Get Healthy Fast


Sometimes, we just can't afford to get sick. What choices must be made to get healthy fast?

Get Healthy with Yoga

Below are 10 actions, 10 essential Healthy Habits, that, in most cases, will reverse your sickness and boost your health very quickly.

In addition, you'll find many wonderful tips on how to get healthy from other yogis around the world who contributed to this site.

Please note, these recommendations are not a treatment for any serious ailment like cancer or a chronic degenerative disease (Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, Diabetes, or Arthritis) although all of these conditions and many others may benefit greatly from following these guidelines.

Primarily, these actions are an ideal regimen for dealing with colds, flu, fatigue, and stress. Following these, you'll get healthy and get over your sickness in three to five days instead of two weeks.

There are no specific vitamin/herbal/dietary recommendations as they would be different for each health concern.

"My best healthy habit is probably my approach to myself. I try to do this with respect and curiosity. When I'm sick, I'm patient with myself and I listen carefully to how I feel... In general, I rest in bed, I sleep, and I only drink. Afterwards, and if I don't have any fever, I go for a small walk to the beach (bare feet). And if I feel like it, I do some very gentle yoga asanas. I come back to my daily life very slowly. Namaste,"

~ Victoria, Barcelona, Spain

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"What works for me when I am sick and trying to get healthy is to pay attention to what I love about life. I try to really notice what that is and what it feels, tastes, smells and looks like. What is this vibration and how can I enhance its ability to help guide me into decisions about what is healthy for me? How do I utilize love in its broadest and deepest sense to stimulate my life force and will to live? How might I choose a loving approach as opposed to a fearful one? Can I notice what is still healthy when I might be sick and suffering as well? Can I notice what I am thankful for, even in times of illness? I also like to pay attention to integration of the present moment. Am I in the present moment or reacting to past or future events and conditioning? When the answer to these questions are the same, I am usually more in the present moment:

"What am I doing?
"What am I thinking?
"What am I feeling?
"What am I perceiving?

I then try to be wherever I am, with love, and no conditions, like holding myself as an infant with unconditional love, re-parenting, nurturing and knowing how to love life itself. It is usually easier to make decisions about what to eat, how to rest, restore and enliven myself."

~ Stephanie, Boston

"This academic year has truly changed my perception of the world. I am sincerely learning to look at the world with eyes of compassion. I thought I had always done this. But, no, this is different. I see now that my previous eyes of compassion were, in fact, clouded by judgment. Almost as though I had this unconscious concept of those who were deserving of compassion, and those who were undeserving. For example, in my past, without even realizing I was being judgmental, I disliked the military, discounted criminals, and disregarded felons. Well, this year has paid me a huge lesson by forcing me to listen compassionately to my clients, who have done unthinkable things, and committed unspeakable acts. I thought I would hate talking to them, but instead when I am in session, all I can do is hurt for and love them. When I am with them, I see the relationship between events that has made them who they are, or made them do what they did. I see big, scary, multiply-charged felons and tough-as-nails Marines, and these guys come in my office and cry. I don't know what they have had to face in life, or what they saw in Iraq ... and they know that I haven't got a clue ... yet they are so desperate for help that they trust some girl who isn't even graduated from school, let alone licensed as a psycho-therapist, simply because they just need someone to hear them without judging them. Anyway, my point is that I feel that maybe because I am offering my love, and thus channeling healing, I may also be receiving a reciprocal healing.

~ Jennifer, San Clemente, CA


Healthy Habit~ Stop negative thinking
as soon as you notice it
and count your blessings.

Negative thinking and negative self-talk are normal activities that the mind likes to engage in. But they are counter-productive if you need to get healthy.

Remember, we live in an energetic universe. Any negativity has an effect on your energy. It weakens you. It drains you. It creates a wide gap in your energetic immunity. Sooner or later, it manifests in the physical health.

Stop it as soon as you notice it. Turn your attention to all the good things you have. Every mistake has a lesson in it. As soon as you catch yourself blaming or regretting, STOP. Instead, appreciate what you have.


Healthy Habit~ Get plenty of sleep,
and practice Deep Relaxation.

Plenty of restful sleep is absolutely essential to get healthy fast.

Between 10pm and 2am is the most healing and detoxifying time to sleep. During this crucial time, our body does the most cell-repair and cell-rejuvenation, getting rid of toxins within the cells.

If we go to sleep at 1am or later, we miss out on this natural anti-aging habit.

Sleep researchers say that "one hour before 2am is worth two hours after 2am".

This means that sleeping from 10pm to 2am would be equivalent to 8 hours of sleep!

Yogic Deep Relaxation, or Yoga Nidra, removes many physical, emotional, and mental tensions, thereby freeing up a vast amount of internal energy available for healing.

Practice Deep Relaxation at least once a day, and as you lie down to sleep at night.


"I move away from negative energy as often as is possible. Have fun. Laugh often. Take echinacea with orange juice at the first sign of a cold. Breathe.I don't allow myself to get into negative thinking patterns. If I do, I call a friend. Surround myself with nature and beauty. Spend time alone. I try to enjoy my children as fully and completely as I am able to. I am grateful for everything my husband does to contribute to the family.I give thanks every morning. I pray for myself and for others in my life -- both healthy and unwell people. I sing. I go to church to take one hour per week to be reflective. I send my friends birthday cards. I give to those in need."

~ Ellen, Boston


Healthy Habit~ Drink plenty of fluids.
"Dilution is Solution to Pollution".

When you must get healthy quickly, drink more than you think you need. Detox. Get the fluids moving.

This includes water, teas, and vegetable juices.

It DOES NOT include coffee, milk (any kind), fruit juice, or soda drinks. All of these are too acidic: either dehydrating (coffee), toxic (soda), sugary (fruit juice), and processed (soy milk).

Normally, drink eight 8oz glasses a day. Or half of your body weight in ounces. So if you are 128 lbs, half of that in ounces would be 64oz. That equals eight 8oz glasses.

When getting over a sickness, drink even more than that!


Healthy Habit~ Sweat.

You may be one of those people who just don't like to sweat. Guess what? ... If you want to get healthy fast, you must!

Perspiration is a natural way for the body to detoxify itself. And it's one of the most effective ways to detox and heal.

In many cultures, sweating is a treatment of the first onset of cold/flu symptoms. Chinese and Ayurvedic medicines make very good use of that. For a good, time-proven reason.

Sweat through exercise or by going to a sauna. Preferably both.

If you are already feeling sick, avoid any strenuous exercise, and sauna may be your only option.


Healthy Habit~ Mild Exercise.

If you are really sick, and/or have a fever, then skip this Healthy Habit until you feel better.

There are numerous health benefits of exercise, ranging from better cardiovascular system and heart health, to healthier muscles, bones, and joints, to better digestion and stronger immune system, and to the overall sense of well-being due to the release of exercise-induced endorphins.

The intensity of exercise depends on how well you feel.

Strenuous exercise is contra-indicated during an illness. However, a mild restorative yoga sequence would help relieve stress and muscle tension and shorten your recovery time.

As you start feeling better and better, increase the intensity of your short workouts and include some form of cardiovascular exercise such as brisk walking, swimming, dancing, and flowing Yoga.

Ideally, once you get healthy, include all 4 componenents of exercise in your weekly regimen.


Healthy Habit~ Practice
Abdominal Breathing.

Abdominal breath massages the internal organs, stimulates the blood flow to the organs, encourages good digestion and elimination, relaxes the nervous system, provides more oxygen intake, makes you feel deeply energized, and just feels good.

Practice Abdominal Breath to get healthy, to stay healthy, and feel rejuvenated all the time. It's OK to do it whenever you think of it, but it's also a good idea to have a consistent breathing practice. Maybe in the morning, or at night before bed.


Healthy Habit~ Eat three
small and simple meals a day.

Digestion of food takes more energy than any other activity!

If you eat a lot, you'll be over-working the internal organs, missing the essential rest, and using up all the energy needed to get healthy. So eat small meals. Three times a day.

The more simple your meal, the fewer digestive enzymes your body needs to use, the less energy it needs to spend, and the more energy is available for healing.

Simple meals are easy to digest. Choose only a few types of food at a time.

Best choices are:
- simple grains (quinoa, brown rice, millet, buckwheat, and oats);
- cooked beans;
- lightly cooked, steamed, or sauteed veggies.


Healthy Habit~ Consume fresh green foods
full of live energy and living enzymes.

No matter how well you eat, how 'clean' your food is, and how many vitamins you take, if you are not eating live foods, you will be lacking in optimal health. This is especially vital if you are trying to get healthy.

Life needs to be nourished by life.

In my personal experience, I have skipped this essential habit, only to struggle longer to get healthy when I needed to. On the other hand, every time I include fresh green foods in my diet, I feel their vibrant energy in my body, rarely get sick, and recover quickly.

Best examples:
- Wheatgrass juice
- Other fresh vegetable juice (greens like parsley, spinach, and kale mixed with the sweeter beets or carrot juice)
- Green salads
- Fresh fruits
- Fresh berries


"To stay healthy: I watch what I eat. Plenty of salads with vinegar dressing, grains, vitamin supplements, and plenty of yoga, and other exercise. If I do get sick I start immediately with Echinacea, extra Vit C, Zink and get lots of rest."

~ Judie, San Diego


Healthy Habit~ Eliminate all sugar
and sugary 'foods', all dairy,
caffeine, and processed foods.

Try it for at least a few days. If this isn't your usual regimen, you'll be surprised how good it feels, and how quickly you'll get healthy.

Sugar kills your white blood cells, the immune system fighters. All cancerous cells feed on sugar. Eliminate it as much as possible for at least a few days. Even starchy and sugary fruits (bananas, mangos, melons, pineapple) aren't recommended.

Diary is a non-food, i.e. it's not intended to be eaten by humans by nature. It's for baby cows only. Even mature cows don't drink milk. Would you drink your mother's milk at your age now?

But besides that, it lowers our immunity as much as sugar. That's why it's so mucous-forming. The mucous is the dead white blood cells.

All diary is also very acidic, meaning that it leaches alkaline minerals (calcium, magnesium) from your tissues like bones. That's how dairy consumption causes osteoporosis.

I can go on and on. If you are addicted to dairy, at least skip it for a few days that you are trying to get healthy.

Caffeine is also very acid-forming. Thus, coffee consumption can make your bones brittle, too. Your immune system has to struggle harder when there's caffeine in the system to deal with.

Overly processed foods (just look at the labels) contain many toxic and harmful ingredients, not intended to be consumed, but are still used for coloring, flavoring, creating a desired consistency, getting you addicted, etc. If the list of the ingredients is longer than five or six, and many of the ingredients have long unpronounceable names, don't eat it.


Healthy Habit~ Take antioxidant supplements
when you have a high degree of
oxidative stress.

Take them at least during the healing process. Once you get healthy, nutrient-rich foods can suffice.

Sickness/Disease = Oxidative Stress

To avoid oxidative stress, you want enough antioxidants to handle the free radicals that create the oxidation.

During colds and flus the following age-old antioxidants are especially helpful:
~ Lemon
~ Echinacea
~ Elderberry
~ Garlic
~ Zinc





Disclaimer: The contents of this website are based upon the opinions, research, and experiences of Surya (Slava Kolpakov), unless otherwise noted. The information on this website is not intended to treat, prescribe, diagnose, or replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional or yoga therapist and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information. I encourage you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.