Imagine this happening…
You get out of the shower, catching a glimpse of yourself in the mirror while wrapping a fluffy towel around your waist.
Eyes sparkling. Fully alive. Ready to conquer the day.
I’ve shared my struggles with unattainable beauty standards on the blog before. But never before have I shared how I discovered my own beauty standards.
One summer I sustained myself on gooey chocolate protein shakes. Hitting the gym for thirty to ninety minutes every day. I thought I was doing everything right… but I never felt worse.
That health obsessed summer, I was a slave to my body. Until I discovered biohacking.
As a biohacker, I optimize my body to support my life-style goals: Generating energy. Moving with ease. Feeling alive.
Being beautiful means refusing to fight against your own biology – choosing to support your biology instead.
What is bio-hacking?
Bio-hacking is a holistic approach to wellness focused on supporting our biology. Bio-hackers don’t follow a set regimen – they research and customize their own regimen. Bio-hackers take responsibility for discovering the unique practices that lets your mind and body thrive.
Deciding to adopt the philosophy of a bio-hacker transformed my personal struggles with weight, acne, nutrition, headaches, fatigue, chronic illness and general pain management into projects of personal discovery. I am willing to experiment and learn, to the extent that I can influence my biology.
Why should I start bio-hacking?
Through biohacking we perceive our body as more than a vehicle that carries our consciousness. We focus less on trivial beauty standards like cellulite – I still don’t understand it – and more on life-changing beauty standards: a resilient body, healthy expression of emotions, mental clarity.
Bio-hacking is the discipline of methodically examining how your environment shapes your body – from your physical surroundings to the external pressures you endure through exercise to your inner neuropsychological environment.
Our biology is influenced in all kinds of ways, including:
- Attention
- Brain health
- Cognitive processing
- Emotional awareness
- Hydration
- Memory
- Nutrition
- Physical activity
- Physical environment, like light, air and noise quality
- Personal care practices
- Presence
- Product use
- Rest and relaxation
- Sleep
- Support networks
How can you be a bio-hacker?
Take responsibility for the health outcomes within your control. Define what health and fitness look and feel like for you – maybe write your own beauty manifesto or imagine how it will feel to achieve your goals.
Steps to get started:
- What health goal would impact your life the most? Identify one, tangible goal, like reducing headaches, alleviating back pain or building muscular strength.
- Research science-backed strategies to move towards your goal. What hacks will you try?
- Track your progress to see how your body responds. How will you monitor your progress? I use an old-fashioned pen and paper list, but there are dozens of apps and excel templates if that’s your jam.
- Adapt your strategy. Could you benefit from more research? Trying a different strategy?
Are you working on a health challenge or finding ways to hack your environment? I’m always finding new bio-hacking challenges and would love to hear your strategies in the comments below.
If you’re ready to start bio-hacking, but not sure where to start, contact me about a free coaching session to help you stay accountable to your health goals with joy and ease.
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