The mind plays an important role in influencing our body. If that's the case, then why do we focus so much on physical health - food, exercise, movement, and sleep?
According to Yoga philosophy,
When the body stretches, the mind also stretches.
When the body opens up, the mind also opens up.
When the body relaxes, the mind also relaxes.
When the body tenses up, the mind also gets tensed.
Both our body and mind influence each other. Working on both these aspects is essential for good health and vitality.
Starting with improving our physical health makes a lot more sense because
- Working and correcting our physical body is relatively easier than the mind. There is a physical limit to the quantity we can eat in a meal. There is a physical limit to the point we can push our body. There is a physical limit to the point we can go without sleep. But for our mind, the limit is on the higher side - one can have 10000 thoughts in a day. It is hard to process, analyze or control each one of them.
- Our choices in our daily lives have a direct and immediate impact on our body. Eat a single wrong meal and immediately, we feel the sensation of bloating, indigestion, and lethargy. Whereas, a single worry has a subtler effect on our mind, though the impression is made in the subconscious.
- Working on our physical body is also easier to quantify and much more tangible to measure our progress. Of course, the metrics we use should be relevant and meaningful.
- As the body starts to get in shape, the mind opens up automatically and gets ready for healing.
Our physical body is considered a temple of our soul. As we take up the path to improve our physical health, let's be gentle with our body without putting it through sudden extremes
- Neither overeating nor undereating
- Neither overexerting nor being a couch potato
- Neither oversleeping nor being a night owl