Taking Care of Our Body Mind and Soul
The human experience is made of three equal parts. One is not more important than the other and all must be nourished and taken care of to an equal degree. This is something that we often forget in our society of hustle and bustle. We tend to put much attention to the body and as we are surrounded constantly with images that display the importance of our bodies forgetting far too often our souls. Our minds are fed by everything around us and if we do not carefully make our choices, we find ourselves in a whirlwind of information. As the world progresses it is more and more important for us to take a moment to readdress our self-care in all three aspects. This is precisely what I would like to do in this post offering a few tips to stay in a conscious state of being.
The Body
Let’s start with the body because it is the easiest.
We all know that nutrition and food are a big part of keeping our body healthy and strong. We are what we eat. Providing our body with the vitamins and minerals it needs to thrive is an essential. More and more we are consciously becoming aware of our food sources and why it is so important to stay away from toxins, hidden in preservatives, coloring and other additives. We know that organic is better but not all of us have the possibility or budget to buy always organic. None the less there are still ways to stay as close as possible to the way nature intended us to nourish our bodies. We will cover this to a greater extent in further posts.
Keeping our bodies in movement is equally important. If you don’t use it, you lose it. In today’s world of convenience, we move less and less. Isn’t it curious how our society strives to do things with less effort and more comfortably, and then we go to the gym to work out as hard as we can and pay for it. I have been a wellness and fitness trainer all my adult life and this is something that has always tickled me. Those of us who don’t go to the gym (and I now include myself), there are so many ways to get the exercise and movement daily that our bodies require to be healthy. For those of you that are at the gym remember to also make it fun without surpassing those healthy limits.
Self-care is the last I want to comment on today. This may look so different for everyone. Self-care can be any three of body mind and soul but here we will peek at the body. Hygiene, exercise, time for oneself, for your loved ones and for your friends, can all be a form of self-care. Reading, education, recreation etc. Whatever it may be for you, make sure you set a special time aside for yourself. We can only be a help to others if our cup is full.
The Mind
How do we care for our mind? Much like the body we must be conscious of what goes into our minds and how we use it. What things are serving us well and what is detrimental? Let’s be intentional about what we hear, see and think. Thoughts are inevitably always going through our minds, but we can learn to shape and mold our thoughts. It is known that’s thoughts become reality so if this is true how important is it to you to pay attention to your thoughts. So how do we do this?
Recognizing our thoughts is the first step to take. Where does your mind wander to? What are you feeling? Name the emotion or the thought. Where is it coming from? Mindfulness can help a great deal for this. Practice being mindful of what you are experiencing. Write it down and put it into words so it becomes physical. Start a journal if that’s something that you can commit to. Write a letter to someone or to yourself. Read something that brings you joy. Put a book in your hands and flip the pages. Listen carefully. Be particular and selective with what you are listening to. Does it serve you well? Put images before you, that feed your mind and imagination with good things. Bring beauty and comfort into the images you choose. The world around us will bring enough sad and ugly to keep you down to earth. Be specific about balancing out life’s circumstances with your personal choices of beauty and joy.
Our minds depend also on the nourishment we give our brains and body in general. Our digestive system is directly related to the brain and gut. Problems in these areas can lead to brain fatigue, confusion, inability to think clearly and insomnia etc. Toxins, preservatives, artificial flavoring and coloring all take their toll on the brain so let’s take a good look at what we are putting into our bodies and brains.
In posts to come we will really get a good look at what and how to eat to care for our mental health.
