Physical Activity As A Spiritual Practice

When people think of spiritual practices, most often what comes to mind is a vision of meditation, prayer, maybe some study of spiritual texts...but another powerful and often less thought of mechanism for strengthening our spiritual connection with our selves and source is physical activity.

Join me in this episode as I explore the ways in which physical activity can serve as a spiritual practice and is an essential step towards helping us to integrate all 4 levels of our being - physical, emotional, mental and spiritual - and facilitate their ability to work in unison.

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Intro and Outro music: Inspiring Morning by Playsound

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Disclaimer: This podcast is intended for educational purposes only. It is not intended to be treated as psychological treatment or to replace the need for psychological treatment.

Transcript

Tatiana: 0:00

Welcome to the Integrated Wisdom Podcast. I am your host, Tatiana Dassilva. Join me as we discuss what it means to live an integrated life, explore ways for you to create a life filled with greater meaning, peace, and connection. By integrating the wisdom of spirituality, psychology, neuro neuroscience, epigenetics, and energy psychology, I hope to empower you to create deeper and more loving connections for yourself and others whilst also paving the way for humanity at large to be reimagined and inspired to become the very best version of itself. Oh, hello. Hello. Welcome to another episode of the integrative wisdom podcast. Thank you so much for joining me. For yet another one. So as you all may have heard me talk about throughout various episodes of the podcast. I am a big proponent of integrating all levels of. Human beings. The physical, the mental, the emotional, and the spiritual, because I wholeheartedly believe that when we're in complete alignment and all these different elements are working together. We have full access to the fullness of our being. Too. The fullness of our talents and expression of. Our authentic essence. And. In many ways. At the moment, the way that we've been kind of taught to think about ourselves. Uh, is in this really kind of dissected way where often we're talking about our thoughts disconnected from our emotions. Disconnected from our spirit. And very rarely do we even factor in. The role that our physical level of physical element of place. In creating a base context for all these other things to take place. And so what I wanted to focus on today, Is this concept of the physical element, how important it is to address that, but also how physical activity in some ways is also, or can be. a spiritual practice. And I wanted to dive in a little bit about why that's the case. In what way would physical activity, be your spiritual practice. And also give you some ideas of the things that you could then do. To just start to harness this a little bit more. So, if you think about the, our physical body. As a vessel. Right. That contains firstly, our. So essence how spirit. It connects with our physical body. And so the body's kind of like a car. Or you could think of it as a house. Uh, I house with wheels. a motorhome, then it allows us to navigate life. Right? It uses the tools and resources that we need. In the forms of. You know, physical body limbs and. The, the material aspects that we need to be able to experience the world. And to enact in the world. And just like a good harm or like a good vehicle. If it doesn't. If it's not taking care of, if it's not well-maintained. Eventually it ceases to be able to provide. The very function it was designed to do. Right. Like if we don't maintain our homes, if we don't take care of our houses, eventually we're going to end up in a rundown place with a leaky. He ceilings. And he potentially even create conditions for hazardous bacteria and vermin and all sorts of things. To fester and, and take over the environment, taking away that, that sense of that safe Haven. There are many of us tend to associate with. Our house, our, our place of, of rest and relaxation, where we can just be ourselves. Or if we want to use the analogy of a vehicle, if we're not taking care of the car, If we're not servicing it regularly. I'm not giving it the right oil. We're not fueling it as needed. It starts to become this really kind of rickety, dangerous thing, right. Ceases to be able To drive the distances that we needed to drive. It ceases to be able to. To function in the way that we need it to, it will break down. In the middle of the road, and so forth. Right. And so. I want us to think of our physical bodies, where I invite you to think about your physical body in the same way. It is the Bethel in the vehicle. For your spirit. To be able to interact in an act with the world. So when I say that physical activities or spiritual practice, I mean that in our ability to nurture and take care of our physical bodies. We're strengthening our bodies one wellbeing. Right. We're strengthening our health. We're strengthening our vitality. But we're also creating the optimum environment. For our spirit, our essence to be housed in. Right. So. If you start to think of it in that way. And you think about, okay, when I'm taking care of my body. I'm ultimately taking care of. This, uh, this house, this. Vessel. That that is here to to contain, and in some ways serve. My spirit that enables me to do all the things that I want to do while I'm here. How does that then change your relationship? To the way you nurture your body. Now, of course there's many different ways where we need to nurture our body. Right. With adequate sleep. With, um, a nutritious diet. But physical activity is so imperative to our overall wellbeing. That it. It deserves. It's very own standalone. Uh, acknowledgement because it's so paramount. To ensuring our overall wellness. Only this week. At the start of this week, I read an article. That was actually quite shocking as someone who. Probably is way more sedentary than. she should be. And that is definitely an occupational hazard, right, like a lot of the time when we're working in clinical practice or in coaching capacities. We're doing it sitting down. And we can be more sedentary, than is advised. But. This article that I read was talking about the fact that more recently. Scientists have started to understand. That a lack of physical activity is. A major contributing factor. For the development of 13. 13. Different types of cancer. We know now more and more than some diseases are lifestyle diseases. Many of them are in fact, Right. Very few diseases are genetically driven. And most of it boils down to our lifestyle. And cancer in particular is one of those diseases that. If we. If we do. Certain things. There's no guarantee, right? Like we all hear stories of really healthy, really physically active people who still develop. a cancer or something of the sort. So there's no one blanket. protective factor out there. But we do know that there is a significant part that we can play. In taking care of our bodies and taking care of our physicality. That will. Diminish significantly. Maybe not eradicate, but diminish significantly. The chances of us developing these disease mechanisms. And so. Again, it goes down to this analogy of taking care of the house. Right, making sure that you're maintaining it, that you're tending to it.. So that nasty external elements cannot start to undermine the structure and foundation of our home. So that's one level where physical activity is a spiritual practice. It's about taking care of your temple. Right. And ensuring that it has the movement, the, the vitality that it needs to function at its most optimum level. But another way in which physical activity can be used as a spiritual practice. I think you see, particularly for using, if you're doing physical activity. To connect with the natural environment when we're exercising out in nature. You have that additional benefit? Of connecting and communing with nature right. Of. Breathing in that fresh air, seeing the animals, the plants around you. If, you know, sometimes even just grounding, taking the moment to, to earth taking your. Like being going bare forward on. On a grassy patch can be so recharging and reenergizing in balance how energies in our body. So that's one way where physical activity becomes a spiritual practice. It can become a meditative practice even. Right with yoga is a form where we're connecting with our bodies. We're learning. so being out in nature, is a double opportunity for you to practice connecting with your body. Really strengthening that connection of listening to the physical signals that are coming from our body. But also using the natural world, the natural environment around you. As a mechanism for a meditative or a contemplative practice. Right. I don't do this anywhere near as much as I would like to, but one of the things that I love is going for walks, where I can see the ocean. I I live within. Um, close proximity to a walking track that. That is basically on the coast. And I find when I'm able to do that, that it's so grounding for me. But also it never ceases to fill me with a feeling of awe, every time I'm just always awe struck by the ocean, the waves. Um, breeze the sun, like as it hits the water, sometimes depending on the time of year that it is. We might see whales. Out to sea a little bit. And it always strucks me with awe at the beauty of the natural world. Like the perfection that there is out there. In. In nature. And I think awe is one of the. Most powerful doorways. For us to access. Our spiritual essence for us to be reminded. Of this greater. Uh, context that we're all existing in. Right. And so for me, that's how going out for a walk or even going out for a swim in the ocean, or if your thing's kayaking. Or paddleboarding. There's so many different types of activities that we can do out. Um, outdoors. That allows us to connect with nature, right. Going for hikes or Bush walks where you're surrounded by trees. You get to see. Different little animals, birds. Um, Butterflies. I mean, there's other insects and not everybody's opposed to I'm not exactly a fan of spiders. We say we have a lot of those here in Australia's. Most people know. But, uh, you know, just seeing birds and. Other, other types of non venomous. Insects. It just reminds us right of this, this. Beautiful network of living entities. That are sharing this space in the world. And so it becomes, uh, it really does. Create the opportunity. For you to practice connecting with your spiritual essence. Right. I, I, I don't know about you, but I think for me, time in nature is always something. That is such a powerful mechanism for me. To connect with that sense of awe. To be reminded. That there is a much bigger picture at play here that helps me take a bird's eye view of my life. And not sweat the small stuff and find things to be grateful for. Very rarely do I not feel. myself field with gratitude. When I'm in. In nature. So. You know, got doing exercise and physical activity out in the open, like. Outdoors. He's one of. I think the, one of the most powerful mechanisms that you could, you can access. In order to strengthen that spirituality muscle. But even if you're not an outdoorsy type. You can still practice these If you're exercising indoors. Right. Like in connecting with your body and really listening to the messages of your muscles as it contracts when you're paying attention to your posture. For example, if you're doing weightlifting, Or even if you're just walking or running on the treadmill. Being aware of what your body's doing, the different physical sensations. You're exercising, the muscle of connecting. These different layers right off big creating this awareness. Of what my body is doing in relation to what my thoughts are doing. And. Having more mastery being more grounded in your body. As opposed to disconnected, which a lot of the time we can be. But caught up in binging tV shows or scrolling on social media that disconnects us from our body. Right. We would become just caught up in our heads a lot of the time. And so physical activity can help us. To strengthen the links of all those between those. Those four layers. Not to mention. Uh, physical practice like yoga, for example. It creates the conditions for. so much personal growth. Right. Like one of the beautiful things about yoga. Is this concept of not striving for perfection, that it's not about what other people can do in the room. It's really a relationship between you. In your body. And you meeting yourself in a very vulnerable, in a very real way. Right. Acknowledging the limitations of. If your physical body. Honoring those by maybe slowing down if your body's asking for it. Or even. Learning to take. Wonder in the strength of your body. Right. When we're able to pull off these crazy hard poses. That we thought we could never do. The, the awe that can come with that, the wonder that can come with that. When you recognize what your body is actually capable of. Right. So it's a practice of honoring your body as well as your essence. Right. It helps you to understand, to notice the chatter. Some of the self limiting beliefs that show up. Right. Like yoga for me as a physical practice, it's all in it is a spiritual practice for all who, who follow yoga, all the yogis out there will know this wholeheartedly. It's a spiritual practice first and a form of physical exercise. Second. And so that's what I wanted to talk to you about today. There's no one way that is right for you. You have to find like there's no one thing that you should be doing to use physical activity. To enhance your connection with your body and enhance your spiritual practice, right? The most important things that you find for method that is most. Powerful and aligned for you. Whether that be going for a walk, whether it be go for a run. whether that be doing a yoga practice or going for a swim. Or going for a kayak. There are multiple different ways where physical activity. Um, can be harnessed. For these. These benefits. And so I invite you to consider that, like, what is your favorite physical outlet? Um, what's your favorite way of getting some physical movement? And when you're doing it, are you. Mindful are you connected with your body? Are you aware of what's happening? If you even within your inner landscape? And if you're not, I want you to try to take the opportunity to practice that a little bit more. I know that a lot of the time we can also sometimes use our physical exercise as an opportunity to catch up on our favorite podcasts or music or do other things. To help us engage with the activity. And I'm not saying to abandon any of that. But maybe every once in awhile. Maybe once or twice a week, if you're exercising very regularly. Trying to take one. Moment of the exercise or if not the whole, the whole session. To practice being mindful. If you're outdoors connecting, really observing what's around you. Noticing the different types of trees, different colors. In the plants, what birds and animals you've come across. Right. If you're, if you're practicing yoga, Like honoring your body. Noticing the things that are coming up for you, sometimes we get intuitive hits when we're in these moments. Right create, but we need to be. still mentally. So creating the possibility for that intuitive hit to come through by not filling your attention with other things. So I invite you to start thinking about that. How are you can engage with your physical activity? In this more mindful, more spiritual way. And for those of you who already do this, I would love to hear how you find it. You know, I, as always, I welcome your interactions I welcome your questions, but I would love to hear for those of you who already do this. What. What you love about it? What's still challenging about it. And for those of you who haven't done it yet and are willing to maybe go off and try it. Let me know how it goes. I'd love to hear it. You can always find me on Instagram at integrated underscore wisdom. So feel free to DM me there. And yeah, that's all I have for you today. It's a bit of a shorter one. But I just wanted you to start getting out there and really harnessing the power of your body to connect you. With your essence and start aligning you in that way. All right. So I hope you all have a lovely week. Thank you again for joining me and I'll see you next time. Thank you for tuning in to this episode of integrated wisdom. It is my sincere wish that today's beings. New episodes are published every Wednesday, and I hope you'll continue to join us as we dive deeper into what it means to live an integrated life. So if it feels aligned to you, I invite you to hit subscribe and share it with others who you feel may benefit too. You may also find me on Instagram at integrated underscore wisdom. Remember, each moment is an opportunity to embrace your divine potential and create a world that is more frequently inspired. So for now, stay connected, stay inspired, and keep shining your light into the world.