What Health Means To Me
Hi, I’m Sinead, a 29 year old spirit, whose purpose in life is to help people be happy in their Body, Mind and Soul.
BODY. When we think about health... diet and exercise are typically the first things that come to mind. However, good health isn't just about the physical body. My journey started in June 2019. I was in a VERY low place and all I knew is that I wanted to be happier. I figured that if I went to the gym, I could work on my “𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 𝘨𝘰𝘢𝘭𝘴” and sooner or later I’d be happy, 𝘳𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘵?…𝗪𝐫𝐨𝐧𝐠! As time progressed though I noticed small improvements, my results weren’t as expected and I realised I still wasn’t the “𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺” I’d dreamed of. You see, whilst 𝘮𝘺 𝘣𝘰𝘥𝘺 was going to the gym, 𝘮𝘺 𝘮𝘪𝘯𝘥 was elsewhere. My mind everywhere 𝘰𝘵𝘩𝘦𝘳 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 the present.
MIND. I realised I needed to look beyond just my body. I needed to maintain a healthy balance between my body and mind. So alongside fitness, I started practising mindfulness and daily gratitude, being aware of my mindset, reframing my perceptions and focusing on being present. This set me on a path towards not just better physical health, but stronger emotional and mental health. Fast forward 6 months, I was feeling better physically with a clearer mind. However, I couldn't help but feel something was still missing. My life lacked purpose, a sense of direction. I’d made these improvements, but I still wasn’t “𝘩𝘢𝘱𝘱𝘺”.
SOUL. That’s when I began looking inside. I started practising Yoga. Yoga gave me the tools to tap into my soul. I was able to recognise what brought me joy and understand how to find contentment in my life. I was able to identify my true purpose. I began meditating and quickly found calm and balance. My spiritual journey gave me a true sense of connection, of oneness with everything. My journey is still very much ongoing. But one thing I know for certain is that being happy and healthy is a reciprocal relationship between: 𝐌𝐈𝐍𝐃 - 𝐁𝐎𝐃𝐘 - 𝐒𝐎𝐔𝐋.
My 5 Health Tips = for a healthy mind, body, soul.
- Exercise
Exercise releases endorphins. In turn this leads us to feeling better about ourselves. When we feel better, we are more like to do better things. When we do better, we get better results and the cycle starts again. It’s a self fulfilling prophecy.
- Practice Gratitude
Gratitude allows us to take time to reflect upon the things we are thankful for. The benefits of this on your mental health and wellbeing are nearly endless. People who regularly practice gratitude experience more positive emotions, feel more alive, sleep better, express more compassion and kindness, and even have stronger immune systems. I practice gratitude each morning and each night.
- Meditate
Meditation allows us to stop doing and just be. We need to stop doing. We alternate between states of being and doing. Most of us 𝘥𝘰 more than 𝘣𝘦. Us modern-day warriors find it hard to just be since we’re trained to constantly do. Meditation, gives us time to just be. This gives us much needed head space and has positive effects on our mental health and also those around us.
- Be Present
When focused on the past or the future, we’re 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐢𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲. Almost 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐬𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐟𝐮𝐥 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐮𝐧𝐡𝐚𝐩𝐩𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐬𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐬𝐢𝐝𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰. Every time we examine our thoughts we can notice 𝐰𝐡𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫 𝐮𝐩𝐬𝐞𝐭 𝐮𝐬 𝐢𝐬 𝐫𝐨𝐨𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐧 𝐚 𝐩𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐜𝐡𝐚𝐧𝐠𝐞 𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐟𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧’𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧 𝐨𝐟. When we remove the timestamps from our thoughts, there are minimal unhappy things to think about. 𝐈𝐟 𝐰𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐧𝐭 𝐭𝐨 have a healthy mind, we need 𝐭𝐨 𝐥𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐢𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐧𝐨𝐰. We may as well let the past or the future go and do what we can to make the best of whatever moment we are in.
- Yoga
Yoga is about realising we are part of something much bigger than skin, bones, senses and desires. We are all one and the same. We are made of star stuff. Whether you have a religious or spiritual side to your practice or not, there is no denying we are connected deeply to the universe we live in.Yoga enables us to connect deeply with our souls, and when we identify with our souls, we recognise other souls. We we see each other as souls, we see each other as ONE.
Written by @wheressinead
