Living Your Best Vegan Life: 5 Tips for Finding Beauty and Joy in Every Day

Our lives have become increasingly busy. More and more, we find ourselves distracted by the never-ending list of things that we think we have to do. Distracted by this busyness, we fail to recognize the beauty that’s all around us. Even more, we forget to create moments that bring us joy.

Beauty and joy are critically important to living our best, most meaningful life. There are many different ways to inject health, energy, joy, and beauty into your life. How to get there will be different for everyone, but here are five ideas to get you started:

1. Find the fun in fitness.

Whatever makes you get up and move—do it. I like walking. Instead of taking cabs or the subway when I’m in New York City, I throw on my sneakers and walk. When I’m strolling, I can’t help but take in all the beauty that the city has to offer. In our hometown, my husband and I have walking dates. We pay attention to each other and enjoy our surroundings. I also love to ice skate and practice Pilates. Ice skating gives me a wonderful thrill, while Pilates forces me to slow down and pay attention to my body and its movement.

2. Pamper yourself.

Take some time to take care of yourself. Get a facial. Schedule a massage. Be good to your body. Pay attention to what goes in (for example, eat breakfast, aim for lots of greens, and chew your food—the more you chew, the less work that your body needs to do) and pay attention to what comes out (did you know that ideally you should poop more than once a day?).

3. Detox.

This is a big one. The skin is the largest organ we have that helps us detox our cells so that we can stay healthy, full of energy, and disease-free. These are my tips for clearing away toxins:

• Breathe. Full breaths are important—they help make our ribs move. Try this: Inhale for four counts, hold your breath for seven counts, exhale for eight counts, and then repeat the sequence four times.
• Dry brush. Dry brushing opens the pores and stimulates your skin. You’ll look and feel better. Use a dry brush daily before you get in the shower to get rid of dead layers of skin.
• Hydrate. Hydration is good for your skin and for weight loss. Take your body weight and divide it by two. That’s how many ounces of water you need to drink daily.

4. Sink into meditation.

Meditation forces you to take the time out that you need to cleanse your mind, de-stress, and sink into the joy of living. It reminds you to live consciously. It helps you to nurture yourself. And it takes only 10 minutes a day. Not sure where to start? Try one of the many wonderful meditation apps on your phone. The benefits you reap will be astounding.

5. Sleep deeply.

It’s really unfortunate that sleep is so undervalued in our society, but it’s important that we all get plenty of shut-eye each night. Make your room dark and turn off your phone, computer, and TV well before you settle into bed. Also, I take Natural Calm magnesium every night. In addition to helping me sleep, it has so many unbelievable benefits—like preventing muscle cramps and twitching—with no downside.