We know that providing our bodies with good quality nutrition, sufficient hydration, and plenty of exercise plays a vital role in the state of our health.
Yet, when it comes to achieving optimal well-being, this is not the whole story. Since the mind and the body are so intimately connected, it stands to reason that our thoughts can influence the functioning of the body.
Our thoughts have a profound effect on how our body functions. Have you ever noticed that when you feel good, you look good?
Conversely, a negative feeling can spark a negative physical reaction — a worry can initiate an upset stomach, and stress can cause anything from a headache, to loss of appetite, and other more serious, long-term health issues.
These physical manifestations are a direct result of an emotional trigger. The quality of our thoughts penetrates the physical body down to the very DNA.
If we are to truly take care of our own well-being, it would be wise to look at healing the body from the inside out. Resolving negative thoughts is the missing piece of the puzzle to finding health in the physical body.
Here are just a few of the benefits that stilling the mind can have on your physical well-being.
Improve digestion
An upset stomach can be a common result of stress or anxiety. And while this is not necessarily a problem if a stressor is short-lived, it is an issue if stress or anxiety continues, since prolonged tension can cause the intestines to become constricted and hardened.
By stilling the mind in daily meditation, it is possible to begin to dissolve the triggers that cause digestive issues and restore health to the digestive system.
Maintain a healthy weight
Keeping the body at an ideal weight is essentially a simple energy equation. You replenish what you expend. However, problems can arise at either end of the spectrum — gaining weight or losing it — when food is subconsciously used as a crutch.
The way out of this cycle is to learn how to detach from emotional pain.
Stilling the mind in meditation offers a clear point of perception from which you can learn new, more harmonious ways of being. With practice, persistence and patience, you can let go of the emotional pain that is affecting the healthy functioning of your body.
Support the immune system
Negative emotion is draining. A negative emotion will pull electrochemical energy from you, resulting in a weakened immune system.
The two major culprits in crashing your immune system are adrenaline and depression. Adrenaline-based compartments pull massive amounts of energy from the physical body to produce a high, but are always followed by a huge crash.
Adrenaline is by nature a fight-or-flight response best used in emergencies. It is not to be lived on or you will shorten your lifespan.
Depressive-based compartments pull energy from you continuously. They are like black holes drawing energy in and depleting you at the same time.
It’s no secret that when you are depressed you have no energy; it’s hard to do anything, much less function to any degree of efficiency.
Negative thought patterns that we hold on to in our minds as a result of negative experiences we have taken in during our lifetime. Learning to still the mind is a way to begin the process of dissolving the compartments that are draining your energy and compromising your immune system.
Slow down aging
When you let go of the mental tension that creates lines on your face and causes stiffness in the body, you naturally look more youthful. It is well known that stress accelerates aging.
Meditation is a practical way to reduce stress levels in your life.
Improve sleep
Most of us, at some point in our lives, have been kept awake at night by a thought we can’t let go of. When you become trapped in the negative thought process of a compartment, you can “loop” in a futile cycle of thinking, with no resolution.
Meditation helps you to break the loop, by focusing on a still point in the mind. By breaking the loop, the energy source to the compartment is broken, and when the compartment is starved of energy, it begins to dissolve.
By practicing daily meditation, you can let go of the things that are keeping you up at night and finally get some rest.
