Mindfulness & Health

“Your body is the harp of your soul and it is yours to bring forth sweet music from it or confused sounds.”- Kahlil Gibran

Health of body, as well as mind, is a product of a range of factors. Exercise, nutrition and stress play major roles in determining how healthy a person is and thus the quality of their experience.

Exercise and nutrition are multifaceted lifestyle disciplines. From knowing how to exercise and what to eat, to being able to put it into practice on a constant basis these are by no means straightforward challenges. They are not isolated engagements and so require major reforms to many aspects of the way we conduct our lives. In order to accomplish this and make these changes the individual must have the capacity to prioritise and thus constantly act upon attaining this state of health over succumbing to the transient and momentary apathies, aversions and cravings. Regarding the pursuit of health; at some point one needs to completely realise that a consistent state of health, of wellness, in both mind and body will contribute significantly more to the quality of one's experience than any number of temporary pleasant entertainments ever could. Mindfulness is a state in which one is capable of observing cravings and aversions as they present themselves and not being consumed by them. This is the first step in empowering one’s self to make better lifestyle decisions.

Stress is the psychological and physiological state experienced by an individual when they are subject to situations that they perceive as potentially threatening to their well-being or safety with specific reference to individuals who experience this on a chronic basis. Due to its fight-or-flight characteristics, stress has major physiological effects. The far reaching sequelae resulting from stress include, but are not limited to, immune system suppression, cancers, cardiovascular disease, stroke, hypertension, diabetes, depression and other psychological disorders such as post-traumatic stress disorder and burnout (Burnstein et al., 2008, 543-545; Reiche et al., 2004). A strong link has even been found between stress and the progression of HIV to AIDS (Burnstein et al., 2008, 545). It is now recognised that, “… the infectious diseases have been replaced as major causes of death by the so-called degenerative diseases, cancer and cardiovascular disease.” (Fitzpatrick, R. M., 1986) but one might argue the cause to be non-degenerative, and possibly psychopathological in nature instead. Considering that the recognised major ‘killers’ of modern society are cancerous and cardiovascular in nature, and furthermore that chronic stress, both directly and indirectly, contributes significantly to both of these issues, it becomes clear that one can never experience true health in the presence of stress.

Mindfulness is incredibly effective at managing stress simply through developing focus on the present moment as most of the stress that we face every day has very little to do with our immediate surroundings and is almost entirely driven by mental concerns of the past and the future, mental concerns that mindfulness empowers the individual to separate from and cope with.

“When health is absent, wisdom cannot reveal itself, art cannot manifest, strength cannot fight, wealth becomes useless, and intelligence cannot be applied.”- Herophilus

If we understand the primal roots and reasons for stress, the fight-or-flight mechanisms, can we say that the stress caused by any of the things caused by the adversities we face each day is adding value to your life in any way? Do they empower you to cope with the stressor better, or are they crippling you and detracting from your ability to appreciate and engage with the present moment? Even if something is really concerning, is it worth sacrificing the state of your health thinking about it?

“I promise you nothing is as chaotic as it seems. Nothing is worth your health. Nothing is worth poisoning yourself into stress, anxiety, and fear.”- Steve Maraboli

Bernstein, D.A., Penner, L.A., Clarke-Stewart, A., Roy, E.J. PSYCHOLOGY. Belmont: Wadsworth, 2008

Fitzpatrick, R.M. Social and Changing Patterns of Disease. In: Sociology as Applied to Medicine, ed. by D. Patrick, G. Scambler. London: Bailliere Tindall

Reiche, E.M.V., Nunes, S.O.V., Morimoto, H.K. (2004) Stress, depression, the immune system, and cancer. Oncology 5, pages 617-625.