"If someone wishes for good health, one must first ask oneself if he is ready to do away with the reason of his illness. Only then it is possible to help him." -- Hippocrates
Achieving maximum brain health and balancing the brain is viable when one strives to maintain three important facets of life for balance: mind, body, and spirit. If any one of these constituents are out of resonance with the others, the brain cannot function correctly, and may potentially lead to discord in the body and eventual disease. If you suffer a physical injury or a significant loss, this stress may lead to depression, which inadvertently affects the body as well as the mind. Physical exercise, for example, is well known to help elevate one’s mood, decrease anxiety, as well as accelerate the creation of new brain cells. Healthy nutrition is also essential to maintaining emotional health as well as physical health. Some of the latest research on how to maintain or improve cognitive skills (e.g. memory, attention, and executive functioning) in persons with mild cognitive impairment suggests specially designed physical movements are more effective than more cerebral activities directed at memory or attention.
The third area of human life is attaining a healthy spirit. A healthy spiritual life does not necessarily need to be related to a particular religion, although many people find great benefit from belonging to a community of people committed to improving their spiritual life, learning, communing and caring for each other. Many spiritual practices common to multiple religions have been scientifically proven to improve emotional and physical health. These spiritual practices can be practiced in isolation, however, are often enhanced or improved when shared or practiced within the community. Among these is the practice of loving kindness, unconditional love, and the practice of forgiveness.
Meditation is another method to balance the spirit as well as the soul, and has now been scientifically proven to decrease stress, improve physical health, and enlarge the size of the brain’s memory center, the hippocampus.
Chinese medicine and Greek medicine, among other ancient health care systems employ methods which integrate mind, body and spirit. Tai chi and Chi gong, in particular, have been scientifically show to serve as exercise and meditative practices, which can improve physical, emotional and cognitive health. When fully practiced and integrated into daily life, including the meditative forms, Tai Chi and Chi Gong have been shown to positively impact mind, body and spirit. Directing energy through the body using purposeful movements, such as yoga, Tai Chi and archetype movements, releases stagnant energy within the body, which may lead to optimal health and wellness.
The release of trauma held in the body is essential to brain-balanced wellness, as any unresolved trauma continues to impact the individual, leading to deterioration of body, mind and spirt. The ability to make the unconscious "conscious", opens up potential pathways for achieving maximum brain balanced wellness. Balancing the brain is a conscious, continual process of evolving oneself to a higher state of wellness.
© 2017 by Jodi Lawyer, M.A., OTR/L. Helix Healing Path. All rights reserved. You may quote, copy, translate and link to this article in its entirety, on free, non-donation based websites only, as long as you include the author name and a working link back to this website. All other uses are strictly prohibited.