Solar Plexus
Sustaining our Physical, Mental, and Spiritual Health
Paul J. Dejillas, Ph.D. – June 29, 2021
Not so long ago, I was a regular weekend jogger, spending at least an hour a day. Then, I became a cycler, a motorbiker, a mountain trekker, a whale diver, and an ocean snorkeler, having lived by the seashores for so long.
When my little world tilted a bit, the climate changed to winter. I tried snowboarding for fun but not for long. The climate has become more insane, extremely hot plus this stupid coronavirus thing that's making even doctors and frontliners crazy, if not dead.
Now, I'm into stationary bike and treadmill. All this, in the name of a workout to boost my immune system.
Physically, we get tired as we grow in age. The more we age, the more easily we get tired, no exceptions because our cells, molecules, tendons, muscles, tissues, and organs depreciate with time.
Once our physical body deteriorates, the mind suffers. Sooner or later, arthritis sets it. So with back pains, shoulder and neck pains, clogged arteries, diabetes, hypertension, you name it.
Mental illnesses begin to set in: depression, panic attacks, disorientation, amnesia, seizures, Parkinson's disease, atrophy, paralysis, and even insanity.
This deteriorating mental condition can have its tolling effects, that can be fatal on our physical body, aggravating in return our already poor mental condition. This goes on and on ad infinitum, until we finally expire and drop dead.
The average world life expectancy in 2020 was 72.63 years, a 0.24% increase from 2019. It differs depending on race, gender, and culture.
Yet, let's be reminded that there are also many who are octogenarians, nonagenarians, and centenarians, competing with each other for the oldest. In 2020, the oldest living human on record was 122 years old.
The simple rule, they say, is to have more birthdays. The more birthdays you have, the younger, prettier, and more handsome you become.
With exercises, age can be reversed and organ failures prolonged. This is because physical exercises enhance our immune system. My exercise procedure is designed to balance my physical, mental, and spiritual energies, done in combination with meditation and yoga.
I'm doing all this light. I'm not a regular gym goer, lifting heavy weights, and other strenuous exercises. I only do stationary bike or treadmill for 15 mins. @ two times a week, while meditation and yoga are done daily.
The diet also helps. Your nutritionist should be able to provide you with a healthy regimen. My simple rule is that as long as you're not eating yourself, everything is fine. Maintain, at least, your ideal weight range. Don't go overboard. You'll trip down.
Keep a tab on what you're eating. What we eat is what makes us. All the foods and drinks we take become our cells, tissues, and organs. This is true with the air we breathe, the sounds we hear, the things we see, the objects we touch, the heat that goes into our body, as well as the thoughts and feelings that play in our mind.
That's why relaxation also helps. I find swimming, communing with the trees and plants, and getting fresh air so relaxing. One most relaxing moments I had, pre-covid, was on a yacht, enjoying the scenery, at times trying my hands steering its wheel.
Doing it on the high seas is no sweat, almost boring but exciting every moment as the ship plows the waves. Yet, swaying with the waves is like lulling myself to sleep in a hammock.
In these trying times, let's all keep some form of exercise daily for our physical, mental, and spiritual health.
Remember that any sickness affects the entire person. It's a disease of the body, a disease of the mind, a disease that affects our morale and life that in turn degenerates the vitality of our spirit.
Today's conventional doctors cannot address this disease in a holistic way. They treat the effect, not the cause. They treat the symptoms as these are felt in the body and mind.
They prescribe medicines for the body, and another prescription for the mind, with the patient ending up swallowing tons of medicines into its body.
A genuine, holistic doctor should go to the pharmaceuticals and tell them either to stop producing these conventional medicines or shift their approach by going naturopathic. But do pharmaceuticals really want to heal our ailments?
And yes, a mountain trekker. On one occasion, I was with the Faculty members of San Beda University-College of Arts and Sciences headed by Dom Clement, OSB, on the way to Puerto Princesa Underground River in Palawan.