Teacher, Counsellor, Nutritionist, Author, Editor, Athlete, Yoga Practitioner, Quora contributor, and Ted.com addict.Check out my personal web page here: https://shankarmehta.com
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- How to Stay Healthy in Body, Mind, and Spirit - October 19, 2019
To enjoy the gifts of life, it is essential to stay healthy in body, mind and spirit. A problem in any one of these areas can affect our total well-being. Human beings are resilient; we are naturally programmed to bounce back if we experience a temporary disturbance in any one of these areas. A sustained imbalance, however, can lead to diseases like cancer, stroke, heart attack, diabetes, dementia and obesity.
What are the root causes of these imbalances? Stress is a major contributor.
We are living in a society that can cause stress for many reasons:
- society reinforces the inaccurate idea that we can only achieve happiness through the accumulation of material things;
- our lifestyles are rushed and our schedules are jam-packed; and
- our economies are based on sustaining levels of high productivity that can act to the detriment of our physical, mental and spiritual health.
All of these things cause stress, which can have detrimental consequences to our health. Induced stress brings us back to fight or flight programming, which exists in our primal neural system. The adrenal glands pump up adrenaline and cholesterol to deal with the stress we experience. This creates an excess of hormones throughout our bodies, which slow down, and sometimes even shut down, the flow of blood to the digestive system.
It is believed that our upset digestive system is the root cause of almost all diseases, barring genetic disposition. Since we cannot alter our genetic coding, we can do a lot to correct our digestive system. An approach that has been used through the ages in all cultures is to “let food be your medicine.”
What should we eat and what should we avoid is the question? Both the quality and the quantity of food matters. Here’s a simple place to start: organic vegetables in seven different colours are the rainbows of hope. So one way to support the health of our bodies is to support our digestive system to repair, heal and flourish. Making good choices in the foods we eat to nourish our bodies is one of the most important things we can do to keep our bodies healthy.
Stress can also affect our minds. Our thought processes and mental well being can be disturbed by all bad news that surrounds us and our experiences of trauma and stress. These stressors can lead us into depression, which can sometimes spiral downward into addiction and suffering. There are several tips that can help us maintain and regain health in our mind:
- Get a good night’s sleep. A solid seven to ten hours of sleep can do wonders for our mental health (and conversely, not getting this type of rejuvenating sleep can significantly impact our mental health). So make getting a good night’s sleep a priority and you will see the benefits right away.
- Create connections to community. As Johann Hari points out being part of a supportive community can do wonders for all of us to ensure we feel connected and supported in both the good times and bad.
- Act in service to others. Particularly, when you may be feeling disconnected and lacking a feeling of purpose, it can help to act in service to others. This can reinforce the fact that each of us has a purpose beyond ourselves and that each of us can make a difference in another person’s life.
Finally, stress can also affect our spirit. Just like our bodies and minds, we need to take care of our spiritual health. Organized religion has taught us that there are many benefits to believing in a higher power and higher purpose than just our physical existence on this earth. Belief in higher power leads to acceptance of all of those things that are beyond our control.
Meditation and yoga can also support our spiritual health. Making time for meditation to regularly calm our minds is essential. Yoga practices are helpful in focusing our attention.
When we are healthy in body, mind and spirit, we exude happiness. This in turn has positive impacts on the people around us; when we are happy, people are helped just by our mere presence. So consider these tips to stay healthy in your body, mind and spirit:
- Body: Take care of your digestive health. Pick organic foods and eat vegetables from all the colours of the rainbow.
- Mind: Get enough sleep and consider where you can build community and find connections with others. Think of ways you can serve others and this will help maintain a healthy mind.
- Spirit: Believe in higher power and/or purpose. Meditate, breathe deeply and do yoga. Calm minds can work out difficult problems at all levels.
So here’s so staying healthier in body, mind and spirit. Let us know in the comments below what your tips are to nurture and support your physical, mental and spiritual health!
This article is full of practical and easy-to-follow tips to cultivate and maintain health in body, mind and spirit. Thanks for these important tips – I am going to follow them and especially to follow the tip about eating a rainbow of fruits and vegetables!! Great reminder!