When I launched my website Well Healthy Ways and began coaching and blogging a little over a year ago, my number one category was and still is You First, since taking care of yourself first lays a strong foundation for wellness and health for life.  Be bold. Live longer, look younger, but most important of all, feel great while living.

Taken from You First on my site “Health and wellness is multi-dimensional and an ongoing process. By putting ourselves first, we can maintain our own personal health and wellness foundation.”  Also,  “According to the Blue Zone studies and other research on longevity, our life span is determined primarily by lifestyle and culture. Not only can we increase our lifespan, we can also look and feel much younger at every age. Lifestyle is a much greater determiner of person’s level of health and wellness.”

So here I am just over a year later still focusing on the Blue Zones!

Many original Blue Zone residents practice nine healthy lifestyle habits to help them live long, healthy, happy lives. The Power Nine:

1. Move naturally-take every opportunity to walk
2. Purpose-have something to live for beyond work and consider “why I wake up in the morning”
3. Downshift-have daily routines to shed stress
4. 80% rule-stop eating when your stomach is 80% full
5. Plant slant-include beans and small amounts of meat
6. Wine @ 5-have a “little” wine
7. Right tribe-social circles support healthy behaviors
8. Community-faith based services can add years to your life
9. Loved ones first-make family a priority

Taken from National Geographic’s  “The Blue Zones-The Science of Living Longer”

The featured photo on my blog post today is of me engaging in #6.  I was enjoying a “little” wine with a light snack after a great bike in Eastern Washington.