Taking Care of The Physical Body
Exercise and healthy eating are typically what come to mind when most people think about physical health. However, your exercise of choice isn’t the only thing to consider when striving for good physical health.
Everything you perceive physically informs you about how you live your life. The more you are consciously aware of your physical body, the more you are able to assess your own degree of health, and whether or not you experience wholeness.
This article looks at simple practices you can do each day to look after the physical body.
What is The Physical Body?
This is the body you and I see physically. It’s the body you use to see, feel, and act.
You experience life through the physical body and it provides useful messages about the quality of your life (or lack of quality). Your physical body ‘knows’ what’s good for you and what’s not.
People perceive and experience you through what you do with your body. This includes everything material both on the “outside”, as well as the “inside” of your body. The physical body consists of many systems that work together in ingenious ways. These include:
- your respiratory system;
- cardiovascular system;
- endocrine system;
- exocrine system;
- brains;
- immune system;
- reproductive system;
- skeleton (atomy);
- digestive system;
- musculature system,
- and nervous system.
We can also include the many physical balance regulators (the bodily iso-thermostats). These keep your bodily functions within a healthy range.
Think, for example, about the well-known iso-thermostat of your body temperature. Also, balancers such as your glucose balance, your PH acidity rate, and your thyroid hormone balance are some other examples. Your brain controls these thermostats, as instructed by your mind.
Decrease Mental Stress
We all know people who have clean eating habits and are physically fit, but who carry excessive mental and emotional stress, which can wear on their health.
While it may not be immediately recognisable, chronic stress takes a tremendous toll on the physical body. Stress occurs when our spiritual, mental, emotional, and physical needs are not being met.
Stress triggers the fight-flight response, which is a survival mechanism that is hard-wired into our DNA. It is how our physiology prepares to respond to potentially life-threatening events. When this response is triggered repeatedly it creates wear and tear on the physical body.
Create Harmony Between Your Physical, Mental, Emotional, and Spiritual Health
Health is much more than just the absence of disease.
True health comes when we are able to create harmony between each of the four bodies. Our physical body is our foundation in this life. It is what everything else is built upon. But, it is equally important to exercise each of the other three bodies on a regular basis to maintain harmony.
We need to establish our own individual health, fitness, and wellness regimens. Fortunately, integrative medicine and integrative psychology are both on board with this and many healthcare systems are beginning to incorporate options that support this.
Adopt Healthy Daily Habits
Including some simple good habits in your daily routine can have a huge impact on the health of the physical body. These could be:
- Move your body (practice strengthening, lengthening, and balancing)
- Prepare fresh, organic meals and pre-plan for healthy away-from-home snacks
- Get plenty of restful sleep
- Receive regular massages
- Spend time in nature
Challenges for The Physical Body
1) Love yourself, and own it.
Create an iyarn wheel by signing up here and write in the notes section, 3 things you love about yourself.
2) Prepare a fresh, organic meal with colourful vegetables and pre-plan a healthy away-from-home snack.
Our physical body is our foundation in this life. It is what everything else is built upon, and good health is much more than just the absence of disease.
3) Self-love and healing: Spend 5 minutes tuning into your body
Your physical body is the reflection and total sum of all aspects of who you are. It is a barometer that indicates how things are going in all areas, and it also provides the musculoskeletal structure and vital tissues and organs that carry you through this life.
Which areas could do with some stretching, massaging and loving?
4) Grab a friend and do something active and outdoors together.
One great practice that benefits the physical body that all animals practice, but humans often lack, is to spend time in nature. If you don’t have time today pencil in time later this week. This could be an afternoon stroll, bushwalk or beach time.
To make the most of this challenge do complete an iyarn wheel before and after your chosen activity to see if your frame of mind has improved.
5) Reflect on the first 4 challenges
Write 3 sentences on either a post-it note, in your journal or even on your phone about what you achieved whilst completing the previous 4 challenges. Make sure to complete your iyarn wheel to see what your strengths and weaknesses were during this time.
Taking time to carefully tend to ourselves as a whole can open energy channels. These open, clear connections equate to active energy flow through all the layers of our being, which creates a spiritually connected, mentally stimulated, emotionally centered, vibrant life.
Good luck!
