Body healing benefits your entire being

Relaxing and completely letting go is a great first step to begin body healing, much less spiritual healing. Finding peace and quiet is harder to do these days, but it is more important than ever. There is so much information coming at us throughout our day—some beneficial, sure, but much of it merely distracting and even negative or morose—we need to make conscious effort to maintain a calm body and nervous system in order to achieve a deeper inner peace.

Body healing — relax and let go

We know that too much stress is the culprit for so many of our ills, ranging from physical to mental. Some conditions may require professional help, be it from a medical doctor or a therapist, but there are many things we can do for ourselves to relieve stress. I'm a fan of natural stress reducers and I have tried all of these techniques with success.

One of the most basic stress reducers we can use any time is to practice complete breathing techniques. Often we don't even realize how shallow our breath is. If you really pay attention, you'll realize that you may actually even hold your breath sometimes!

relax, meditation, tranquility

Listening to nature sounds is another great calming technique. A bird's song, the sound of rain or a gentle breeze, the little buzz of a bee, these are all sweet, nurturing, soothing sounds, and just the act of paying attention to them has a calming effect. When you have the definite intention of being acutely aware of the sights, sounds, and feelings of your surroundings, you are really doing a "mindfulness" meditation, refocusing intensely on the here and now rather than the worry and negativity in your head.


Water therapy is another relaxation tool that can contribute greatly to your health. There are many forms of water therapy ranging from merely drinking enough of it to immersing yourself in it. Of course music can be very relaxing, depending on the type you listen to. Also, aromatherapy can encourage a tranquil mood - I personally love the calming sent of lavender oil.

Strengthening the body strengthens the mind and spirit

Physical exercise in general is one of the best stress reducers; it boosts endorphins and helps you relax and get a good night's sleep. But I think yoga really rises above all the others when it comes to de-stressing and body healing. Of course the benefits of yoga go far beyond the body—yoga is good for body, mind, and spirit.

There are many different kinds of yoga, and many places you can go to online for yoga classes or sessions. I've tried a number of different YouTube yoga channels and some have been pretty good, but others have been not so good. The good thing about the ones on YouTube is that they're free, but the down side is that you have to go through the thing to find out if it's any good or not.

While I'm on the subject of exercise, I need to mention the definite connection between weight loss and stress. I have experienced such an improved level of relaxation and mood since I lost some of my excess weight, and I would love to share my story with you.

Online yoga, yoga downloads, yoga class, yoga for pain

Yoga for Pain and Tension

Neck and shoulder pain: If you hold your tension in your neck and shoulders like I do, you might want to try this yoga video. It's for beginners, and it completely cures my neck and shoulder pain whenever I use it. There is one pose near the end (about 13:10) that looks like it's not for beginners, but it actually isn't that hard, and it gives incredible relief.

Hip and back pain: Do you have tight hips, lower back pain, or sciatica? This is an amazing class for hip/back pain; you can stream the audio version for free--it's from Yoga Downloads, and it's titled Gentle Hatha For Hips by instructor Jackie Casal Mahrou. You just have to register with Yoga Download, and then you can access lots of free classes. (I actually prefer the audio classes because I get distracted trying to watch the instructor when there's video!) They also have free PDF downloads of all the poses that are used in the class. And obviously there are other paid levels of access. It's an excellent site many great offerings.