Set up your home the Blue Zones way

Give your home a healthy makeover. Learn some simple tips and tricks from the Blue Zones Project that you can start implementing in your own home.

Transcript

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We've all been there when we've cooked a delicious meal, sat down on the couch, started watching TV, and ate way too much.

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[MUSIC PLAYING] So the first thing that I do when I wake up in the morning is I come into my living room, and I do some journaling

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or meditation. It really helps me start the day calmly before things get pretty hectic around here.

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You'll also notice that I'm sitting on the ground. I grew up in Japan, where that's really common, and people think that that's one of the reasons why people there

00:31

live longer, more agile lives-- because they're constantly getting up and down off the ground, which is a great form of exercise,

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especially when you're carrying an extra 30 pounds being nine months pregnant, like I am. So we just have one television in the living room,

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and it's not visible from the dining area, and that's very intentional. We've all been there, when we've cooked a delicious meal,

00:54

sat down on the couch, started watching TV, and ate way too much. So we try to avoid that by just sitting at the dining

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table for all of our meals. Over here, it might look a little bit cluttered to some, but I love having all of my activity gear in one place

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right next to the front door. It's a great reminder for me to get outside every day and move my body naturally, and it's

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hard to make excuses when you see it all the time when you're sitting on the couch. This is our dining area. We share meals with friends and family,

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play games together, and during the day, I also use it as a workstation. This is our outdoor patio.

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I love using it to do yoga in the morning, or to enjoy a meal during sunset. We live in the desert, so there aren't

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a lot of plants to take care of, but there's still plenty of work to be done to clear weeds and water our cacti, which I like

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doing in the early morning or evening with my husband or mom to get some good vitamin D. In all

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the Blue Zones areas, gardening and working outside is really common. It's a great source of exercise.

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It helps reduce stress. And if you live in the right climate, you can eat right out of your own garden. Earlier this year, I had the opportunity

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to live in one of the Blue Zones areas-- the Nicoya Peninsula of Costa Rica. There you find hammocks everywhere,

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and ever since then, this hammock has been one of my favorite places to downshift. Hopefully this gives you some ideas

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that you can start implementing in your own home. For these tips and more, check out our Blue Zones Home Checklist.