Another year has just bitten the dust! Along with all the New Year resolutions! What happened to that special promise that this year was going to be the year that you made all the necessary lifestyle changes, to finally morph into that elusive ´New You?´

Most of you were left choking in the dust that your willpower left behind in it's speedy retreat. We go through the same ritual year after year with good intentions and excitement as midnight draws us in and the New Year bubble carries us out. Some, more serious than others, will see their resolutions through but for the most part the majority revert back to old patterns, beliefs and unhealthy lifestyles. Don't beat yourself up about losing the plot so early in the year but perhaps you should think about changing the time frame.
How about changing the word resolution to revolution? A cycle of successive events or changes that will take place every month this year leading up to seeing in the New Year with you chanting ´Happy New You´ instead of ´Happy New Year´. The revolution will be over – you will have finally overthrown the system by which you were governed. You will experience love, power and respect for yourself . Be careful – it’s contagious! And so my ‘Revolutionaries’ do you think you’re ready to engage in a one year cycle? Your lifestyle changes have to be within reason and not too drastic if you would really like to see this through. The most important thing of all is to have a daily diary or journal in which to make a list. Some of your changes will be made on a daily, weekly or monthly basis and the even bigger goals maybe over several months. All time management begins with planning – once you have that in place you can begin. Of course, everyone's list will be different but I would like to make a few suggestions with which to boost your thought patterns. My daily to do list should be every day essentials but unfortunately they are rarely put into practice as they are not ingrained in the same manner as brushing your teeth, hair, daily bath etc. so follow a few guidelines everyday to a triumphant revolution.

Be in the right frame of mind.
When you wake up in the morning, wake up with a smile on your face. That smile will be the start of a very happy day. If you're happy then everyone around you will be happy – it rubs off! Happy vibes increase happy making serotonin which boosts your immune system.

Make sure the body feels as good as you do.
Keep your spine flexible with a two minute work-out first thing in the morning. For example: reaching up with both arms stretch high and then roll down through the spine and touch your toes, roll back up through the spine. Legs apart and hands on hips bend sideways to the right and then to the left and back to the middle. Upper body twist from the hips going right and then to the left, back to the centre and bend the upper body backwards tilt your head back and look up to the ceiling. I would like to share this quote from the Marbella Chiropractic Newsletter. “Many things can cause the moving bones of the spine to lose their normal motion or position and this can irritate the sensitive roots that branch off the spinal cord to service the organs and tissues of your body; a common cause of digestive problems and depressed immune system.”

Take a moment to just breathe.
Make time to do some daily breathing exercises. The best way to breathe is deeply and slowly, just two minutes a day will bring about awareness and respect for the most essential element required for survival and body function. Stay hydrated. Be sure to drink plenty of water. The recommended amount is two litres a day and room temperature is preferable as it doesn’t cause a shock to the system. A word of warning to all females – Don´t drink water out of a plastic bottle that has been left in the sun. The heat causes toxins from the plastic to leak into the water and they have found these toxins in cancerous breast tissue! Start walking. Depending on your lifestyle any walking is a good thing, but if you walk for 1 hour every day, it sharpens your brain, lowers your blood pressure and cholesterol, plus it reduces the risk of a stroke. And don’t forget that walking improves bone density, so your chances of developing Osteoporosis are greatly reduced too! Walking short distances at a fast speed will tighten up your bottom and legs and burn calories for those who need to lose weight.

Have a good laugh!
Psychologists regard humour as a vital way of dealing with day- today problems. It helps promote and sustain mental good health and people with a well-developed sense of fun usually have few emotional problems. If you live in Spain…Increase your Spanish vocabulary by learning a new word every day. At the end of the month you must compile a list of all the words that you have learnt. Perhaps it would be a good idea to select your words according to a theme i.e. weather, health, animals, or shopping etc. or perhaps choose a subject that you often come across. By the end of the year your vocabulary will have grown substantially without much effort at all.

Multivitamins make a difference!
There are a variety of good quality tablets available, i.e. Solgar, Doctors Natural, Herbalife, but I am currently a fan of Doctors Natural multi vitamins. The ‘Woman Plus’ vitamins include natural estrogen-like plant nutrients that may reduce some of the negative side effects of lowered hormonal production. The ‘Vitamin Women’ focuses on younger or pregnant women that require correct doses of Folic acid supplementation. They are both manufactured within the EU in accordance with the highest HACCP and GMP pharmaceutical standards. Contact details: birgitte@doctorsnatural.dk

Do your bit to save the planet.
There are so many things that one can do but it’s easy to make a start with a few simple changes within your own home. You can google ‘save the planet’ for a list of ideas that will really make a difference. Stop Bad Habits If you need to stop smoking, try to plan a realistic goal and time frame within which to achieve it. You must have the right attitude and determination. Spend the first month preparing and researching different methods of assistance. Visualise yourself without a cigarette in your hand and fresh, sweet smelling breath. Find your biggest ashtray and turn it into a ciggy bank for every box of cigarettes you would have paid for. At the end of every month why not use that money for a luxurious beauty treatment? You deserve to reward yourself! This will be a monthly revolution as you will need to record every month you have been a non- smoker and make sure you write up the beauty treatment that you rewarded yourself with. You have abused your body and it´s now time to treat it with a bit of love and respect. Start Good Habits If you need to lose weight you will need to adopt the same mindset. You have a year within which to reach your target and you can decide whether you would like to lose weight within a month, several months or a year. For the best results combine a weight loss programme with exercise. You can keep a weekly or monthly record of your weight loss. If you are not very good with dieting try to eat smaller portions along with your 10 minute walk every day – you will lose weight. To be at your healthiest you need to eat five fruit and vegetables a day and there are several ways to do this. Your vegetables should be steamed to retain the goodness of the phytonutrients. Buy a juicer and take them in liquid form. There is an easier way to take your veggies and that is in capsule or gummie form. Juice Plus provides a creative way to consume added nutrition from 17 different fruits, vegetables, and grains every day. A green capsule for vegetables to be taken in the evening and an orange capsule for fruit to be taken in the morning. Contact Lotta: atraccionplus@gmail.com

New Discoveries are exhilarating!
Try and learn something new every day and make sure that you record it in your journal. Your daily journal should read something like this, ‘What have I learnt today?’ Maybe you've just read the Daily Newspaper and noted an interesting fact, record it in your journal so that you can always refer back to it. Television documentaries are a wealth of facts and information, watch the Discovery Channel or the History Channel for inspiration. As you go about preparing your journal for your journey ahead perhaps it would be a worthwhile exercise to include ‘gratitude’. When life gives you a few knocks and upsets along the way be happy in the knowledge that you can easily offset them against all the things or people you are grateful for. It is the balance you need to help scale and conquer the mountain that lies ahead. Find the time to do all of the things that will make a huge difference to your life and next year I look forward to wishing you a ‘Happy New You!’ Multivitamins make a difference! Do your bit to save the planet