It is not an exotic word, is it? Perhaps 20 years ago, wellness would have been a nebulous term. Today, it has become a household word.

Allow me to share with you the simplest of little miracles attributed to the daily habit of applying wellness into our lives. These are actual stories of people whose names have been changed for the sake of privacy.

Teresa’s nightmare

An early death was always this 65-year-old’s greatest fear. One night, she had the scare of her life. Past midnight she fought with all her might to escape from her attacker in the darkest of dreams. She felt as though a black figure was stepping on her chest, causing her difficulty in breathing. Somehow, she managed to extricate herself from her nightmare. 

She called me the next morning and recounted her experience. What caused her to have such a real, near-tragic experience?

I asked her what she had eaten the night before. Admittedly, dinner was a heavy one. It consisted of three servings of lechon and two rounds of rice. 

She could not help herself, Teresa confessed. 

Her doctor validated what I had told her — she had overeaten and gone to bed on a very full stomach.

Often when we overload our digestive tract, stomach acids have a way of rising up and putting pressure on the lungs. This explains the difficulty in breathing.

My advice to her was the following:

1. Have light dinners. No heavy meats like pork or steak at night. Go for fish or white meat instead like chicken.

2. Skip dessert or alcohol.

3. Wait three hours after dinner before going to bed.

Result: Teresa lost weight. She never had that nightmare again. 

Bob’s blood pressure

At 50, Bob looked like he was 60. Twenty pounds overweight, he had difficulty walking due to the excess weight and its pressure on his knees.

 What was even worse was that his blood pressure kept getting higher each passing year. At one point, it had reached 140/90. This was devastating to him because in his youth, Bob was an athlete. The unthinkable was happening to him.

I put Bob on a daily exercise regimen: 20-minute brisk walk in the early morning on an empty stomach.

The only food he consumed before the walk were one lukewarm glass of water with a squeeze of fresh lemon and a glass of freshly juiced vegetables like carrots, cucumber and romaine lettuce.

After four weeks of strict discipline to his routine, Bob had slimmed down by 10 pounds and his blood pressure was an impressive 120/80.

Daily moderate exercise is good medicine for the heart and overall well-being.

Annie’s acne

She was 23 — young, attractive and talented. But Annie was prone to breakouts.

Her eating lifestyle excluded vegetables. Her intake of water was down to a dismal four glasses daily. No wonder her skin rebelled!

The quickest of fixes is this: 

1. Increase hydration to 12 glasses daily. 

2. Take 1,000-2,000 mg of vitamin C.

3. Add vegetables to the diet.

4. Add vitamins A, D and zinc supplements.

5. Have monthly facials with a dermatologist.

6. Cleanse your face thrice daily — morning, noon and night.

7. Use hypoallergenic skincare products.

8. Exercise to sweat. This is a good skin detox.

The results were amazing after one month. Clearer, brighter skin. 

Affirmation: “I am victorious in every way.”

Love and light.