Fitness of body and mind
A healthy body is a blessing. Many of us go to great lengths
to keep ourselves physically fit. Joining a fitness challenge program is a
great way to boost physical strength.
As you join the fervor, know that physical wellness
goes on to enhance mental and emotional fitness. Or, vice versa. The vice versa
(ie mental and emotional health) is important as it prevents you from falling
off any physical fitness program. The body is driven by the mind. The nature
of holistic well-being incorporates mental, emotional, intellectual and
spiritual wellness, apart from just physical fitness.
This has been propounded
in yogic texts long ago. Maharishi Patanjali’s Yoga sutra, for instance,
mentions eight limbs of yoga (Ashtanga Yoga) or eight-fold path for complete
wellness. This includes restraint, observance of rules, body postures, cosmic
breath expansion, moderation in consumption, concentration, meditation and
finally, the self-realization — in that order. In original terms, these are
called: yam, niyam, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, Dharana, dhyana and samadhi.
These eight prescriptive ways of healthy life start with cultivating certain
virtues, such as honesty, non-violence (in thoughts and actions), non-hoarding
(material things, negative thoughts, emotions), non-covetousness and purging
(external, internal). It also includes feelings of contentment (abundance),
self-reflection (self-inquiry) and self-discipline among others.
It is the
third limb (or conduct) of ashtanga yoga that talks about asanas or physical
postures. Asanas alone are not sufficient for complete wellness. Along with
mental cleanliness (ie virtues), one has to follow pranayama practices as well.
Pranayama (the fourth limb) is the expansion of the cosmic life force in the
body to aid yam and niyam practices (purification of thoughts and actions). The
energy present in our pranic, that is, the etheric body, is connected to our
mental/emotional realm. How does this work? Well, a manifestation of an illness
in the physical body takes place long after it has arisen in the emotional
body. This means that one has been emotionally nurturing toxic thoughts,
feeding them through negative feelings and because of this single-minded
attention, the discomfort would creep into the physical reality, the physical
body.
Note, however, that as one nurtures good feeling thoughts and opens up to
innate virtues, the body feels good. Emotions feed thoughts and through
thoughts, we create our physical reality (manifestations). For example: with
the thought, “I am not feeling well today,” you go on to create a lethargic
body. The opposite is also true. Proficiency in asanas and pranayama are
important as they enable one to sit in concentration (Dharana) and meditation
(dhyana), leading to advancement toward the sixth and the seventh steps of
holistic wellness.
To understand how important concentration is in any fitness
goal; ask an athlete, how wavering even for a split second can seal the
difference between being a champion or not. Focus is important to attain the
goal. Period. And whether you are a gym-ing aficionado or not, daily meditation
helps to focus. When the mind, body, and spirit come in alignment, fitness is
attained. What about the fifth conduct, pratyahara? This is a virtue. Without
observance of pratyahara or moderation in consumption, which means disciplining
the mind and controlling the whims and fancies of the sense organs, your
fitness is fragile. This applies not just for a disciplined eating habit but
observing mindfulness in consuming (non-serving) news, information, literature,
associations, etc. If the mind is consuming excesses of non-serving information,
it is impacting your brain and body negatively.
When there is a surge of toxic
emotions in your body, like anger, hatred, resentment, guilt, etc, it directly
impacts the vital organs of your body such as kidneys, liver, digestive system,
heart, and other parts. If, however, you choose to retain good thoughts, your body
relaxes into homeostasis, that is, a balanced state. Here is a 40-day challenge
for your fitness goal. You are the jury and judge of your progress. 1. Set your
goal. (Example, avoiding procrastination or weight loss, or any other). 2. Make
a list of thoughts required to accomplish your goal. Start living them to
cultivate them further. 3. Be into the enabling emotional state. Let your
thoughts and emotions guide your actions. 4. Take relevant action plans. 5. In
case of a lapse, restart, day one. Take the challenge from the spirit of
playfulness, as saying: “What if?”: “What if, I complete 10 laps of the
swimming pool today?” “What if, I leave my seat and finish this job in the next
20 minutes?”. Bring in excitement. Be self-inspired with “no matter what”; “no
matter what — I am in the gym today.” “no matter what —- I choose to smile
today.”
A healthy body is a blessing. Many of us go to great lengths
to keep ourselves physically fit. Joining a fitness challenge program is a
great way to boost physical strength, like the one currently on — the Dubai
Fitness Challenge. As you join the fervor, know that physical wellness
goes on to enhance mental and emotional fitness. Or, vice versa. The vice versa
(ie mental and emotional health) is important as it prevents you from falling
off any physical fitness program.
The body is driven by the mind. The nature
of holistic well-being incorporates mental, emotional, intellectual and
spiritual wellness, apart from just physical fitness. This has been propounded
in yogic texts long ago. Maharishi Patanjali’s Yoga sutra, for instance,
mentions eight limbs of yoga (Astang Yoga) or eight-fold path for complete
wellness. This includes restraint, observance of rules, body postures, cosmic
breath expansion, moderation in consumption, concentration, meditation and
finally, the self-realization — in that order. In original terms, these are
called: yam, niyam, asana, pranayama, pratyahara, Dharana, dhyana and samadhi.
These eight prescriptive ways of healthy life start with cultivating certain
virtues, such as honesty, non-violence (in thoughts and actions), non-hoarding
(material things, negative thoughts, emotions), non-covetousness and purging
(external, internal). It also includes feelings of contentment (abundance),
self-reflection (self-inquiry) and self-discipline among others. It is the
third limb (or conduct) of ashtanga yoga that talks about asanas or physical
postures. Asanas alone are not sufficient for complete wellness.
Along with
mental cleanliness (ie virtues), one has to follow pranayama practices as well.
Pranayama (the fourth limb) is the expansion of the cosmic life force in the
body to aid yam and niyam practices (purification of thoughts and actions). The
energy present in our pranic, that is, the etheric body, is connected to our
mental/emotional realm. How does this work? Well, a manifestation of an illness
in the physical body takes place long after it has arisen in the emotional
body. This means that one has been emotionally nurturing toxic thoughts, feeding
them through negative feelings and because of this single-minded attention, the
discomfort would creep into the physical reality, the physical body.
Note,
however, that as one nurtures good feeling thoughts and opens up to innate
virtues, the body feels good. Emotions feed thoughts and through thoughts, we
create our physical reality (manifestations). For example: with the thought, “I
am not feeling well today,” you go on to create a lethargic body. The opposite
is also true. Proficiency in asanas and pranayama are important as they enable
one to sit in concentration (Dharana) and meditation (dhyana), leading to
advancement toward the sixth and the seventh steps of holistic wellness. To
understand how important concentration is in any fitness goal; ask an athlete,
how wavering even for a split second can seal the difference between being a
champion or not. Focus is important to attain the goal. Period. And whether you
are a gym-ing aficionado or not, daily meditation helps to focus.
When the
mind, body, and spirit come in alignment, fitness is attained. What about the
fifth conduct, pratyahara? This is a virtue. Without observance of pratyahara
or moderation in consumption, which means disciplining the mind and controlling
the whims and fancies of the sense organs, your fitness is fragile. This
applies not just for a disciplined eating habit but observing mindfulness in
consuming (non-serving) news, information, literature, associations, etc. If the
mind is consuming excesses of non-serving information, it is impacting your
brain and body negatively.
When there is a surge of toxic emotions in your
body, like anger, hatred, resentment, guilt, etc, it directly impacts the vital
organs of your body such as kidneys, liver, digestive system, heart, and other
parts. If, however, you choose to retain good thoughts, your body relaxes into
homeostasis, that is, a balanced state. Here is a 40-day challenge for your
fitness goal. You are the jury and judge of your progress. 1. Set your goal.
(Example, avoiding procrastination or weight loss, or any other). 2. Make a
list of thoughts required to accomplish your goal. Start living them to
cultivate them further. 3. Be into the enabling emotional state. Let your
thoughts and emotions guide your actions. 4. Take relevant action plans. 5. In
case of a lapse, restart, day one. Take the challenge from the spirit of
playfulness, as saying: “What if?”: “What if, I complete 10 laps of the
swimming pool today?” “What if, I leave my seat and finish this job in the next
20 minutes?”. Bring in excitement. Be self-inspired with “no matter what”; “no
matter what — I am in the gym today.” “no matter what —- I choose to smile
today.”
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