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"We must take care of the body by giving it food, shelter, and clothing. This is necessary because the journey to the Self is only easy when the body is healthy. If a ship is not in need of repair, if it is in good condition, we can easily use it to go on a journey."
This guide offers simple, practical ways to support the body and mind at the relative level of everyday life.
"You need a body that is in good working order in order to realize the Self. Realizing the Self is the only useful and worthy activity in this life, so keep the body in good repair till that goal is achieved.
Afterwards, the Self will take care of everything and you won't have to worry about anything anymore. In fact, you won't be able to because the mind that previously did the worrying, the choosing and the discriminating will no longer be there. In that state, you won't need it and you won't miss it."
The body and mind are not separate. They constantly influence one another, each reflecting the condition of the other.
A restless mind often becomes a tense body. Anxiety tightens the muscles, shortens the breath, disturbs digestion, and disrupts sleep. Likewise, a tired, inflamed, or neglected body can cloud thinking, heighten emotional reactivity, and make inner stillness more difficult to access.
Every choice affects the whole. The food you eat influences your energy and clarity. Sleep restores both the body and the nervous system. Movement lifts mood and reduces stress. Breath calms the mind as surely as it relaxes the body.
Supporting one naturally supports the other.
This is why caring for the body is not separate from spiritual practice. It creates the conditions in which the mind becomes quieter, awareness becomes clearer, and deeper understanding can naturally unfold.
The goal is not physical perfection or mental perfection. It is harmony. When the body and mind work together rather than against one another, life becomes simpler, lighter, and more balanced.
"The body and mind are not two separate entities. They are one."
Nutrition doesn’t have to be complicated. It is simply one way of caring for the body and mind so they can function well.
"When the body is purified by pure food, the mind becomes purified. When the mind is purified, memory becomes steady. When memory is steady, all the knots of the heart are untied."
Sleep is one of the simplest ways to support both the body and the mind.
Living in harmony with the body’s natural rhythm matters as well. Morning sunlight, regular sleep and wake times, and reducing artificial light in the evening can help regulate the body’s internal clock and support deeper, more restorative rest.
"Knowing how and when to rest is a deep practice."
Walking is perhaps the most natural form of movement. A daily walk grounds the body, settles the mind, and reconnects you with the rhythms of nature. It asks for nothing except your presence.
Mobility and stretching help maintain freedom of movement and reduce stiffness. Gentle, consistent movement can help the body feel lighter and more at ease.
Strength training is equally important. Whether through bodyweight exercises, weights, carrying, climbing, or other forms of resistance, maintaining strength supports stability, posture, resilience, and healthy aging.
There is no single perfect form of exercise. Swim, cycle, hike, garden, dance, play, walk, stretch, lift—find forms of movement you genuinely enjoy and can continue doing.
"Walking is man's best medicine. If you are in a bad mood go for a walk. If you are still in a bad mood, go for another walk."
Your breath is one of the simplest ways to return to the present moment.
When the mind becomes anxious, hurried, or overwhelmed, the breath often becomes shallow and fast. When the body relaxes, the breath naturally tends to slow and deepen. Simply becoming aware of the breath can help interrupt mental momentum and create space for stillness.
"There is no doubt that breath-control is the means for mind-control, because when one of them is controlled, the other gets controlled."
Everything unfolds in its own time.
We often rush because the mind believes something needs to happen now. Nature offers a different lesson. There is no hurry, yet life continues to unfold exactly as it should. We don’t have to force every stage of the process.
You don’t need to escape into the wilderness. Simply spend time outside each day. Let the sunlight touch your skin, breathe fresh air, and remember that the body is part of nature, not separate from it.
"Nature does not hurry, yet everything is accomplished."
Modern life makes distraction almost effortless.
Turn off unnecessary notifications.
Less stimulation. More space. More presence.
"All of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone."
Modern life can keep the body in a near-constant state of stimulation. Work, screens, noise, stress, and the endless demands of daily life can make it difficult to fully slow down.
Sleep.
Silence.
Slow breathing.
Gentle movement.
Time in nature.
Periods without screens or notifications.
Nourishing, simple food.
Less or no caffeine and other stimulants when they leave you feeling agitated.
"Do your best and then relax. Let things go on in a natural way, rather than force them."
How you carry your body affects more than appearance.
Posture influences how the muscles and joints share the body’s load, how freely you move, and how easily you breathe. The way you sit, stand, walk, and rest can either support the body’s natural alignment or create unnecessary tension.
Think less about finding one perfect position and more about moving well and changing position often.
Strength and mobility also support healthy posture. A body that is strong enough to support itself and mobile enough to move comfortably is less likely to rely on unnecessary tension.
"Notice that the stiffest tree is most easily cracked, while the bamboo or willow survives by bending with the wind."
Heat and cold have been used for centuries as simple ways to refresh, relax, and care for the body.
Use them because they genuinely feel good or support your well-being—not because you see people doing it on social media and think you need to sit in a cold plunge to make a billion dollars.
"We humans have lost the wisdom of genuinely resting and relaxing. We worry too much. We don't allow our bodies to heal, and we don't allow our minds and hearts to heal."
Teeth are also different from many other parts of the body in that lost tooth structure cannot simply grow back. Once enamel is damaged or a tooth is lost, prevention becomes especially important. Regular care isn’t about cosmetic perfection—it is about maintaining something you use every day.
A simple foundation looks something like this:
It isn’t about having a perfect smile or an elaborate routine.
Good oral health starts with consistency.
"Sometimes your joy is the source of your smile, but sometimes your smile can be the source of your joy."
We are surrounded by products every day—from the air we breathe to the soaps, detergents, cleaners, personal-care products, and materials in our homes.
The goal is not to make your home perfectly “chemical-free.” That isn’t realistic, and the word chemical itself does not mean harmful.
"Do not neglect this body. This is the house of God; take care of it, only in this body can God be realized."
There are many approaches people use alongside conventional health care to support relaxation, movement, comfort, and overall well-being.
Acupuncture — A traditional Chinese practice involving the insertion of very thin needles at specific points. It is commonly used as a complementary approach for pain and other symptoms.
Massage Therapy — Hands-on manipulation of soft tissues that many people use for relaxation, muscle tension, recovery, and general well-being.
Sauna/Warm Baths/Steam — Heat through saunas or warm baths can encourage relaxation, while cold exposure may build resilience and improve regulation when approached gradually and with awareness.
Yoga & Tai Chi — Mind-body practices that combine movement, breathing, balance, and attention. They can support mobility, physical fitness, relaxation, and a greater sense of awareness.
Mind-Body Practices — Practices such as meditation, mindfulness, relaxation techniques, and biofeedback that explore the relationship between attention, stress, and the body.
TRE (Tension and Trauma Releasing Exercises) is considered a somatic, body-based practice that uses specific physical movements to trigger involuntary shaking and release deep muscular tension or trauma.
Aromatherapy — The use of aromatic plant extracts and essential oils, often as part of relaxation or sensory rituals.
Cupping — A traditional practice that uses suction cups on the skin. Some people use it for muscle discomfort or relaxation.
Ayurveda — A traditional Indian system of health and well-being that includes approaches to diet, daily routine, herbs, and lifestyle.
Traditional Chinese Medicine — A traditional Chinese system of health that views well-being through concepts such as qi, the vital energy described as flowing through pathways called meridians, and yin and yang, complementary forces whose balance is traditionally associated with health.
The basics still matter most: Eat well. Sleep well. Move. Breathe. Rest. Spend time outside.
"The natural healing force within each one of us is the greatest force in getting well."
There’s a reason people have long said that laughter is the best medicine. Ancient Greek and Roman writers, and later religious traditions, recognized the connection between cheerfulness and well-being. The idea even appears in Proverbs:
“A merry heart doeth good like a medicine.” -Proverbs 17:22
But you don’t need a list of studies to understand the value of laughter.
Just laugh with your friends. Laugh at something ridiculous. Laugh at yourself.
Laugh at the mind.
Laugh at the strange seriousness with which we can approach life.
Notice what happens.
For a moment, the mind stops.
There is no past to replay.
No future to plan. No problem to solve. No identity to defend.
You are simply laughing. There is something wonderfully freeing about that.
The mind can take life very seriously. It creates problems, stories, judgments, and endless things that need to be figured out. Laughter can interrupt all of it.
You don’t have to force presence.
You don’t have to practice being in the moment.
When you are genuinely laughing, you are already here.
So laugh when you can.
Don’t be afraid to take yourself a little less seriously.
Life is not always easy, but it doesn’t always have to be heavy.
"I want you to laugh with your whole countenance, with your whole heart and with all the breath of your life. Whenever you have the chance, laugh as much as you can...But to laugh superficially is not enough: your whole Being must be united in laughter, both outwardly and inwardly. Do you know what this kind of laughter is like? You simply shake with merriment from head to foot. Little by little, the rigid knots that make up your shackles will be loosened and you will find yourself becoming free."
A healthy life is shaped less by occasional effort than by the way you live each day.
The small choices you repeat—what you eat, how you sleep, how often you move, what you give your attention to, the people you spend time with, and how much space you leave for rest—all gradually become the environment in which you live.
The goal is not to design a perfect life. It is to be here for the life that is already happening. Actually live it.
"Keeping your body healthy is an expression of gratitude to the whole cosmos — the trees, the clouds, everything."
What you take in shapes your experience.
What you watch.
What you read.
What you listen to.
The conversations you participate in.
Some inputs nourish you. Others leave you feeling agitated, distracted, heavy, or scattered. Over time, the things you continually expose yourself to can influence the way you feel, think, and move through life.
Notice how you feel after spending an hour scrolling.
Notice how certain conversations affect you.
This isn’t about perfection, purity, or paranoia. It’s about awareness.
"Be extremely careful what you say consciously or unconsciously, what you feel and what you do. Every word has a verbal and a nervous reaction, which sets a wave going. Do not allow others’ words to react upon you. Be careful not to use words which produce responses in others. Be careful about what books and newspapers you read. Similarly, what you feel affects you nervously, and you will find what tremendous effect movies have on you. Cinema awakens responses which continue in that state and are not ended. Therefore, you are inclined to go again and again to movies. You have to understand this and be free from all these excitements."
Technology has made it easier than ever to connect, learn, work, and be entertained.
Turn off unnecessary notifications.
"Men have become the tools of their tools."
Your surroundings can influence how you feel, think, and move through the day.
What is the general atmosphere of your mind?
"There are two kinds of environment: inner and outer. Outer environment consists of one’s physical surroundings (noisy, quiet, and so forth). Inner environment is one’s state of mind."
Modern life constantly tells us that we should become more.
You don’t need to become more efficient every day. You don’t need to optimize every hour, follow the perfect routine, or constantly measure whether you’re doing enough.
The problem begins when life itself becomes a project of self-improvement.
"You don't have to improve yourself. You just have to let go of what blocks you from being yourself."
The body and mind are worth caring for.
They need food, rest, movement, attention, and space to function well. But there is another question beneath all of this:
Are you the body and mind, or are they what you experience?
The body changes. The mind changes.
Thoughts come and go. Feelings come and go. Memories, identities, roles, and circumstances all change.
Yet there is an awareness in which all of this is known.
This is where the path of inner work begins to turn toward something deeper—not improving the body or perfecting the mind, but asking what you are before either one is taken to be who you are.
Less to grasp. Less to become.
"The wise person remains where they are and begins to work on themselves. They begin to transcend the body-mind.
To the extent you begin to transcend the body-mind, to that extent you find happiness and peace. How do you do this? It has been show to us by great Sages. The secret again is to quiet the mind by any means you can."
Spiritual practice has an important place. They help quiet the mind and soften attachment.
Meditation, prayer, self-inquiry, breathwork, devotion, and other practices help quiet the mind and gradually loosen identification with the body and personality.
But they are only a means, not the destination.
As identification begins to soften, practice itself becomes lighter. There is less striving, less effort, and more simple resting in what has always been present.
Does the Self need to meditate? Does pure awareness need discipline? What requires effort is the mind, not the Self.
The purpose of practice is to prepare the mind to let go of identification with the mind and body.
This shift beyond the body and mind is freedom.
If you’d like to explore the role of spiritual practice more deeply, continue to the Sadhana Guide.
"For whom is sadhana? Again it’s for the mind and the ego. If you think it’s helping, by all means continue. But remember I said, "If you think it’s helping." If you stop thinking you do not have to do any sadhana. I suppose sadhana is necessary as long as you believe you are the mind and the body.
Again, after all, who is doing the spiritual disciplines? Does the Self need to do that? Does consciousness need to do discipline? What needs discipline? The mind and the body. Therefore the more you are attached to the mind and body, the more you have to do sadhana."
When identification begins to loosen, there is less to protect.
Less to prove. Less to become.
"Our identification with the mind and body is the chief reason for our failure to know our Self as we truly are."
Let the body walk, speak, eat, work, and rest. Let the mind think, plan, remember, and imagine.
The body will still do what the body does.
The mind will still do what the mind does.
Let the movie play. But don’t lose yourself in the scene. Stay as the screen—effortless, choiceless, pure awareness.
"Let the body and mind do their function. But you, remain as you are."