Honoring the Mind Body Connection For Optimal Health and Wellness

The Mind-Body Connection is something that has been talked about for centuries and until about 300 years ago virtually every system of medicine throughout the world treated the mind and body holistically as a whole.

However, during the 17th century, the Western world started to shift their perspective and viewed the mind and the body as two distinct entities. In this new view, the body was equivalent to a machine, complete with replaceable and independent parts, with no connection whatsoever to the mind.

Interestingly enough, your gut contains over 500 million neurons, which are connected to your brain through the nerves in your nervous system. The vagus nerve is one of the biggest nerves connecting your gut and brain. It sends signals in both directions and so your gut health and mental health are directly related to one another.

Did you know that about 95% of serotonin, one of the primary hormones involved in mood and emotion regulation, is produced in the gastrointestinal tract?

Information travels mostly from the gut to the brain so your diet is a massive part of your mental health. If you’re curious to learn more about the Mind-Body Connection and how to create more harmony within yourself, then this is the blog post for you.

Our thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can positively or negatively affect our complete biological functioning. What we say, think and believe affects our physical bodies and how we act, what we consume and how we move affects our mental well-being at the same time.

7 Ways to Support a Healthy Mind & Body Connection

Our minds and bodies are not separate from one another even though sometimes it feels like they are. They coexist, meaning they work together to keep your body in optimal order. Here’s how to support that connection.

Diet & Nutrition

When you consume/binge unhealthy food, you take in excess amounts of sugar, salt, and fat. On the flip side, if you don’t get enough nutrients, you deprive your body of the much-needed fuel needed to keep you healthy every day.

Your brain works hard to manage your movements, thoughts, breathing, and overall communication with the rest of your body. It needs many vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants to do its job effectively. Therefore, when you deprive your brain of good nutrition, the rest of the body suffers. In addition to being more at risk for preventable diseases, you are also more likely to feel sluggish, irritable, and depressed during the day.

Exercise

Research on yoga and meditation has further explored and encouraged a connection between mind, body, and spirit. Studies show that the mindful movement and breathing done in a quiet state or yoga activates the relaxation response (or the “rest-and-digest” response), via the vagus nerve. That is a large part of the reason why we advocate so heavily for self-care activities, especially ones through yoga, meditation, reflection, nature walks, etc.

The mind-body connection is strong, but the old saying applies, “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.” The few moments we take for self-care today are preventive care, protecting you from tomorrow’s ailments. Neglect self-care and pay a much heftier penalty down the road.

Gut Health

Research continues to highlight the impressive relationship between your overall health and your gut bacteria levels. Our guts contain microbes, which impact both body and brain functioning. These microbes affect how the body responds to hunger cues, stores fat, and balances glucose levels. They also produce crucial neurotransmitters, such as dopamine and serotonin, which impact your mental health. Certain foods, like cruciferous vegetables, fermented foods, unsweetened yogurt, and high-fiber foods can help improve your gut health.

Sleep

Sleep is essential for your mind, body, and soul. The quality and quantity of your sleep can affect everything from your mood to your metabolism. And according to research, lack of sleep, especially in middle age is linked to a higher risk of Alzheimer’s later.

In our always-on culture, burnout is often considered a badge of honor. But rest, relaxation, and allowing yourself to have fun and play can help you stay healthy in your mind and in your body. Find ways to build rest into your schedule. Block out time for it in your daily/weekly routine and make sure you won’t be disturbed — this time is non-negotiable. Try to stick to your working hours and avoid working during weekends or holidays. Prioritize spending time with loved ones as well.

Hydration

You’ve heard about the importance of drinking water, but dehydration isn’t just detrimental to your physical health. It can wreak havoc on your mental health as well. That’s because the human brain is composed of about 75% water.

Dehydration first impacts the brain, which changes how you think and feel by impacting circulation. More severe dehydration can lead to cognitive problems that include delirium and even unconsciousness. Ideally, you should be sipping on water throughout the day. Carry a reusable water bottle with you and make sure to fill it frequently.

Honoring the mind-body connection is accomplished by focusing on physical health, but that’s just one piece of the puzzle. You will also want to nurture healthy relationships, get adequate sleep, and enjoy regular stress reduction techniques like meditation, getting out in nature, and spending time with supportive friends.

Emotional Health

The distinction between mind, body, and soul isn’t a strict one. For example, where do emotions sit? We feel them in the body, mind, and soul. From a scientific perspective, we know how deeply connected these three dimensions are — that’s kind of the point. You can think of them as being connected by the nervous system or understand the nervous system to be part of the mind.

We can have emotional reactions to situations without being aware of why we are reacting. Each mental state has a physiology associated with it—a positive or negative effect felt in the physical body. For example, the mental state of anxiety causes you to produce stress hormones.

Self-Care

Self-Care can sound selfish…but many of us are taking care of so many other people that we need to remember to include ourselves in that care so we can be there for others in our best capacity. We have no reason to deny ourselves some care, which we need BEFORE our bodies and minds start to protest. We know from the research we will pay for it one way or another. When we ignore our bodies’ signals, our mental health can suffer.

Similarly, if we neglect our psychological well-being, we risk developing physical ailments. In part, this is due to the mind-body connection. We can’t afford to neglect one side of the equation when it comes to self-care. Balancing physical and mental health care must be a priority.

There are many things you can do to keep yourself healthy mentally and physically including eating healthy food, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, keeping calm mentally, reaching out when you need a hand, and moving your body in a way that feels good to you!

Thank you for reading and let us know if you have any questions.

There are many things you can do to keep yourself healthy mentally and physically including; eating healthy food, reducing stress, getting enough sleep, staying hydrated, keeping calm mentally, reaching out when you need a hand, and moving your body in a way that feels good to you!

Thank you for reading and let us know if you have any questions.

p.s. Just in case you are looking for a specific supplement solution, or any other wellness need, reach out to us here at 916-253-9276 and we would be happy to help you find exactly what you are looking for.

We are deeply committed to sharing our knowledge of health and therefore have carefully chosen the products we offer in our store. You’ll find only the highest quality brands and a large selection to choose from so you’re sure to find exactly what you need.

If you can’t make it into the store, we’re always happy to deliver it to you because your health and happiness are our #1 priority!