Pamper Your Body without Spending a Fortune

I scheduled an oil change for my car this week. It got me thinking about how we need to give our bodies a tune up too. And spring time is the perfect time to do it.

We often spend more time maintaining our “things” than we do our bodies. (I’m not referring to grooming - I’m talking about taking care of the insides.) Yet, we can trade in a car or an electronic device for a new one - but we only get one body per lifetime so regular “maintenance” is essential. Taking care of the body doesn’t need to be a ton of work or cost a lot of money. In fact, there are a lot of relaxing, fun ways to improve your mental and physical health. The more you nurture your body, the better you’ll feel (and look), inside and out.

Feed yourself regular meals and snacks. No more skipping meals. You heard it here - from a nutritionist (a Jewish one, no less): Eat! You’ll boost your metabolism, be more productive, have more energy, and will make better food choices.

Find a personal trainer. I’m a pretty frugal person but I think this is one of the BEST places you can spend your money. Because of the recession, many in-home personal trainers have lowered their fees. And some gyms offer group personal training packages which can be as low as $20 per person. You get lots of one-on-one attention, spend the hour yacking with friends (or new friends), AND get a great work out. How’s that for multi-tasking? Personal trainers will develop a customized program for you that you can do on your own for the rest of the week or month.

Indulge in a spa day. This also doesn’t need to be super expensive! Many cities have spa houses (often Asian or Russian) where you can pay a flat fee, as low as $15 dollars for the entire day, to spend hours in tubs, saunas, and steam rooms. For an additional fee, you can get a massage, scrub, pedicure, or manicure. Relaxation and “down-time” lowers your stress level which improves your mental and physical health.

Sleep in. Laying in bed all day isn’t just for “lazy” teenagers. (Teens actually need a lot of sleep so let them sleep!) Recent studies show that people who get too little sleep are actually at risk for diabetes. Now, if that isn’t the cheapest, easiest disease-prevention advice out there: REST. I don’t “keep” a traditional Jewish Sabbath but I always reserve Saturdays to relax. I realize this is hard when you have small kids but with a little arranging, it’s possible to get some extra zzzzzs on the weekend. Take turns with your spouse and let each other sleep in every other weekend.  And during the week, go to bed earlier and sleep in a little later. You can tell your boss that it will save them health insurance money down the road….

Get acupuncture. One of the best ways to “tune up” your body is to take advantage of Chinese medicine. Some health insurance plans cover acupuncture (it’s worth calling yours to find out). While it’s not always inexpensive, it’s worth it. It’s the only place you can say, “I need help sleeping, I’d like to concentrate on my work better, my knee hurts, and I feel a cold coming” and have all of those concerns addressed by a few little needles and a nap! And for those of you who are scared of the needles - it’s really not painful at all. If you need a comparison, getting your blood drawn is infinitely more uncomfortable. And if the needles really bother you, you can just get Chinese herbs instead.

Enjoy nature. I attended the Integrative Healthcare Symposium conference a couple of months ago, and it was incredible to learn how simply spending some time in nature can completely alter your biochemical state. This is especially important for children. We are animals, after all, so it makes sense that spending too much time in artificial settings can cause our bodies to feel stressed.  If you live in the city, try to find a park on the weekends and take a long walk. It can do wonders for your mental and physical health.

Meditate. At the IHS conference, they also touted the many medical benefits of meditating. I must admit this is not something I’m very good about doing on a regular basis (okay, not very good about doing at all) but I’m definitely motivated now after hearing about how much data there is showing as little as 20 minutes (even 5 minutes) can lower blood pressure and cholesterol, decrease depression, and improve all kinds of physical and mental problems.

Enjoy! That’s what life is about.

For more ideas on how to pamper yourself, check out this other article.