Integral health involves good health at three levels – body, life-energy and mind. Uplifting practices for each are discussed below.
i) Body: There are three key aspects for the well-being of one’s body.
- Food: Balance and moderation of the type of food and quantity consumed is important. A simple vegetarian diet is recommended.
- Exercise: A dedicated time for exercise in which the activity is done with the aim of improving the body’s strength and flexibility is essential. Thirty to forty minutes of daily exercise is recommended.
- Rest: One must consciously rest by relaxing in silence, listening to gentle music or by simple widening practices like identifying with the ocean or sky. It is essential to be rested while going to sleep so that the sleep is restful. About 7 to 8 hours of sleep is recommended daily.
ii) Life-energy or Vital: Life-energy keeps us alive, animated and able to enjoy the joys of life. We must avoid or reduce activities which drain our life-energy, such as gossip, mindless chit-chat and animalistic sexual indulgence. Being in silence and connecting to nature are ways of increasing life-energy.
iii) Mind: One must practice silence and be able to slip into quietude. Thinking beautiful, positive thoughts and reading content based on the works of genuine masters can help in refining one’s mind.
Practice of the Week: Sleeping on Time
Sleep is an extremely important element that affects our very functioning. It is the time when the body repairs and restores itself. Therefore it is absolutely imperative that you get enough sleep and sleep well.
It is possible to improve your sleeping habits if you follow a set pattern or schedule. Do not wait till you can no longer keep your eyes open in order to go to sleep. Lie down, relax your body, relax your mind and gently enter sleep. One of the most important things to sleep on time, is to have a sense and a commitment to the first thing you are going to do in the morning.