Mind/Body Practices Strengthen Communication Between Mind And Body

Mind/Body Practices Strengthen Communication Between Mind And Body

Mind/body practices have been around for millennia; however, it’s only been recently they’ve become popular for promoting emotional and physical health separate from their Buddhist, Hindu, and Taoist traditions.

Is there anything to this? Is there any health benefit separate the religious and spiritual customs that have helped keep these practices alive for so long? The scientific research says yes.

According to Healthline, there is evidence of mind/body practices:

● Reduce stress
● Control Anxiety
● Decrease depressive symptoms
● Increase attention span
● Reduce age-related memory loss
● Improve sleep
● Control pain
● Decrease blood pressure

Of course, more research needs to be done. So far though, the results are promising.

In today’s overworked, overstressed, and overstimulated world, mind/body exercises are even more important for having a better connection with your body that carries over to all facets of life, from how you act in relationships to how you handle stress.

Here are 3 mind/body practices to get you started.

1. Meditation

What is it?

Psychology Today defines meditation as, “the practice of turning one’s attention to a single point of reference. It can involve focusing on the breath, on bodily sensations, or on a word or phrase, known as a mantra. In other words, meditation means pivoting away from distracting thoughts and focusing on the present moment.”

If want to improve something, you practise it. If you want to improve your basketball skills, you practice playing basketball. If you want to get stronger, you practice lifting weights. It makes sense that by practicing meditation you improve your body and mental awareness.

How to get started:

You literally need nothing except yourself and a quiet spot. So, it’s very accessible for beginners.

Naturally, a practice as old as meditation has many different styles. However, if you’re new to meditation, the learning curve doesn’t need to be steep. Keep it simple:

1. Find a quiet spot where you won’t be disturbed.
2. Set a timer.
3. If you’re new, just do 1 minute to start.
4. Then, focus on your breath until the timer goes off. Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth.

This will feel way more difficult than you feel it should be. Your mind will drift away from your breath. You’ll start thinking about completely random stuff.

This is normal. Don’t beat yourself up for it. Simply bring your focus back to your breath.

Try doing this every day for a week. You’ll be amazed at how much more focused, relaxed, and connected with your body you’ll be.

2. Yoga

What is it?

According to Dr. Ishwar V. Basavaraddi, the Director of Morarji Desai National Institute of Yoga in India, there’s evidence yoga existed as far back as 2700 BC. So, it’s been around a while, to say the least.

Yoga can be thought of as a type of moving meditation, emphasizing the breadth and body awareness as you flow through various poses.

Dr. Basavaraddi says the poses, called Asanas, consist, “in adopting various body (psycho-physical) patterns, giving the ability to maintain a body position (a stable awareness of one’s structural existence) for a considerable length and period of time as well.”

How to get started:

You could start taking a class. Donation-based classes are fairly common if you’d like to try it out without spending lots of money. There are also plenty of YouTube videos if you’re not quite ready for doing yoga in front of lots of people.

Doing yoga for an entire hour can be a bit overwhelming if you’re new to it, especially as the poses are often referred by their Sanskrit name, making it hard to keep up. I’d personally recommend just doing 2-5 minutes of YouTube yoga at home a few times a week to get a bit more familiar with the practice.

There are many different styles of yoga, and it seems there’s something for everyone.
So, try out a few different styles to see which one clicks best.

Qigong

What is it?

If you haven’t heard of Qigong, you’ve definitely heard of the most prominent form of qigong: tai chi.

The National Qigong Association says,” Qigong can be described as a mind-body-spirit practice that improves one’s mental and physical health by integrating posture, movement, breathing technique, self-massage, sound, and focused intent.”

The constant flow of slow, intentional, and controlled movement makes qigong a great practice for building mind/body communication. It can also be easily adapted to all fitness levels.

How to get started:

You can find a class, a private instructor, or, as with yoga, good old’ YouTube lessons.

Conclusion

Mind/body practices have a good reason for sticking around for so long.

In the modern world, it’s crucial to make time for practices that bring you back to the present and help you reconnect with your body. Whether it’s taking a yoga class 3 times a week or meditating for 1 minute per day, you’ll see near-immediate and marked improvements in your mood, focus, and relationship with your body.