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February 11, 2024
ByAna Rivas

Wellness: The Connection of Body, Mind, and Soul

Following my earlier post Health Wellness: Nurturing Body and Soul, I want to integrate the wellness of the body, mind, and soul into practical steps of holistic wellness. Body, mind, and soul are deeply interconnected and can be seen as one individual. Physical health can affect emotional well-being. Unresolved emotional issues can manifest as symptoms of poor health. Similarly, spiritual health influences and is influenced by our physical and emotional states.

Achieving wellness requires a balanced approach that caters to all these aspects. When you ignore what your body tells you because you allow external influences into your mind, you disconnect your soul from both body and mind and feel yourself always lost. However, when you listen to your body and allow yourself to have that conversation within yourself, you connect the triage spiritually, leading you to a happier self. The same could be said of people who do what others tell them without standing their ground and listening to themselves to find the true path to a healthy lifestyle.

Practical Steps Towards Holistic Wellness

From a very quick and simple overview, here are seven steps to help you achieve your full potential for health wellness. There are many things you can do to correct your path, and the most difficult may be adopting new habits while releasing old ones.

Diet and Nutrition: Incorporate various foods into your diet. Mindful eating practices can also enhance your physical and emotional relationship with food. The most important advice is to try to shop fresh at the grocery store and reduce your intake of buying prepared foods because of preservatives or added salt, sugar, and fats.
Regular Exercise: Find a physical activity you enjoy and schedule it into your daily routine. Exercise is not just for physical health but also improves mental health by reducing stress and anxiety. As we all know, children require daily exercise, and for some odd reason, adults forget how important walking daily becomes when your time to exercise is limited.

Adequate Sleep: Prioritize sleep and establish a calming bedtime routine to improve sleep quality. Sleep is essential for both mental and physical recovery. I know some people need a regular number of hours; my mother used to sleep about 8.5 hrs., and I can manage with six; however, when I need to meditate, I fall asleep, which tells me I need more sleep. Even if geniuses in history managed with four to six hours of sleep, we should listen to ourselves first.
Stress Management: Techniques such as deep breathing, meditation, and mindfulness can help manage stress levels, benefiting emotional and spiritual health. The latest I heard about managing stress is from The Five Second Rule by Mel Robbins; when I heard how she came to this idea, I was blown away by how simple a practice can change your entire perspective of life.
Social Connections: Foster meaningful relationships. The support and connection from loved ones are invaluable for emotional wellness. It is equally valuable to foster relations with people who have the things you desire, for example, you know people who have a great career, or a wonderful family, or a beautiful house, these influence your own wellness, when you see that they have what you desire and realize those things would make your life better in one way or another, you expand yourself, this is something I have been learning in the past six months from the To Be Magnetic Podcasts, the beautiful work of this team is what we need in the world today.

Personal Reflection: Spend time in nature or solitude to connect with your inner self. Reflect on your life’s purpose and what brings you joy and fulfillment. The one thing I see religion doing is a moment of prayer; this exercise is a moment in reflection where you can converse with yourself and ask the hard questions, believing that the answers will come. Also, relax your time constraints, the answer will come when you’re ready.
Continuous Learning: Seek to understand yourself better, learn new coping skills, and embrace personal growth and development. I would also say if you don’t ask questions or show curiosity towards history, science, the arts, languages, or otherworldly cultures, you are missing out on the one thing that keeps you alive and keeps your brain working. Read newspapers, read books, go to the library and get books on whatever your interests are, and keep on learning. I love computers, and although I may never be a developer, I have a massive schedule to learn every day.

Closing Thoughts

Achieving body, mind, and soul wellness is a journey, not a destination. Combining these elements, we can see them holistically as health wellness. The tasks to achieve success require commitment, balance, and integration of the above-mentioned practices to nurture your body, mind, and soul as the individual you are. By understanding and embracing the interconnectedness of these elements, we can pave the way to a more fulfilling, healthy, and joyful life. If you have trouble knowing where to start, think about your daily habits and what seems to be a deterrent to your goals. Some people think of these as time thieves. Prioritize your daily habits so you don’t change those that will prove more valuable. For example, you recognize your boundaries to your family are too rigid, not allowing you to have healthy family relationships. Try spending a few minutes in nature without device interruptions every day, make it a walk, a game, or a meal, where your full devoted attention is on your family, and ask of them the same. Don’t forget asking is modeled by your actions, so be the example. Start small, continue to change bad habits into good habits, and explore your curiosity about things or life. Keep on learning.

Sources

Robbins, Mel. The Five Second Rule from Mel Robbins using the science of habits, riveting stories, and surprising facts from some of the most famous moments in history.

Phillips, Lacy. To Be Magnetic Podcasts, ever wonder how to build a true sense of self-worth? It starts with learning how to take care of yourself.