Spirituality and the Healthy Living “Three-Legged Stool”
Spiritual practice is as essential to holistic living as the foods you put into your body and the amount of time you raise your heart rate each week. Your spiritual, emotional and mental well-being affects your mind as much as food or movement, and you can even apply your spiritual practice to things like eating, exercise, personal relationships and expanding your mind. You are a complex being. Create a self-care practice that is multi-dimensional so that you can be the most vibrant expression of yourself.
Various forms of meditation are practiced across the world’s great religious traditions. Whatever form you choose, meditation is good for you. It’s been proven to calm the body as well as the mind, stimulating the parasympathetic nervous system so that the internal organs can function well.
Try eating mindfully, pausing between bites to take a breath and offer gratitude for the sunlight, water, soil and labor that made your meal possible.
Stretching the mind is as important stretching the body. Learn about different types of spiritual practices to sharpen your mind and open yourself to new horizons, setting the stage for personal transformation.
Of course, spiritual practice is about much more than holistic living. Your connection to the Divine is the sacred foundation of all that you do and all that you are. It is the living spring from which your body, heart, mind and soul can draw inspiration, clarity and rejuvenation.
Healthy eating, an active body and engaged spiritual practice form the three-legged stool of a full life. Organizations like One Spirit Learning Alliance provide the structure of that important third leg, which brings us into balance. Find that opportunity for yourself to ensure the completeness of your healthy life.
Rev. Chelsea MacMillan is event and volunteer coordinator and Ilene Sameth is chief executive officer of One Spirit Learning Alliance, whose programs are based on the essential teachings of the world’s great spiritual traditions as seen in the light of contemporary knowledge. One Spirit is located at 247 W. 36th St., 6th Floor. For more information, call 212-931-6840 ext. 41 or visit OneSpiritInterfaith.org/NA.
