We’re all familiar with the words “brain” and “mind”. Generally they’re used interchangeably. But did you know that, according to Ayurveda, the brain and the mind are totally different things?
The brain is the organ inside your skull. It can be touched, has nerve cells, and is responsible for body functions like walking and digesting your food. The mind, however, is a bit more complex. It’s intangible, made up of energy, and is often connected with feelings, thoughts, and beliefs.
While our brain controls our bodies, our mind has a greater impact on our health. This means taking care of your mind is taking care of your life.
Your mind is directly affected by circumstances. When it’s disturbed, anxious, and generally not at peace, your memory is impaired. Because memory is an outcome of mindful perception, recollection, and retention, if you’re restless, your mind can’t perceive properly. And if you can’t perceive things properly, you can’t imprint memories properly, which leads to improper retention and recollection.
How To Manage The Mind
The mind and body aren’t separate units, even though they’re generally treated as such. They’re united, inseparably linked together. By using the ancient tools of Yoga and Ayurveda, you can create a multidimensional approach to vibrant health.
Ayurveda (literally translated as “the science of life”) helps the mind using dietary, herbal, and lifestyle guidelines, bringing physiological harmony into the body and then subsequently the mind.
Yoga helps the mind by following the social, ethical, and behavioral guidelines offered in the Yoga Sutras, an ancient philosophical text written over 5,000 years ago by Sri Patanjali. These principles are delivered into the body through various yoga poses (asanas), pranayamas (breathing techniques), and meditation practices. This brings the mind into a state of bliss, which in turn supports the physiological balance of the body.
What are the ways you can make positive changes in your life to greatly improve the state of your mind? How can you best support your mind so it can best support you? When we realize just how internally connected we are, making poor choices happens less frequently.