A Healthy Body Includes A Healthy Mind

By Kiran Bissoon | March 23, 2017

I know the Ki’s Kitchen weekly blog is generally about health through proper nutrition, but I believe, a healthy body includes a healthy mind.

I am living proof of how mental stress can manifest itself physically and hurt or disable the body. 
 
This has happened to me twice.
 
Once when I almost lost my eyesight and another time when I almost lost the ability to walk.  Both physical issues were derived from mental stress I was experiencing, and battling at the time.
 
Many of us make an effort to care for our bodies in a positive manner;
  • Through eating well  
  • Participating in some form of daily exercise

 Yet caring for and exercising our mind receives much less care and consideration. Why is that?

In my opinion a healthy mind leads to having a healthy body. Because, a healthy body includes a healthy mind. Do you agree?
 
If you do not allow the mind to de-stress, as you do the body through things like physical exercise, you cannot expect to live a balanced life.
 
Quiet time is essential to a healthy mind and body.  I prefer to refer to it as quiet time, rather than meditation. I say this because meditation sometimes brings to mind preconceived ideas about what that looks like.
 
I know what you’re going to say – ‘I have no time to sit and be quiet.  I have my job, the kids, my spouse, etc.’
 
I’ve been an entrepreneur my entire life, our brains never shut down. The work at hand, our goals, never leaves our thoughts. I know how the responsibilities of life can seem like they are overpowering you, but I challenge you to understand that this, is a fallacy. 
 
If  you have time to make a smoothie in the morning or go to the gym at some point in the day, etc. I am going to suggest that you have 5 minutes, just before bed, to sit quietly and do some deep breathing. My quiet time is done similarly, typically in a quiet corner of the room, on the floor. 
 
Try this with me, ‘a healthy body includes a healthy mind’.
 
The reason you think you do not have the time is because you have not given mental exercise enough priority.
 
We make time for things that we see as a priority. Sort of like, eating and sleeping – our priorities may look a little different, you might enjoy an evening of television or walk by the lake, but the bottom line is, we all have the same time. 
 
When I was younger I made an effort to spend at least half an hour in quiet time, just before I got into bed.  I would sit cross-legged on the floor, hands folded in my lap and fix my mind on my breathing and nothing else.  Every time I felt my mind wandering off in another crazy direction, as it did all too often, I would bring it “back to centre” so to speak and re-focus on the rhythm of slowly breathing in and out. 
 
It helped, in the beginning to pay attention to how my abdomen would expand with air, pressing down my diaphragm and filling my lungs, without moving my shoulders. 
 
I found focusing on the physical act of breathing helped me to keep my mind under control, which meant I was not focused on my troubles.
 

The first day I tried giving myself quiet time, I set my timer for one minute, then 5 minutes, till i was able to reach a point where I didn’t need the timer anymore, I was able to control my thoughts for as long as I wanted to (or needed to).

 
And then, one day I let life take over and quiet time disappeared for a long time, more than two years. 
 
In those two years I experienced a great deal of mental trauma, till one day, when I felt as defeated and deflated as I thought I could possibly get, I remembered how alive I used to feel during the days when I made time for quiet time. 
 
I no sooner dusted myself off, sat down in my quiet space and started the process all over again. A healthy body includes a healthy mind.
 
Now, for me, my quiet time comes at the start of my day, rather than the end, it’s just better for me. If my routine is thrown off track and I skip my quiet time, I can feel that something is missing.
 
Your soul wants to be in that space of nothingness.  Your mind thinks (and can) control you and keep you in the rat race.  It is up to you and your will power to make the time and effort.
 
Give your mental health the same, if not more importance than your physical health.  If you make this commitment to yourself, make this your “me” time, as the days lead into weeks, you will notice the positive changes that will start happening within you.
 
It all comes down to your will power and what you think you deserve.
in my opinion, I deserve to live a stress-free life, filled with light, love and peace, it won’t happen on its own, so I make it happen. 
 
I am in control of what I allow to affect me physically and mentally.
 
Some people like to attend group meditation sessions, I am an advocate of my quiet time being spent between me and the universe only.  I’m not discounting the benefits of group mediation, I just personally prefer to sit alone, unless the session is specifically for a healing purpose for someone.
 
Find what is right for you, because a healthy body includes a healthy mind.
 
Here are a few resources I recommend to check out – Hope you find them as helpful as I do! 
 

Thank you so much for reading! I hope you have found some valuable information, if so, I’d love to hear about it! Please feel free to share this post with anyone who might benefit, and comments are always welcomed and appreciated. 

I look forward to connecting with you next time!

And be sure to check out why you should order your family’s next meal courtesy of Ki’s Kitchen  

From my kitchen to yours, 

Love+Peace

K

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