By connecting to our natural rhythms we improve our well-being
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By connecting to our natural rhythms we improve our well-being
Did you know that the human body responds to rhythms and cycles? A perfect example is that we respond to the 24-hour cycle which we know to be day and night. This supports us with being able to sleep – and sleep, as most of us know, is a key ingredient to our well-being.
Is it possible for rhythms to be developed that support our well-being?
Having rhythms and cycles can most definitely support us with our personal development and well-being.
Let’s look at the animal kingdom as an example for this. Animals are the experts at living within cycles and having rhythms that support them within the huge change in seasons in which they live.
Some examples:
- Owls begin to stir in the late afternoon and evening, awaiting at dusk, the emergence of small mammals, enabling the owls to eat
- When a colony of bees gets too crowded, they know to make a new queen bee, so that the old queen can go off and start a new colony with a large swarm of older bees
- The humpback whale migrates large distances from Antarctica, where they feed in the summer months, to the sub tropical coastal waters of western and eastern Australia and Fiji to give birth and mate during spring and winter
Let’s look at some natural rhythms and cycles that human beings have that, if followed, can support our personal development and wellbeing:
Having a deeply restful night's sleep, every night
Lack of sleep can be linked to all sorts of health issues:
- Motor vehicle accidents
- Inability to remember things
- Difficulty performing daily tasks
- Depression
- Emotional irritability
- Reduced quality of life
The Centre of Disease Control and Prevention[i] states that insufficient sleep is a public health problem[ii].
Making sure we are well rested is key to supporting ourselves in our day. It is foundational to us being happy, vital, energised and productive.
Eating food that nourishes the body
Most of us do not eat in accordance to what nourishes our body.
We eat to:
- Stimulate ourselves
- Distract ourselves
- Be social
- Build our bodies up
- Lose weight
- Abuse ourselves and to fill ourselves up
- Eat three meals a day and eat certain foods, as we have been conditioned to do
But what if we were to stop and consider that our individual bodies actually have their own cycle and rhythm with food?
Your body knows what to eat to nourish it and keep it healthy – have we perhaps just forgotten to listen to it?
For more about your very own in-built food navigation system, read this article in the Food sphere.
Feeling the beating of our heart
Yes, our heart beats every day, every minute, every second. This vital rhythm within us is one worth stopping to feel and look after.
- How many of us stop and connect to our heart and consider its health and well-being?
- What am I doing in my day that may place unwanted stress on this vital body part – my heart?
- Do I drink too much, eat lots of greasy food or work too hard?
You are worth taking time in your day to relax, feel your body and the beating of your heart.
The monthly menstrual cycle or the full moon cycle
As everything in nature has a cycle, so do we. Yes, both men and women, regardless of age, have a cycle that if connected to allows us to observe what is going on in our bodies.
- How often do we simply let these cycles pass us by every month?
- Do we appreciate that these monthly cycles can actually help us to be more honest with how we are feeling?
For more information go to the Our Cycles app page[iii].
The human being is created to be living within natural cycles and rhythms; if we allowed ourselves to live with these rhythms, we would naturally be supporting our personal development and well-being.
References:
Filed under
Connection, Human body, Well-being, Sleep, Health, Depression, Moon, Vitality, Disease, Menstrual cycle
