By : Dr Naresh Purohit
New Delhi: Yoga inclusive of spiritual health is now a lifestyle trend across the globe . Living life with spiritual behaviour, by having positive thoughts and attitude combined with honesty and hard work, will lead to good health and wellness. One can say with confidence that achieving holistic health and resolving conflicts and confusions can be facilitated by cultivating sound spiritual health.
Spiritual wellness is important for holistic health. Building a strong spiritual foundation is important in present times, when stress and anxiety have assumed epidemic proportions. Age-old practices such as yoga and meditation are helpful in achieving spiritual wellbeing.
Practicing Yoga on a daily basis increases mindfulness and has a positive impact on all areas of a persons life. It rejuvenates, restores health, strengthens, empowers and the list just goes on. Yoga can be gentle as well as challenging and is not competitive. Anyone can practice yoga irrespective of age or size. Yoga today can easily be modified for maximum benefit and as per an individuals comfort level. Add yoga to your familys wellness routine to bond with them and to reap its benefits together.
Health in a holistic sense denotes an overall sense of wellbeing, free from diseases or disorders. Good health covers our state of being on multiple planes, not only physical and mental but also spiritual.Spiritual health is an important part of our lives, which helps create a balance between the physical, psychological and social aspects of a human being.
The importance of one’s spiritual state for one’s overall health is something which has not received due attention and emphasis so far. Spirituality is not religion and does not refer to any particular one.In fact it refers to the adoption of behaviour and habits which align one’s life to the Divine and the benign attributes of divinity. These include practising forgiveness, inculcating honesty and sincerity, having a helpful and understanding attitude towards fellow beings, the willingness to put the welfare of others before one’s own, showing compassion towards those who are less fortunate, and a sense of detachment from the fruits of one’s actions while being engaged in the performance of one’s duties and responsibilities.
A spiritually evolved person naturally comes to possess moral virtues, and is able to act as a responsible member of society.
A spiritual outlook makes a person mentally strong, and capable of facing the ups and downs of life, with a balanced mind and positive attitude. In adversity, one requires courage and fortitude.
Building a strong spiritual foundation is vitally important in the present times, when stress and anxiety have assumed epidemic proportions. These are important risk factors for many diseases, including heart ailments, particularly among the younger sections of the population. They may also result in mental depression with potentially serious consequences, including suicidal tendencies. These pathological conditions can be kept at bay, to a large extent, by the inculcation of a spiritual outlook. The inculcation of positive values can bring peace of mind and provide positive energy for leading a happy, productive and fruitful life.
There exists scientific research data showing that persons with a strong spiritual foundation release healthy hormones and balance the autonomic system and enhance parasympathetic activity, which helps to lower stress, improve digestion and the quality of sleep. Mental health, in particular, is greatly benefitted. On the other hand, cunning or petty or crooked behaviour, selfishness or an egotistical attitude or the like would only increase mental stress, which negatively affects the autonomic system and hormonal secretion. This is unhealthy for the heart, the brain and the body as a whole.
Yoga helps lower stress hormones that compromise the immune system, while also conditioning the lungs and respiratory tract, stimulating the lymphatic system to oust toxins from the body and bringing oxygenated blood to the various organs to ensure their optimal function.
It is important to inculcate spiritual virtues from a young age. Today’s youngsters bear greater strain than before owing to the ever-increasing competition. Children often succumb to pressure and stray into unhealthy habits. We must prepare our young generations to boldly face life by inculcating appropriate spiritual attitudes and behaviour. This requires families, schools and our communities to act collectively. In Indian culture, spiritual advancement and behaviour were ingrained. The spread of materialism presents new challenges, since our priorities have changed and we are becoming more self-centred. Individualism is the new mantra, leading to the weakening of familial and social ties. The result is unhealthy and unsustainable habits and lifestyles.
Adults must also work towards achieving spiritual wellbeing. For this, age-old practices such as yoga, meditation, prayer and even moderate fasting are helpful.
Healthcare professionals must,in particular, be educated about the importance of spiritual wellbeing. The medical profession stands to gain immensely from spiritual enquiry. This is so not only from the standpoint of the patient’s health, but also the health and wellbeing of the healthcare professional himself/herself.
The importances of the spiritual plane in the practice of medicine, including the embodiment of moral qualities and the desire to have a serene inner character; to not only do good but to be good and to sacrifice for the service of others.
It is, perhaps, high time that our medical curriculum included an appropriate section on the importance of spirituality for mental health and wellbeing. Research activities, including conferences and seminars, should engage in this field as well, so that the link between spiritual wellbeing and our state of health can be more deeply explored. These steps will check the tendency to engage in unethical professional practices and safeguard the aura of nobility that the medical profession has deservedly acquired.
7x5pjg85n7|100057829174tblpage|Content
7x5pjg85n8|000057829174|__vabriant|tblpage|Content|253ADFE0-6F50-4434-BD6B-43A43D4DC352