“Vida Lotus” or the Lotus Lifestyle, is a simple, powerful and flexible nine-part system for achieving wellness of the body, mind and soul.

To easily recall the nine parts of this system, you can imagine an 8-petal lotus flower with love at the center.

Here are the nine elements of Vida Lotus:

To Love is the central point of Vida Lotus.

To Love is the very essence of your being, and the reason for all creation. Love is your core, and fear is the opposite of love. So definitely don’t be afraid to love. Love yourself. Love others. Love the universe itself. Love love. You can even love fear. Whatever you do, don’t fear love. I suggest you try your best to love all people, even those that would harm you. That doesn’t mean you have to like them or their actions. “To love” in essence, means to wish wellness for the other, and a willingness to help them achieve it. When our “enemies” heal, we all win.

The eight petals of Vida Lotus:

1. Be Wiggly. You were wiggly even before you were born. As wiggliness dwindles, so does wellness. So do whatever you can to reclaim your wiggliness… Sing! Dance! Practice moving like the wind and like water. Your body and mind are one, so moving your body unlocks your mind. The best exercises encourage fluid motions throughout your entire body, such as yoga, martial arts and swimming. In short, choose the exercises that help you get and stay wiggly.

2. Breathe deeply and slowly. Aim to spend as much time as possible in areas of clean air. Ideally, you will be far removed from contaminating factories. If you cannot live in the clean countryside at this moment, then maybe install good air filters in your home and office. Clean fresh air is the number one nutrient, and it is essential to wellness. Now breathe that clean air deeply and slowly.

3. Take in the sun! Practice sungazing at sunrise or sunset. And get those gentle sun rays on your skin too, for at least 15 minutes each day, but avoid the strongest mid-day rays that are more likely to burn you.

4. Bathe in clean water! Chlorine and other toxins found in city water supplies can be absorbed through the skin. Do not drink or bathe in low quality, contaminated or “dead” water. A Japanese scientist proved that water loses much of its life-giving properties when it becomes stagnant. Ideally, you would drink and bathe in living water directly from a crisp mountain spring. But if you can’t then do the next best thing by installing an excellent filter, rather than relying on bottled water, which is often as contaminated as tap water, and sometimes even worse due to plastic materials leaching into the water from the bottle, messing up the body’s natural hormonal balance.

5. Eat a plant-based diet: Alkalize your body with raw organic herbs, spices, vegetables, fruits, nuts and seeds. The “Raw Vegan” diet is the optimal choice. But as a minimum step, every human must at least be vegan.

6. Detoxify: Even if you eat correctly by avoiding GMO’s, pesticides, and the antibiotics and hormones in animal products, some toxins are sure to sneak their way into your body… so it’s wise to keep a rough count of how many toxins are coming in on a daily basis compared to how many are going out. Your body will eliminate some of these toxins naturally, but the rest will require a specific effort to get rid of. Otherwise, they will accumulate in your tissues and eventually cause disease. Fortunately there are many ways to detoxify, and some are downright pleasurable, like a relaxing massage or laying in a sauna.

7. Meditate or pray: Open your mind and your heart to the divine truth that penetrates you and the entire universe. The more profoundly you observe everything, the more your consciousness can evolve, and this will lead you to be healthier and happier. Meditation means deep observation. We need to go deeper than the five notorious senses that can trap us in the physical realm and prevent us from understanding our spiritual mission. In the same way, true prayer is not about making a list of demands to the almighty, but rather, it’s about listening deeply, and responding with your actions.

8. Dream: Focus more on the quality of your sleep rather than the quantity. And pay attention to your dreams, since this one aspect of sleep is by far the most overlooked and it can bring benefits beyond your belief. It can give you the perspective that is hard to get when the five notorious senses are awake. When you do awaken from your dream, make a note of anything that you remember, then get to work on achieving your mission. Live your dream!

Note that this system is simple and flexible. I did not list a thousand rules because each person only has these nine needs. But each person is free to define their own desires, and these are limitless. So go ahead and add as many other elements to your life as you wish. But make sure that each of the nine basic human needs are satisfied before chasing after those material desires.

In summary, Vida Lotus is the lifestyle system that creates wellness by satisfying the nine human needs: to love, to be wiggly, to breathe clean air, to take in the sun, to hydrate with living water, to eat fruit, to detoxify, to dream and to meditate. This concept is summarized in the following image, which you are welcome to download onto your computer or portable device.