Healthy body

Your body isn't just a car to carry your brain around inside. A car made of meat. An organic messy meat car, prone to breaking down when you least can afford it.

Your brain is intimately connected to your body and vice versa. The sensations from your body are fed into your mind. And what your mind experiences is sent to your body. At the simplest level, consider when your body has a cold, your thoughts become sluggish. And when your mind is under stress, the tension builds up in your neck and shoulders, resulting in headaches.

Help your body out! It needs exercise: be proud of all the different ways it supports you. Whether it's carrying groceries, heading up and down stairs, walking around the shops or getting your groove on at the club.

chelle from Morguefile
No, this is not me. Which is a shame, because this is basically awesome.

But we should also move because our bodies absorb our stresses. In ancient times, all the adrenalin produced by the 'fight or flight' response to stress actually had somewhere to go. We could fight or flee. In modern times, it mostly just leads to road rage and pent up aggression. Exercise is a fantastic way to burn it off in a healthy and productive way. Lift some weights (whether that's bottles of milk, a barbell or your own body in a pushup). Go for a walk/run/ride/skate in the park. Move because the sheer act of movement is glorious!

Often in movement our mind has a better chance to become still. The tension is burned out, the endorphins are firing, we feel strong and in control of our self. And the mind and body have reunited.

Do not ignore your meat car!

What's your favourite stress-relieving exercise? I'm partial to some Tai Chi but have become a convert in the last few years to the healing benefits of a run (*ahem* sluggish jog).