Our whole beings are very complex and amazing things. Here at Mind Medicine, we are all about holistic health and wellness, but how does this approach nurture your body?
Doesn’t healthy just mean feeling well and not having an illness?
From a holistic point of view, you do not need to be ill to require looking after your health and wellness. Your health should be more than just physically feeling well and should encourage you to nurture your full being every day.
What does it mean to Nurture your Body?
We are physical beings through our bodies. They allow us to interpret the world, through our 5 senses, as well as physically experience emotions and reactions.
Our organs keep us alive and functioning, our nervous system sends information all over our body and brains and everything we are is connected.
However, the way we treat our bodies in today’s society is much less appreciative of the miracles that we are. Instead, focuses so much on appearance and the representations our physicality provides.
Diets, weight loss, makeup, having the perfect skin, the perfect tan, having visible abs, huge biceps or shoulders…
Our society is very obsessive about body image. This is having a detrimental effect on how we treat our bodies, how we feel about our bodies and the extremes we can go to for perfection. All leading to unhealthy behaviours and negative thoughts about ourselves.
Therefore, nurturing your body is not about conforming to society’s requirements. Rather, you want to provide your physical being with what it needs to be healthy, to feel happy and function at its optimal.
When you do this, it also that your mind can also work at its best. Ultimately, a healthy body plus a healthy mind results in living more freely, happily and fulfilled.
How to Take a More Holistic Approach to Your Physical Health
The ways in which to nurture your body may seem obvious. However, let’s explore them in more depth. A holistic approach to physical health includes:
- Physical Exercise and activities
- Correct Nutrition
- Vitamins and Minerals
- Rehabilitation and repair
What We Do to Nurture
Of course, exercise is going to be a way of nurturing your body. This is because physical activity is not just for building muscle or losing weight. It has so many benefits such as:
- Greatly improve your mood
- Boosting your immune system
- Relieving stress
- Helping you sleep better
- Improving strength, flexibility, and movement
- Reduce Risk of serious disease
- Increase energy levels
Doesn’t this make exercise sound like something we should be doing every day?!
You can build a completely new perspective surrounding exercise when you think and feel the benefits. When it no longer feels like a chore but a welcome activity to keep you healthy and happy.
Additionally, you can choose any type of exercise that suits you. For example, yoga, weight training or outdoor running. Whatever makes you feel physically and mentally, will be worth the investment in your health.
Want to get started with training but not sure how? Mind Medicine can create an effective plan for your goals and tailored to you!
What We Eat
How educated do you feel about the food you are putting in your body? Do you know how much fat and sugar is in there? Are you getting the vitamins that your body needs to function?
The answer is… probably not.
Today, everything is focused around convenience. We do not have enough time to cook nutritious food or the money to pay for the ‘healthy options’. And predictably, like any other industry, our food suffers from trends and it makes it all the more difficult to navigate.
This is why it is so important to pay attention to what you are eating and consuming. A better perspective here is to look at food as fuel.
It is the fuel for our brains to think and function, it is the energy we use throughout the day, and it is a way to nurture your body from the inside out.
We obtain and extract so much from our food, so why wouldn’t you want to feed yourself the best?
Healthy nutrition is not just about losing weight and is a lifestyle choice. It is one of the most difficult changes to make, especially surrounded by so much processed, sugar-filled food.
It is also important to consume the right nutrition for you as it can be also the cause of illness and pain. This doesn’t make you feel healthy and your wellbeing suffers.
Have you ever felt sick, bloated, uncomfortable or pain after eating? This shouldn’t be a regular occurrence but it often is. Therefore, if you are eating better nutrition and avoiding any foods that cause negative reactions, you can completely change your body.
If you don’t know where to start, we suggest first observing and becoming self-aware. Ask yourself these kinds of questions:
- Do I feel lethargic, bloated or heavy after certain foods?
- Are there any foods that make me more/less energetic?
- How does my food affect my performance at home/work/gym?
- Do I eat emotionally?
- Am I over/undereating?
- Do I tend to eat more processed food and how does it make me feel?
You can uncover and reveal much about your body when you are attentive to your body. Then you can begin to make more informed choices about what you are eating and how it affects you.
Would you rather follow a nutrition plan for help? Mind Medicine can create a tailored plan for you and your goals to improve your health too.
How We Repair
Often overlooked, our bodies need to repair from everyday life and the exercise we are doing. Of course, repair happens naturally and the nutrition we consume assists with it.
However, the majority of the time your body may require extra attention and may even need rehabilitation.
There are a few ways you can help your body repair:
- Stretching
- Massage Therapy
- Foam Rolling
- Reflexology
- Physiotherapy
- Posture Correction
Some of these you may have heard of and considered doing or have done in the past. We recommend you add some activities into your training routine to relieve pain, relax muscles, remove lactic acid and improve your physical health.
Physiotherapy and posture correction is more targeted to a specific problem that you have. Usually, they are needed because of chronic muscular or joint pains. Therefore, this rehabilitation of your body can improve your physical health greatly.
These activities are part of a holistic approach to your nurture your body as it can improve your body and mind. You can physically treat your body and simultaneously improve your mood, energy levels and relieve stress to nurture your mentality.
Start to Nurture your Body Today
Now we’ve gone over some of the basics and benefits of looking after your physical health, it is all down to you. How do you choose to go forward?
What areas of your health really need attention and focus right now and think of ways to implement change for yourself. Consciously choose and be aware of the food you are consuming and how much exercise you are doing.
What we want you to do, is choose what feels right for you and what ultimately boosts your health and makes you happier every day.