Mind Over Matter, Until the Body...

Many of us have heard the phrase "mind over matter." Athletes have heard of mental toughness training, and I am sure there is another term for it in other structured settings like in the military or the corporate world. Or maybe you have heard, "ignorance is bliss." What those two phrases imply are that our minds are in control and we control our minds. Yet we have athletes, veterans, and employees who are sick, burnt out, and dying.

Would you believe me if I told you that we are wrong about ignoring our bodies signals? We can control our minds to an extent, until the body takes over because we didn't listen. Our animal instict. The body takes over when our human mind is no longer able keep a lie going. We lie to ourselves a lot, or we tell our inner voice to shut up; going against what our body needs. We push the limits. We tell ourselves we aren't tired, we aren't hungry, we aren't sad. We don't give our body what it needs because we are pushing against our own nature. Then when our body can no longer take it, it will take over. Have you ever gotten so sick that your body is literally forcing you to slow down and rest? Are you able to fool your mind now and tell the body it is not sick? Nope. Your muscles are fatigued, your body has chills, your eye lids are heavy. Maybe you keep going even when you need to rest, then you develop something else like an autoimmune disease or cancer. All because you ignored the signs your body has been sending. So then it goes against you just like you've been going against your body. You tell your mind that it is nothing and ignore it, but your body will always take it a step further.

Pause. Listen to your body. Are you dehydrated? Is your posture in neutral? Are you fidgetting? Our society needs to connect back to the body and nature. All these ailments and stressors are our own doing. If we normalized processing emotions, sleeping and resting instead of hustle culture, our bodies would reward us. Eating clean and going to the gym isn't the solution. It never was. Quietting all the noise from the capitalist world will allow us to finally have that mind-body-nature connection we are lacking. There is a time and place for mental toughness. It should be short term, then we should give our body what it needs and allow it to restore.

What is your favorite form of restoration for your body?

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• Swimming
• Hiking/Walking
• Napping
• Dancing/Singing

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