Mind and body connection
Mind and body are connected deeply! Taking care of both is crucial for a healthier and happier you.
Your body fundamentally has the ability to influence your state of mind and your mind possesses the ability to alter your body’s state and function. Harnessing the power of mind-body connection is a path to use your thoughts and emotions to positively influence your body’s physical responses or vice versa.
The “mind” consists of our mental states which include emotions, thoughts, beliefs, and moods. Each mental state has a physiological reaction associated with it. Your thoughts alone can decrease stress and increase calmness in your body, and your body can reduce stress in your mind.
The purpose of mind-body connection is becoming more aware of our mental states at all times. By increasing awareness or mindfulness, it gives strength to progressively use mental states towards a growth direction rather than a destructive one. The mind-body connection will give the ability to negate or minimize negative effects while healing yourself in any situation by developing focus and controlling thoughts.
I use the mind-body connection during physical activities like sports, or weight training. During these activities I am able to calm and relax the mind by focusing on the activity at hand, in turn I feel healthier after in my body which helps reduce stress in my mind. Straining my body while having complete awareness I can also learn aspects of my body I may not notice otherwise.
By applying this knowledge, I have been able to recognize that a lot of my joints work alone as opposed to in unison with the rest of the body, this has caused me tons of injuries in the past but has given me perspective on rest, load management, and the importance of flexibility, strength and balance in relation to all planes of movement.
With this mindset I have been able to restart after breaking my leg to coming back to sport with a new appreciation for my body to continue to push past limits. The connection has taught me to understand how to use my body more effectively and has tailored my mind to not get too or too low and to always listen to my body & stay in the moment.
By: Rocky
