The Body and Mind machine?

Lifestyle change is to recalibrate, fuel up, fine tune and maintain for optimal endurance and output. It sounds like a car, doesn’t it? We maintain and service the car, to keep it in tip-top shape. Due to the preventive care, breakdowns are rare, and the car keeps going for years. Do we treat our bodies in the same way?

A Body of Work

The car metaphor is understandable, as a machine is a complex set-up that requires expertise to build and maintain. Most of us have a trusted mechanic who knows the ins and outs of the engine. I have often thought that I would want to learn more about the insides of the engine, so that I could fix and maintain the car myself. I even got a book about car mechanics some years back – but time, pressures and all other good excuses stopped me from getting on with this.

The body and mind are much the same – a complicated set of interconnected systems – ‘engines’ – that takes time, energy and understanding to get to grips with.

Do you treat you body like you treat your car? Do you service, maintain, ensure correct oil mix and tire pressure? Or – do you let it continue until it breaks down and you have to visit the Doctor? What if it’s then too late? Did you wait too long? Can you do something about it now? YES – you can!

“A man too busy to take care of his health is like a mechanic too busy to take care of his tools.”
Spanish Proverb

Become a Lifestyle change mechanic

Body and mind needs care and attention to function well. Lifestyle changes is to prevent break downs, fuel and feed body and mind with good nutritious food, oxygen, mindfulness and plenty of water. Lifestyle changes help our body systems to function at their optimum levels. The reward is full-on energy, health and rejuvenation. A visible difference inside and out. A balanced and healthy life.

Only thing is that many of us simply don’t understand, or give ourselves time, to give body and mind a chance to reach that balanced level. As a result, the body and/or mind fights back.

Car repair to illustrate metaphor with a body

A body of work

Taking a decision to change is the first step towards feeling good again. Getting motivated and encouraged as you walk along is essential. To get started it really helps to understand more about the basics.

Become a mechanic, a lifestyle change mechanic. That will get you really connected with what lifestyle change means. It will also suddenly make sense that a diet would only tackle a perceived issue for a little while, whereas a true lifestyle change will be something you can enjoy as part of your life and work everyday.

To become a lifestyle change mechanic, you need to know more about the intricate systems that are body and mind. What makes them work, flow, function and interact?

Body and Mind Systems

Our body is an amazing system that has the ability to adapt itself to its inner and outer environment – up to a point. Our body is a carefully constructed machine that works well for a very long time – but slows down with improper fuels. Our body affects every part of us, and the mind follows suit. The mind can at times take over, and tell our body to do things it would not have chosen.

“Our own physical body possesses a wisdom which we who inhabit the body lack. We give it orders which make no sense.”
Henry Miller

What is so fascinating with the body and mind system is the influence that one has one the other. Normally a system may not work as well, or at all, if a part is missing, broken or worn out, or disconnected. When it comes to our body – by eating food, humans obtain energy and materials for body repair and growth; by breathing, humans take in the oxygen they need to live; by communicating with all parts of the body, the brain understands what is going on at different parts throughout the body; and the skeleton provides the body with structure and protection.

In the system that is our body and mind it can be hard to believe that a system of ‘objects’ must be doing something in order to be a system, and/or that a system that loses a part of itself is still the same system. It can be difficult to recognise that a natural phenomenon (e.g., the human body) occurs by body systems working independently and together (e.g., circulatory, respiratory, nervous, digestive). We often tend to look at what an individual part does (or not) rather than by seeing the interactions between the parts of a system.

In terms of the nervous system, one realises that the brain helps the body parts, but we do not always realize the that the body also helps the brain. We know that nerves conduct messages, control activity, and stabilize the body. What we do not always realise is the brain’s role in controlling involuntary behavior.

When we read about lifestyle changes, we often see reference to how a particular movement, or food, will affect us positively – and we nod and agree. Do we really understand? Do we actually remember those anatomy and biology lessons about ‘The Human Body Systems‘? How about a refresher?

As you continue to get encouraged, and motivated – this might be a useful post to bookmark. Next time you can nod and agree with real understanding and knowledge. How about that? Are you ready for your Lifestyle change mechanics 101?