Why Practice Spiritual Health?
Practicing spiritual health can have several benefits, such as; creating better lifestyle habits, having a healthier mindset, relieving stress and anger, finding comfort, becoming a more positive person, and just overall becoming more aware of yourself and the life around you.
There are so many practices to choose from like simple things you can add into your daily lifestyle or diving deeper into really transforming your spiritual health. I’m positive these practices are going to instantly bring you a sense of peace and relaxation but doing them daily and making them a part of your everyday routine will bring long term results positively affecting your mental and spiritual health.
How do I know if I Should be Doing Spiritual Health Practices ?
Ask yourself these questions and determine what your spiritual health looks like..
- Am I making enough time for relaxation in my day?
- Do I have negative thoughts throughout the day that sometimes bother me ?
- Am I often cranky or feel drained at the end of the day?
- Do I wake up and Immediately look at my phone?
- Do I have a good defined sense of self and purpose?
- Do I feel connected to the world around me?
- Do I often feel anxiety?
- Am I accepting of the views of others?
Most people with good spiritual health have a very good sense of self and purpose, typically displaying hope and a positive outlook. Commitment, self acceptance, and clear values are also some other traits a person with good spiritual health will have.
Even just adding one form of spiritual health practice in the day can make a huge difference. Taking care of your mind, body, and soul is the most important thing you can do for yourself.
Let’s talk about my five favorite spiritual health practices that anyone can add into their daily routine even if you are just starting out.
Starting The Day With A Clear Mind
Have you ever woken up in the morning and just been in a cranky mood? Maybe you didn’t get enough sleep the night before or you ran out of your favorite cold brew coffee and now you have to risk being late to work to stop by Dunkin. Whatever the cause, I am sure we all wake up in canky moods and probably over silly things.
The question is, do you continue to carry that mood with you throughout the day and let it jeopardize the outcome of your day?
Making it a priority to take the time to start your day with a meditation or prayer can have a positive impact on how you relate to yourself and react to those silly things that sometimes piss you off, setting the whole mood for your day. Setting positive intentions, speaking affirmations to yourself, or even writing is a game changer. You are then reminding yourself that even if things go in a direction you dont expect you still intend on making the most out of the day.
This practice allows you the opportunity to strive for a better attitude. To release stress and tension from the day before.
Here are some examples of what you could do ten minutes after waking up to clear your mind and set good intentions for the day:
- Doing meditation or prayer.
- Writing down positive affirmations.
- Speaking positive affirmations to yourself in the mirror.
- Planning a list of intentions… “ Today I intend on…”
- Taking a moment of silence and doing breathwork.
- Leave your phone alone for the first hour you are awake.
Sometimes it is hard to remind ourselves first thing in the morning to do these practices, a tip I found that will help alot is writing affirmations on sticky notes and putting them on your bathroom mirror. That’s usually the first place people go in the morning. This will jog your memory and help you practice a little more each day
The Power of Being Grateful
We often overlook all the good in our life. Taking time out of your day to remind yourself just how blessed you are could really do some good even if you’re feeling at your lowest. Expressing gratitude can be the antidote to many negative emotions such as anger, greed, and envy. We should all harness the benefits of being grateful and I am going to tell you how.
First step is to go to the dollar store. Pick out any journal you can write notes in that is eye-catching to you. It is important to pick out a notebook that you like, this way you feel drawn to put it to use. Grab a nice pen or pencil to write with as well.
Once we have all the supplies needed we are going to write down three main topics.
- 10 things I am grateful for today.
- 3 things that make me happy.
- 3 things I can do to make tomorrow better.
Just like that! I personally love this method of expressing my gratitude, it allows me to go back and look at progress and keep track of the things I feel thankful for that day. It could even be as simple as just saying out loud in your car as you are driving how thankful you are for the things in your life, but this way you really put thought into what you are thankful for and it is also a good way to keep track.
Taking Short Breaks
I just know how many of you love the sound of this one! Days can be so stressful and our minds are constantly working, I get it. So, taking short mental breaks every two or three hours is key to keeping balance within spiritual and physical reality. Regular breaks improve wellness, health, and work performance.
This is probably one of the easiest spiritual health practices I am giving you today, because you can literally do it in your office at work or school.
It is as easy as:
- Stopping everything you are doing and just closing your eyes to breathe and empty your mind.
- Taking a short walk outside to sit in the sunshine.
- A quick stand up and stretch or even doing some yoga poses.
- Taking time to do a short meditation or prayer.
My personal favorite way to take a short break is finding my happy place. Going back to my happiest memory and replaying it in that moment. I like to do this when I feel overwhelmed and stressed out. I just close my mind, go back to my happiest memory and breathe. Even if you don’t have a happy memory, you can just create a happy place, somewhere or something where you see yourself being the happiest.
Connecting to Nature
One of the best things to do when trying to clear your mind or relieve stress is to connect with nature. Step out of your mind and step into nature. Nature is an organic, all original, authentic healer. Nature is where we come from, being glued to your electronics, constant human interaction, working your brain 12 plus hours a day is not natural.
The benefits of connecting to nature are lowering blood pressure and stress hormone levels, reduced nervous system arousal, increased self esteem, reduced anxiety and improved mood. This you can not miss out on, it is also a good way to ground yourself.
Some ways you can connect to nature:
- Buy a Hammock
- Go hiking
- Go for a nature walk
- Sit on your porch
- Going to the park
It is as easy as stepping outside and just simply enduring what is around you with no distractions or interruptions. My favorite way to Practice this is to walk outside barefoot and to feel the ground beneath me. I also love sitting in my hammock and just letting the breeze sway me as I hear birds sing. You never actually understand how therapeutic it is until you actually go and do it.
Daily Meditation
Okay, boom. You all saw this one coming and that is because this is the best way to practice spiritual health. The benefits of daily meditation are outstanding. It is the simplest, fastest way to erase stress.
The benefits consist of ;
- Gaining a new perspective on stressful situations.
- Building stress managing skills.
- Increasing self awareness
- Euphoric emotions
- Reducing negativity
- Increased imagination and creativity
- Intense relaxations
- Building patience and tolerance
Meditation might also be useful to medical conditions, especially if they worsen due to stress. Research suggest that meditation may help people manage symptoms of conditions such as;
- Anxiety
- Asthma
- Cancer
- Chronic pain
- Depression
- Heart disease
- High blood pressure
- Irritable bowel syndrome
- Tension headaches
- Sleep problems
Meditation obviously can’t replace treatment for medical conditions but isn’t it amazing that it can help manage symptoms? It is shown that meditation thickens the prefrontal cortex of the brain, this results in higher order brain function like increased awareness, concentration, and decision making. This is not a practice you can say no to even if you wanted.
Besides all the benefits of meditation, it is just straight up relaxing and the feelings I have endured from meditating are indescribable. Give meditation a chance and I promise you won’t regret it.
What People Don’t Tell you
Spiritual health does not have to be complicated. Not spending hundreds of dollars on going to retreats to find relaxation and peace, it’s as simple as putting your phone down and walking outside.
There are tons of benefits that come with these spiritual health practices and I have devoted my life to them for the past several years. Anyone is capable of doing these practices. They are simple and take up no more than 30 minutes out of your day, unless you want them too. I hope this helps anyone in search of simple spiritual health practices. Remember you are not alone in this journey and I am just a message away!
The Cosmic Tribe 
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