Holistic Wellness
the two bodies + the mind
When we don’t feel comfortable in our bodies or our life experience, we try to find refuge in our heads. This prevents us from being present and limits our experience of joy, freedom, and empowerment. If we want to be more present, to feel lighter, and to experience more joy in our lives, we must heal the physical body, awaken to the spiritual body, and quiet the mind.
Heal the Body
The physical body is the one through which we express in this physical world. It is our mechanism for communicating, experiencing our environment, and being with our loved ones. The health of our physical body* affects our every experience including our mobility & strength, our comfort in the world, our ability to do the things we want to do, and even our mind.
While mental/emotional practices such as mindfulness and meditation are extremely important, they can only take us so far if our physical body, and especially our brain, is struggling to stay healthy.
Awaken to the Soul
The spiritual body or the soul is the one that expresses through our physical body. It is the way we relate to life, to the universe or a higher power, to our ancestors, to our earth & communities, and to our selves. When we neglect our spiritual body we can feel depressed and purposeless, angry or afraid.
When we leverage the spiritual body we are able to learn from our experiences, adapt more easily to change, make decisions with integrity, feel connected to our loved ones and environment, feel more relaxed and trusting, and have radical acceptance for the present moment while always being open to the next.
Quiet the Mind
I do not think of the mind as a “body” like I do the physical and spiritual bodies, but it plays possibly the most important role in wellness. The mind is a tremendously useful tool that helps us to understand and make sense of our experience, but untrained it can simply be a series of compelling yet unhelpful reactions in the form of words and emotions. This can be a difficult concept to grasp, and the practice of discerning the chatter from the wisdom lasts a lifetime, but is worth the endeavor. Becoming conscious of the habits of my mind has been the single most beneficial practice I have tried (and I’ve tried a lot!).
While the body & the spirit are the avenues into the present moment, the mind is the avenue out of it.
Think about this - when you’re engaged in physical activity, when you’re engaging your senses, creating, or focusing on your breath, your thoughts seem to drop away and you are able to focus on the now. Likewise, when you’re in spiritual practice such as meditating, creating, reading poetry or scripture, listening to a spiritual teacher, or engaged in a heart-opening conversation, presence comes naturally and the feeling of connection expands.
However, when you’re in your thoughts, when you’re ruminating or planning or worrying, you’re not in the present moment at all. Your thoughts take you far away, to the remembered past or imagined future. This can cause physiological and emotional responses such as worry, anger, anxiety, or indecision, and if we get lost enough in our thoughts and emotions they can lead us to actions and become our lives.
Optimizing the physical body through nutrition and lifestyle habits gives us the foundation we need to live in this physical world, while exploring our spiritual body through finding meaning gives us a sense of purpose and a feeling of connection and peace. In both cases, the mind will be both an asset and a hinderance. Becoming aware of both roles will assist you in reaching your goals.