The body’s a temple. Such a beautiful way to describe the one thing that is unique to ourselves in this lifetime. I believe we are evolving into a new era which involves taking care of the body through fitness and personal skin care. In a way, this has proven to have a direct impact on improving our happiness, after all “look good, feel good” right? The deeper we look into this, the more we can answer our own questions as to whether we are on the right path for ourselves as individuals and as a society. Let’s explore.
As humans, we gain understanding of our development in our early years and begin to shape our futures through conditioned behaviour. It could stem from what we are taught in our homes culturally, information given to us in our educational institutions or simply through interactions with “others” in our day to day lives. Whether we choose to accept it or not, when we were younger, our “self” was shaped by taking from others. As we get into our teenage years, what tends to happen is we become more self-aware and start to measure our personal happiness through prior conditioned behaviour. Now what I have learnt is that this is a key period in our timeline in which many find difficult to overcome, resulting in action being taken in later years which I will touch on as we proceed.
The teenage years, in my opinion, are the years in which our general health becomes divided into what I like to call subcategories of physical and mental health. What is important to understand is that our physical & mental health have always been with us, we just become more concerned with the two once we grow in self-awareness. For all sexes (I say all as limiting genders to just male & female has become a taboo), the body begins to go through puberty and we all notice the changes to our body. Height, weight, our physical appearance in general is shifting and altering right before our eyes. Although as teenagers, it is repeatedly highlighted by “others” that this is normal and should be embraced. As we continue to develop and as time goes by, we are encouraged; not only by the wider community but within our immediate society, to take care of our bodies and stay healthy.
Interestingly, particularly post 18 years, taking care of our physical health becomes a “necessity” rather than the non-nonchalant attitude we were once fed to uphold. Most gym memberships (to my knowledge) begin from 18 years of age, beauty products are advertised for audiences in their early 20s... We all know the usual marketing techniques so I won’t delve too deep into this area but I will pose this question, when does mental health become a “necessity”? The answer, it does not. It only becomes relevant when we become self-aware of our general health all over again.
This tends to happen in later years of life, let’s say 40+ when our youthful looks start to slip away and the mask of our physical appearance is no longer ranks high in priority. The idea of therapy starts to become validated by our life experiences, yoga classes appear appealing as opposed to toning muscles for definition, reading a book to feed our minds is the daily requirement rather than applying the daily beauty product your 21-year-old mind once needed. In a way, the physical health tends to out weigh our mental health until we reach a point of self-realisation in our lives of what truly matters, our general health.
As I previously outlined in this piece, we begin this process by dividing the two, alluding to my title physical vs mental health. This is a process which needs adjustment. I do believe we are beginning to understand these realities, however it is not enough. Both the physical and mental are forms of health which need to work hand in hand to achieve ultimate results. No amount of dieting, gym workouts, beauty products or likes on social media will be fulfilling if the psyche is not in sync. They need to work hand in hand.
Here’s a quick note for the relevant readers:
Teenagers: Puberty and body development is inevitable, you cannot avoid it. This is nothing to be worried about, just do whatever makes you happy and the rest will fall into place.
Over 18s: I encourage you to eat, sleep and train well but do so with the intentions of improving your health overall. Do not let it be a mask over your mental health, we only get one life so live it with happiness as your core.
Over 40s: It is never too late to find your happiness. There are no mistakes in life, only lessons learned so continue being the best version of you because no one else can do it better. It could also be helpful to educate yourself by educating others.
In summary, your body truly is a temple and it is also the home of your soul and mind, let your physical and mental health work as one and pursue the happiness you deserve.
Embrace Life. Love Life. Live Life.