“Vitality is the essence of what it is to be alive,” says Deborah Zucker, “it is our life energy moving through us and expressing itself uniquely in each of us.” She believes that health and vitality are one and the same, so taking care of our health is absolutely necessary for our total wellbeing. Our bodies will tell us when something is wrong. When our vitality is weak, it can manifest as illness, fatigue, or irritability, reminding us to pay attention and start tending to ourselves. Our health is everything, Zucker says. It isn’t just dieting, exercising, or getting enough rest. It’s about being honest about where we’re losing our energy and experimenting with ways to redirect it in the manner that makes us thrive. “If there are things in our life that aren’t aligned for us, we’re feeding all this life energy into things that aren’t allowing us to step into our full expression in life…every single choice that we’re making affects our state of vitality, of aligning with what’s our unique truth, our unique passions, our unique things that light us up and help us to shine.” For example, paying attention to our internal dialogue can help us see ways that we are sabotaging our self-care. She also discusses the importance of play and kindness, and advocates trying different things for short periods of time and evaluating their efficacy.