If you are looking to try and be healthier, happier and to feel more full in your daily life, a big part of that comes down to having your mind and body as unified as possible. When that is happening, it tends to make for a much more effective kind of living, and one that is more joyous and loving too, as well as more creative and so many other wonderful things.
The question is, how can you actually achieve a unification of mind and body? Essentially, this comes down to a matter of self-care. In a very general but very real sense, if you are looking after your mind, you are generally looking after your body, and vice versa. But there are also definitely certain acts that are particularly good for taking care of both.
That’s what we are interested in here. The following are all great ways to look after your mind and body as one much more effectively.
Appreciate The Connection
First of all, it can help a great deal if you really understand and appreciate the connection between mind and body as well as possible. The more you understand it, the better off you will be, because you will find that you are going to be much more encouraged to actually take care of them both. So you might want to read up on this connection, or simply spend a while meditating on the fact that you have this connection between mind and body.
Soon enough, you are going to be a lot more inspired to take care of them both as one, and that is obviously what we are going for here. So it’s a vital first step that is likely to make a considerable difference to you.
Get Your Sleep
It can’t be overstated just how important sleep is. In terms of both the health of the body and the vibrancy of the mind, sleep is an absolutely essential function that you need to respect. If you are not getting your nightly sleep, you are simply not going to have the mental or physical wellbeing you are hoping for. Of course, it can be difficult to actually get the sleep you need, so what is the solution if you are struggling to do so?
Actually, it turns out to be all about the little things. Simply going to bed a little earlier, making the bedroom a little more comfortable, and keeping your routine for bedtime can really help a lot with how much sleep you get. You may also wish to consider avoiding caffeine and alcohol, or at least cutting them down, as they are known to impede on your ability to fall asleep and to enjoy deep sleep once you have done so.
Once you are sleeping more soundly, you’ll find huge improvements in your mind and body, and you will start to feel so much more like yourself again.
Learn How To Breathe
This might sound like a funny thing to say, but it is really true that many people are going through their days not really breathing properly. That is to say, they are not breathing fully, deeply or in a truly restorative way. This causes all sorts of problems for both the physical body and mental wellbeing, but you might not realize how serious such problems are until you do actually learn how to breathe properly.
To do so, there are many methods you can follow. You may wish to take up an ancient practice like pranayama, where you breathe alternately through the nostrils at different rates. Or you might want to try a more modern approach, such as the Wim Hof method through Breath Inspired. However you do it, if you can learn to breathe properly, you will likely be amazed at what it can ultimately do for your wellbeing.
Spend Time On What You Enjoy
It might sound simplistic, but again very few people are actually taking the time to delve into the things they really enjoy. The problem here is that you might soon start to feel that life is meaningless and dull, and that will lead to all sorts of psychological problems that will also manifest as physical ailments. So it’s a very wise move to make sure that you are spending time on the things you most enjoy.
That can be as simple as taking time each day to do one thing that you really love doing. If you are unsure what you love doing, then you can instead think of this as a possibility for exploration, to find out what sorts of things you tend to enjoy. That in itself can be enormous fun!
Over time, you will get to know what you enjoy, and you’ll find that spending just a little time on it each day will make a huge difference to your mental and physical wellbeing.
Disrupt Your Normal Routine
We all tend to get into routines in our daily lives. These come about as a result of work, school, and a variety of other such factors. The problem is when those routines become too ingrained, to the point that you feel you can’t escape from them. This can lead to a feeling of being stuck in life, or as though nothing is ever changing for you, and that can be problematic for your mental health and your physical health too. It’s therefore essential that you are doing all you can to break up your normal routine from time to time, ideally as often as possible.
Doing so could lead to a profoundly new sense of what is possible in life, while giving you the space to breathe and think differently, which is in itself a hugely important part of living life to the fullest. So if you can think of a way to upset your daily routine just a little, it could be a surprisingly powerful thing that really makes a radical difference to your mind as well as your body.
Meditate
A simple meditation practice could be the most powerful tool you ever discover in your life, especially regarding the healing unification of mind and body. If meditation scares you or you are put off by it in some manner, you are not alone, but in truth it is a very simple and bare bones practice that could radically transform your life.
To get into meditation, you may decide to set aside merely ten minutes each day for the practice. Then you just need to sit in a relaxed position – any will do – and gently bring attention to the breath as it goes in and out. All you need to do then is notice the breath. If you notice the mind wandering to something else, it’s not a problem – just note that and gently bring the attention back to the breath.
The repetition of that simple process again and again is the practice we call meditation. It is incredibly simple but very powerful, and will heal both mind and body if you do it regularly and with playful passion.
Be Season-Aware
The seasons affect us all, though some may feel more obviously affected than others. If you want to make sure that you are taking good care of your mind and body, being aware of the seasons and the effect they are having on you can help a lot. In particular, you may wish to try and prepare yourself for the winter before it comes around, because that is generally the most difficult season in terms of both mental health and keeping fit and active physically.
Just preparing yourself mentally can help, as can making a promise to yourself to continue to exercise throughout the colder months. As long as you do those simple things, and practice a good seasonal awareness in general, you should find that helps.
Stay Connected
It’s not all just about what you do with yourself, however. In fact, this might turn out not to even be that important. Instead, it’s more about your connections with other people, with the people in your life that really matter to you, as well as a connection to the wider community. We are highly social beings, and we need a lot of connection if we are going to feel whole and human.
All that is to say: you should try to stay as connected with people, socially, as you need to be. That is a matter of listening to your body and your mind, and giving it what it needs, which should become pretty obvious. If you can do that, you’re going to find that you are happier, and there are also known physical health benefits to this too. It really is worthwhile.
Those are the major aspects to looking after your mind and body. If you can do those things, or even just some of them, you should find that your mind and body really do feel like one, and that the unification and health of both is profound.
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