It's natural for us humans to get caught up in everyday life, work, school, family, etc. We can easily become desensitized, disconnected, and stressed out. This can cause our immune system to weaken, and get sick. That's exactly what happened to me. Over and over again. I had to change many things, but I couldn't do that if I was really scattered and disconnected. I found ways to improve my mental and physical health.

I want to share some of those ways with you!

Journaling:

Let's dive in. Close your eyes, take a few deep breaths. Ask yourself, "How do I feel in my body? Where have my feelings taken me today?" Take a few moments, align your thoughts, grab a pen, a piece of paper, and let it all out. It doesn't have to be organized, or shared with anyone.

Some things to journal are:

• Daily feelings: Were you in a good mood when you woke up? Maybe not? Did you have an emotional or hormonal episode? Remember, emotions are different than thoughts. Thoughts and interactions can trigger emotions. Writing them down can help you tell the difference and work through them.

•What you eat: Were your choices healthy? Not so much? Did you feel energized and satisfied? Or did you feel sluggish and heavy? Was is appealing? Did you make it yourself? Where did it come from?

•Challenges and how you overcame them: Did you have difficult deadlines to make at work? Demanding family and children? How did you work through these challenges? Did you have a positive outlook? Were you able to take a break for yourself and recoup? If not, make sure to take that time, we can not overcome challenges when we are not well.

• What you are grateful for: There are a million things we are blessed to have. Water to drink, air to breathe, food to eat, restful sleep, good friends, unconditionally loving family, the list can go on, you can make these more detailed and really focus on all the abundance you are blessed to have.

•Goals you want to reach: Do you want to go on a trip? Get rid of debt? Buy a new car? Get that perfect job? Well, you can do all that. Start with writing down small steps at a time, (ones that are realistic and achievable) and check them off when you're done. Ex: Save a few hundred from each paycheck, in a safe place, and when you reach your goal for that trip to Hawaii ;) Plan your ticket, hotel, and go!

Make it a lifestyle habit:

•Keep a journal near and accessible: I keep one in my bag, and I take my bag pretty much everywhere. I have a few at home. One for what I'm grateful for, one is more of an agenda, and one for thoughts, feelings, poetry, etc.

•Add it as a reminder in your phone/calendar: Mine goes off every morning, afternoon, and night. It's a great way to stay focused and remind me to check in with myself when I'm having a busy day.

•Use pen/pencil and paper to break away from technology: Put your phone down, yes, I said it, put it down, and start writing old school. Technology can make us desensitized, get away for a little while and reconnect with your senses.

Benefits:

•Studies show that journaling every day boosts brain power, increases creative flow, helps with emotional stress, and sleep disorders. Journaling can even help with overcoming addictions, and coping through traumatic experiences. The frontal and parietal lobes of the brain are at work and trigger more cell activation. Our memory and function increase more with everyday practice. This better helps us to overcome everyday challenges.

•Our attention is brought to the front of the brain, and when this happens, we can then go inward and have a better sense of self. Our third eye chakra is activated, that's our intuition's energetic center. Awareness is sharpened. We are then able to process thoughts, feeling, actions, social situations, etc.

Thoughts affecting our physical body:

•Negative feelings, stress, etc., have been proven several times to change molecular structure of cells in a non favorable way. Our brain is a powerhouse of energy, when we are thinking of negative things, our brain sends signals and energetic waves, and heat out, these changes are sent through your body and out to your surroundings.

•These signals and waves can weaken your immune system. The neurotransmitters and hormone systems in our bodies react to them, and eventually causes disease when unstable for prolonged periods of time.

Body Mapping:

•It is important to notate when you are feeling any changes and draw it out on paper. You will see how your thoughts and emotions change your physical feelings in your body. You can change that by journaling and self reflecting. You will grow to be more introspective.

•Over thousands of years humans have used art and writing as free expression, to document findings, and share knowledge. Body mapping is a type of expression that gets you to the core of your “Issues in the tissues.” (This is a term commonly used to describe that our emotional suppression builds up in areas in our body.) On a piece of paper draw out your body, label parts of your body with emotions, and feelings. Ex: Instead of writing arm, write expression, reaching out. On your heart, write love, and connections with others.

•After so much self realization with journaling, and body mapping, it’s only natural as humans we want to cleanse, and be nurtured. Take some time in silence to reflect and come back to this present moment. Drink some water, Eat some healthy food, go for a walk, and rest. Incorporating these tools into your everyday life are just some ways to increase your mind and body connection.

XO- Chantel

Mind Body Connection