The body, emotions, mind, and spirit are all connected, playing important parts in our health, happiness, and well-being. Spiritual healing is designed to treat the entire person while focusing specifically on the human spirit. Becoming attuned to your spirit can reduce feelings of fear and provide you with a greater capacity to love yourself and those around you.
Being spiritually healthy also means becoming more connected to your spouse, partner, family, and friends, resulting in better social health. Spiritual and social health are connected because it is through committed relationships with others and ourselves that we find opportunities for spiritual growth.
Let’s talk about a few ways we can cater to our spiritual health:
Spending quality time in nature reduces feelings of stress, anger, and fear. This is because what we see, hear, and otherwise experience at any moment impacts our mood as well as our nervous, immune, and endocrine systems. Nature also provides us with physical health benefits. It can reduce blood pressure, heart rate, and muscle tension and produce the stress hormone cortisol.
Natural sunlight impacts our circadian rhythm, which affects serotonin and melatonin production. Without proper light wave exposure, serotonin can’t produce enough melatonin to induce a regular sleep cycle later in the evening.
One example of quality time in nature is grounding. Did you know 90% of chronic health conditions are linked to inflammation? The Earth is full of antioxidants, which help to protect healthy cells from inflammation damage. When we touch the surface of the Earth, free electrons are transferred through the skin and into our bodies. They then pair up with free radicals to act as antioxidants.
In the same way, grounding and its anti-inflammatory properties can improve wound healing. In fact, it is possible to feel a decrease in pain in as little as 30 minutes.
Meditation is scientifically proven to have physical benefits, like stress relief, improved immune and cardiovascular function, relaxation, and decreased pain. Along with these, regular meditation practice can heal past emotional trauma, greater creativity and inspiration, greater compassion, and connect you to your inner guidance.
All meditative techniques have one thing in common: conscious breathing. You can meditate while sitting, lying, walking, jogging, or anywhere you feel comfortable and safe. You can even sing, dance, or chant something with personal spiritual significance. What’s important is to focus on your slow, steady breaths until the mind is free of thoughts, judgments, and concerns.
Meditation is a time to step out of your ego, let go of life’s stress and obligations, and find inner peace.
Not everyone practices spirituality in the same way. Some people may be more likely to have spiritual experiences in churches or other religious buildings. Practicing your religious faith is a great way to care for your spiritual health because it involves experiencing a sense of connection to a higher being or with humanity and nature.
Spirituality and prayer have been linked to better overall health, improved psychological well-being, decreased hypertension, less stress, and decreased depression. There is also a social health aspect to spirituality. Religion is the ultimate example of social cohesion because of the sense of belonging it allows its members.
Whether rediscovering a forgotten spiritual path, practicing an already well-established one, or just beginning your spiritual journey, there are countless ways to explore your spiritual side and help improve your well-being.
