It’s another routine weekday. Everyone up early, scrambling with the morning ritual of getting children to school and adults to work, all on time. Shoulders are heavy with stress from job deadlines, homework, chaotic after-school activities, and the spin cycle of getting up and doing it all again tomorrow.

Simultaneously attempting to plan a quick dinner menu and pack healthy lunches it seems everybody has some kind of complaint: a runny nose, a dull headache,“I can’t focus at school,” or didn’t sleep well. As a mother, it can seem nearly impossible to create health and happiness, not only for yourself but for your whole family.

But even though I still have mornings like the one above, I am here to tell you that once you discover health and happiness begins from the inside out, it really is possible to feel good for no reason, everyday. And, it begins through creating a place of capacity, emotional and physical “shock absorbers” to help you and your children withstand everyday challenges through a routine of preventive care. In the end Benjamin Franklin got it right, “an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”
For the last fifteen years, the focus of my work has been helping others create a healthy balance in their day-to-day life. And yes, I personally struggle with the same stress, pressure, and not having enough time in the day to squeeze it all in as you do. But I know all too well that the wear and tear of our demanding lifestyles takes its toll on all of us, parents and kids.

Our bodies can put up with it only for so long until our stress manifests as a physical or emotional problem, be it the common cold, a headache, insomnia, or a bad mood. Lucky for us, by focusing on prevention—building up our emotional and physical reserves—we can avoid many of those problems entirely, creating families that are wholly happy and healthy in the process.

Excerpt from Healthy Mother Healthy Child: Creating Whole Families From the Inside Out