House publishing, at 816-251-3534 or Laura Berry at 816-524-3550, ext. 3335.

About the Author

Dr. Michelle Robin is chief wellness officer and founder of Your Wellness Connection, one of the nation’s most successful healing centers, focusing on integrative healing disciplines such as chiropractic, Chinese medicine, massage therapy, functional medicine, counseling, nutritional and wellness coaching, and movement arts. For more about the author, visit www.yourwellnessconnection.com.

About Unity

Unity helps people of all faiths apply positive spiritual principles in their daily lives. The organization touches millions of people each year through books, a non-denominational prayer ministry called Silent Unity, publications such as Daily Word and Unity Magazine, an online radio network at www.unity.fm, and spiritual education classes and retreats. Unity Village, the world headquarters of Unity, is located at M-350 Highway and Colbern Road (1901 NW Blue Parkway), near Lee’s Summit, Mo.

Unity House,® the multimedia publishing arm of Unity, has published spiritual books and magazines since 1903. For more information, visit www.unity.org.

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