Wellness is more than just fitness. The Body Mind Spirit approach to wellness holds much validity. So often we get stuck on one or two points of the triangle. In effect, we flatline . . . . going back and forth between the two points or even, more restrictive, . . . stagnating on the one. The ability to incorporate all three areas into a cohesive mélange can provide optimal benefit to the individual. This can be accomplished, easily, through actions, attentiveness and actualization.
Our bodies are comprised of material substances . . . atom, molecules, compounds. These are arranged in combinations such that organisms, including humans, can navigate within the environment or within environments. The body, in whatever form, allows for interactions to occur that can sustain, improve or hinder life. Movement is key. One needs to acquire sustenance. One needs to maintain physicality in such a way that fosters ‘healthy’ functioning within this plane.
Thoughts are energy. Thought can be liberating. Thoughts can be a source of imprisonment. Our minds can be weapons of acquisition or instruments of self-destruction / self-denigration. Thoughts result from the things to which people are exposed and that they experience. The ability to adjust thoughts is characteristic of all people but many abandon that capacity over to the prevailing thought flow. If the flow is antithetical to positive action, then people will be stuck in that mindset. Changing one’s perception of a situation can make the thoughts more amenable to advantageous outcomes.
This, the spiritual aspect of the wellness, can be divisive, but it need not be. Everyone’s spiritual journey is . . . . . THEIR OWN!!!! . . . . I’ll wait for the gasping to subside!!!! There are those who believe in something external to themselves. There are those who believe in that which exist within them. There are those who conceptualize a oneness with and connection to all things. There are those who believe ‘ONLY’ in what they can see, smell, taste, hear, touch and think about. Which is right? Which is wrong? How do any of these paths advantageously lend to how one traverses this plane into the next. It is a personal journey. In my opinion, any of these paths is O.K. As long as any of them do not infringe upon any of the others.
Body: movement – walking, ‘exercising – ( gardening, swimming, biking), Deep breathing, diet, rest . . . . All of these things affect the ‘body‘ advantageously.
Mind: Reading (scripture, sutra, religious texts, ‘occult’), discussions, ‘learning from experience’, positively focusing thoughts . . . . These things affect the ‘mind‘ advantageously and some aspects border on the spiritual.
Spirit: prayer, meditation, pranayama, chi-kung, reflection, projecting / promoting / experiencing oneness / emptiness . . . . All of these things can affect ‘spirit‘ on an advantageous level..
Bring unity to yourself and your activities. Your efforts do not need to b e time consuming. They just need to be consistent. The more that we harmonize Body, Mind and Spirit, higher will be the degree wellness that manifests in our lives.
Ab-Sutra Wellness and Fitness 