10 Spiritual Ways to Take Care of Your Body

Our bodies are the vehicle for which all actions, emotions, and results take place. Without our bodies, we would not be able to experience all that the world has to offer. Our bodies are a temple for life, source energy, and growth. A part of living with an intentional mind and soul should also be taking care of your body. To do this, we must take conscious action to put ourselves first, which causes us to care for our spiritual body.

Why is this important? Taking care of our bodies in a spiritual sense offers us the space for expansion and enlightenment. Being both health-conscious and body-conscious, I believe, can be two different things when put into the context of intentional living. But when you expand your mind to reach both levels of awareness–taking care of both your health and your physical body in all the ways listed below–this is how you reach expansion.

As you begin to care of your physical body, ask yourself how you may not be fully present in your mind. What toxic habits are you borrowing into that are keeping you from living intentionally? Listen to the Podcast on Toxic Habits that are hindering your Healing on Apple or Spotify.

10 Ways to Take Care of Your Body

One | Get Enough Sleep

There have been hundreds of studies on sleep and its effects on performance, managing anxiety levels, stress, etc. Sleep affects almost every motion we take during the day. It gives our body and mind time to rest and recharge to reach our peak performance. It’s an essential function to the body and affects our ability not only to perform but to remember. Lack of sleep can cause a lack of emotional awareness, which impedes our ability to be fully present in the moment.

Two | Practice Yoga

I cannot stress this enough: yoga is incredibly beneficial to both your mind and body. For your body, it offers growth in flexibility, relaxation, stability, strength, and more. For your mind, it promotes alignment, meditation, stress relief, and relaxation. Yoga is a wonderful way to connect with your body and align with your spirituality. Yoga promotes connection with your highest self and all that is within, healing inner wounds, both physical and emotional.

Three | Go for Long Walks

Time to yourself to step away from it all and take a breath is more important than you might realize. Going for a long walk and listening to a self-help podcast or meditation music promotes deep self-reflection. Even though many of us feel like we may not have time for a long walk, it’s easier than you think to find one or two hours a week to leave your phone at home and head out into nature. This time to clear your head, clean up your thoughts, and step away from the clutter for even a brief moment promotes excellent relaxation.

Four | Consume Self-Care Content

Isn’t self-care content just for the mind? I certainly do not think so. Consuming content like self-care podcasts, books, even pins on Pinterest, all translate to mind equals body. When you take care of the mind, you take care of the body. By healing your heart, you’re healing your soul. Where does your soul live? Within your body. Consuming self-care content is vital to our growth. It’s what lets us learn about all the different ways we can care for ourselves. “Should I read this book or that book?” It’s where we can discover new and inventive ways to reflect on what works and what doesn’t work for each of us.

Five | Listen to your Body

Your body speaks to you like two friends having a conversation. When we get a cold, it’s our body’s way of telling us to slow down and take a break. When we get a headache, it’s our mind telling us to close our eyes and rest. Each reaction our body has to our outside world is a conversation. One of the healthiest ways to take care of your body is to listen to what it has to say. Ignoring our body’s pleas for rest and relaxation says we don’t appreciate all it does for us. Many of us (myself included) often feel guilty for taking time to rest when we think we shouldn’t, but if that is what our body is communicating with us, it’s important to understand that it knows what we need. And to be productive later, we must first care for ourselves now.

Six | Set Aside Time for Self-Care

There is nothing I love more than my Sunday self-care routine. It’s my favorite time of the week to rest, unwind, and relax to prepare for the week ahead. It’s my dedicated time each week to pamper myself and practice all of my favorite self-care techniques. Having dedicated time like this each week should be essential to your routine. Does it need to be an entire day? No, of course not. Should it be non-negotiable? Yes. This time is critical and offers us space to alleviate stress and reduce a lack mindset.

Seven | Practice Meditation & Breathing Exercises

How does stress or anxiety manifest in the physical form? We get jittery, hyper, headaches, upset stomachs, even overheated. How do you mitigate that stress? You relax. Simple ten-minute meditation exercises can work to reduce your stress. There is a grounding exercise I practice daily that immediately calms me. Imagine yourself standing in your happy place, wherever that may be, and feel the ground supporting you. Now, picture the earth’s core thousands of miles below you and imagine a tethered rope rising up from that core and connecting to you. Imagine the cord (whatever “fabric” you choose) embracing you comfortably, grounding you, and connecting you to the earth. Practice exercises like this daily to reduce stress immediately.

Eight | Keep Your Body Nourished & Hydrated

Our bodies crave nourishment and hydration. Now, I’m not going to sit here and praise the effects of healthy eating to you and drinking 72oz of water every day because every body is different. However, I will say with confidence that we do all need nourishment and hydration. So, this is for the person who gets lost in a project and can forget to hydrate themselves like the lost plant in the lonesome corner of a home. If you’re like me and can easily lose yourself in a task, just set simple reminders to make sure you’re eating and drinking throughout the day to avoid the “OMG, it’s 3 PM, and I’ve eaten nothing today!” fiasco.

Nine | Be Mindful of Tech Time

No matter your age, we’re in a time where technology follows us everywhere and is involved in almost every aspect of our lives. It’s easy to lose yourself in the abyss that is social media or a fun game you downloaded on your phone. Taking care of your body includes your eyeballs along with your mind. Sitting and staring at your phone and then TV for four hours at the end of the day, I would argue, is certainly not healthy. Be mindful of the time you’re spending on tech, and always have a list of fun things to do on standby that relax you and don’t involve technology.

Ten | Listen to Your Mind

The mind and body coexist and intermingle. Each affects the other, and one cannot exist fully without the other. For our body to perform at its highest capacity, we must listen to what our minds tell us. Can we win a marathon without overcoming doubts? Can we learn to swim without first understanding water? The philosophical charm of listening to our mind to take care of our body means that not only do the two coexist, but they collaborate to reach peak performance and access our highest source of energy.