Group 5 | Choices, choices: An Experience-Based Narrative on Maintaining Your Physical and Mental Well-Being
YOGA
"For the last two months, I’ve been consistently incorporating yoga into my workout routine. And despite doing it often, yoga never fails to amaze me with its ability to clear my head, improve my focus/concentration and balance, make me breathe better, relax my tensed muscles, and lighten my mood and feelings.”
"Every morning, I perform a 5-minute morning yoga stretches routine in bed. I must say that yoga has helped me with my anxiety because I usually feel overwhelmed in the morning. It helps me calm down and gather my thoughts. I can also focus better now. Altogether, yoga has improved my overall well-being.”
As seen in the previous statements, yoga helps to improve focus, lighten the mood, and promote overall healthy well-being. The Journal of Physical Activity & Health published a study that shows practicing yoga can improve the ability to focus their mental resources (CBS Interactive, 2013). According to John Hopkins Medicine (n.d.), yoga can increase mental and physical health by boosting our alertness and enthusiasm, establishing a brighter mood. Lastly, in a study by Oken et al. (2006), yoga intervention in seniors improved several physical and quality-of-life measures related to the sense of well-being.
MEDITATION
- Stress reduction
- Anxiety control
- Promotes emotional health
- Enhances self-awareness
- Lengthens attention span
- May reduce age-related memory loss
- Generates kindness
- Aid in combating addictions
- Improves sleep
- Helps control pain
- Can decrease blood pressure
- Accessible anywhere anytime
MUSIC
"As a significant part of my life, I listen to music for endless possibilities - to evoke a wide range of sensations, thoughts, and emotions. By immersing myself in the world of music, I observed that it has the power of relieving stress and lowering anxiety, so I use it as an escape mechanism. Music puts me in a trance; it takes me away from the worries, fears, and stress of the everyday world. Playwright William Congreve’s witty remark from The Mourning Bride (1697), “Music soothes the savage beast,” sums up my sentiments after experiencing its soothing effects on my mind and body. "
The study of Thoma et al. (2013) found that music can initiate a multitude of cognitive processes in the brain and, therefore, can influence physiological responses. In the context of a stressful circumstance, the study has shown that there are reductions in perceived psychological stress, altered rates of perceived relaxation, increased coping capacities because music's soothing effect aids in the restoration of effective immune system function and reduces activity levels of neurons in the amygdala's central nucleus, which in turn lead to reductions in anxiety and stress.
ART
Art -- a simple three letter word holds a lot of meaning. One can assume that trying to define a subjective subject such as art is such a tedious process to do and its definition is still subject to debate (Adajian, 2007).
"As for myself, enjoying art itself is a privilege wherein I can wholeheartedly say that what I enjoy may not be a form of art in the others. Gaming is art for me, the same way music and popular culture is. Art has already been recognized as a factor in improving physical and mental well-being (Fancourt, 2019) and it has been connected with various applications in several fields."
According to Eising (2019) and RTOR (2020), the arts create the following:
- Foster the feeling of community
- Improve health economics of individuals by investing in self-care to avoid mental health problems
- Personal development
- Confidence
- Emotional stability
- Stress relief
We cannot still say for certain that the arts may have an effect on improving your mental health as these still vary on an individual basis. Let us treat these methods as guides in improving our physical and mental wellbeing.
AROMATHERAPY
"For about a year now, I have been using aromatherapy. Every time I feel stressed or tired, the aroma of the candle helps to have a soothing effect, which aids in making me more calm, energized and helps me to be more productive. My favorite scents are the lavender which greatly assists in easing and relieving my mind, and the eucalyptus which helps in improving my focus and concentration. Overall, it allows me to have a better mood and have a mental and physical well-being."
As seen in the previous statement, boosting energy and relaxation are the common effects of aromatherapy. Essential oils are integrated into a biological signal of the receptor cells in the nose when inhaled, which is how they work. The olfactory bulb transmits the signal to the limbic and hypothalamic regions of the brain. These impulses lead the brain to release neurotransmitters such as serotonin and endorphin, which link our nerves and other body systems, ensuring the desired change and providing a sense of relaxation. Serotonin, endorphin, and noradrenaline are released from calming oil, euphoric, and stimulating oil respectively to give expected effect on mind and body (Ali et al., 2015).
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