Relationship Tip of the Week #62-10 Ways to Become Healthier as a Couple-Part 2

This week i am continuing with numbers 6-10 from Michelle Schoffro Cook's suggestions for ways to become healthier as a couple:

6) "Give each other a foot rub. Pressure points in our feet correspond to organs, glands and tissues in the rest of our bodies. By activating these points in your partner's feet, you're helping them with whole-body healing. Find a sore spot? Gently massage that point a bit longer."
7) "Share a pot of herbal tea instead of soda or other less-than-healthy beverages. Choose acai berry for a healing antioxidant blast, ginseng for energy, peppermint for a refreshing boost or licorice root to boost your immune system. Tea is so much nicer when it's shared."
8) "Regularly share words of support and encouragement. Making health changes can be challenging sometimes. Simply sharing words of praise and encouragement can make our days a little bit brighter."
9) "Take a moment out of your hectic schedule to meditate together. Meditation is an opportunity to release tension, become mindful of ourselves and the person we share life with."
10) "Do stretching exercises together. A partner can help us get a bit deeper into that stretch. There are some excellent books and videos that can show you how to do couples' yoga or other stretches together."

Relationship Tip of the Week #61-10 ways to become healthier as a couple-part 1

I recently came accross ten suggestions for becoming a healthier couple on a blog written by Michelle Schoffo Cook and thought they would be of interest to my readers. Here are the first five:

1) "Start a detox program together. Many toxins produce hormone-like effects that alter our delicate hormone balance, making us vulnerable to mood swings, irritability, depression and other health concerns. By detoxifying together you'll have the support you need to stick to it."
2) "Give each other a full body massage. Not only will it improve your circulation and relax your muscles, it is an intimate way to become closer."
3) "Hit the sauna together to eliminate toxins while sweating. Many harmful toxins exit the body though our pores in sweat. Sauna-ing healps our bodies to eliminate them faster".
4) "Prepare nutritious meals to support your health goals. By sharing the workload, you'll find it easier to prepare healthy meals. And, you may find you enjoy trying new cuisines".
5) "Instead of slouching on the couch after dinner, go for a brisk walk to oxygenate your blood. Exercising with a partner is more fun and keeps you going."

Relationship Tip of the Week #60-One person can make a difference

It is easy for couples to get into impasses in which each believes that the other is not making an effort and then stops making any efforts to foster positive experiences in the relationship. In order to break the logjam of negative feelings and hopelessness that can arise, i would suggest the following experiment for the new year:

1) Pick one of your behaviors that you know is challenging for your partner or you have received many requests to change.
2) Think about how changing your behavior might impact the relationship
3) Make a committment to yourself to alter this behavior for the next month whether or not your partner is making any changes to improve the relationship
4) Do not tell your partner that you are doing this
5) Notice if you see any shifts in your partners attitude or behavior over the next month and keep a record of it
6) Keep a record of your own changes in behavior and write a few sentences about how difficult it is to follow through on a day to day basis especially if you get angry at your partner