The Hidden Link Between Mental and Physical Wellness: Strategies for a Harmonized Life

Can nurturing your mental health enhance your physical fitness?

Join me, Dai Manuel, in this episode of the 2% Solution as we explore the profound mind-body connection that can transform your overall well-being. 

Inspired by both personal experiences and insights from Harvard Health, we’ll uncover how regular physical activity can alleviate anxiety, mitigate depression, and boost cognitive function. 

I share a candid story from my life, revealing the pitfalls of prioritizing muscle building over mental health and the subsequent stress and fatigue it causes. 

This episode underscores the necessity of harmonizing mental and physical wellness for a more balanced and fulfilling life.

We delve into actionable strategies for achieving holistic health harmony. From the simplicity of daily walks to the joy of a spontaneous kitchen dance party, discover how easy it can be to integrate movement into your routine. 

Learn about the stress-relieving benefits of mindfulness practices like meditation and yoga and why a balanced diet and quality sleep are crucial for optimal health. 

We'll also discuss the importance of nurturing social connections and share tips on maintaining a restful sleep schedule. 

Encouraged by listener feedback, I’ve added an off-script, authentic touch to this episode and invite you to share your wellness stories on social media. 

Let’s aim for a 2% improvement every day and thrive together!

Transcript

Dai Manuel: 0:08

Hey there, 2% Collective. Welcome back, another episode of the 2% Solution. I'm your host, I'm Manuel, and today we're going to tackle a topic, a topic that I put out on Instagram like a little poll gave five different topics and I said, hey, which one would you like to hear first? This is the one that won by quite a few votes Mental health and fitness.

Dai Manuel: 0:31

The connection is real, and think about it. Like, have you ever felt that rush that you get? You know those endorphins like after you've gone on maybe a really big run? You know you hit that runner's high I haven't a little side note experience that I'm not a runner, uh. Or maybe you just gone and smashed some big, big weights, right, especially maybe that stress that's dragging you down, because you know there's two different ends there that we're looking at. You know the highs, the highs and the lows. We've got to ask ourselves, well, what's the mind-body connection and how does that show up? So we're going to dive deep into this bond between mental health and physical fitness, a connection, I'll remind you, that could transform your life in ways that maybe you haven't even considered yet.

Dai Manuel: 1:19

Over the last 30 years I've seen we're all pretty much in the health industry from weird, weird fad thingies Pick weight anyone To really mind-blowing products that revolutionized the industry. I mean, look at Peloton and what it's done for just bringing fitness home and really connecting this community with digital tools and fitness together. It's pretty cool, I mean really. When you see what they did. I mean, if you follow what happened post-pandemic, well it's a different story. But I think that again actually tells us something, because after the pandemic, everybody wanted community again. They wanted to be more connected in person. So we've seen a huge rise in group fitness post-pandemic. So it's interesting, right, just to see these trends have the unveil. But here's the thing you know, I've seen countless protein shakes to epic gym feels.

Dai Manuel: 2:12

But one thing is remained absolutely positively true there is a link between a healthy mind and a fit body and, spoiler alert, it's not all about lifting weights, even though you may think that. I mean, there's been a period in my life where I truly believed that and it created a whole world of problems for me, which I'll share shortly. So join me in this episode as I unveil powerful insights, compelling stats and personal stories that highlight just how vital this mind-body connection is. So let's talk about you know what exactly is this connection between mental health fitness?

Dai Manuel: 2:53

I think it's pretty simple when you care for your mental health, your physical health benefit and vice versa. I think we can all agree to that right. When we really I think about my own self, when I do something that mentally I know will work, like going for a meditative walk, sitting in this early morning sun, filling my mind with something positive, while I just practice some breath, breathing, Whoa, physically I just feel better, I feel more grounded, I feel less stressed. So I can see instantly that sort of connection. Through that intentional action I create this physical, physiological response.

Dai Manuel: 3:33

Now, according to Harvard Health, regular physical activity can reduce anxiety and depression, improve them and even enhance cognitive function. Tip of the iceberg You're more motivated to stay physically active when you're mentally fit, and when you're physically active you boost your mental health. It's a beautiful symbiotic relationship. I mean, I've been wanting to use symbiotic in a conversation. So hey, there we go, we're back to great Biology. Symbiotic relationship. I mean, I've been wanting to use symbiotic and in a conversation, so hey, there we go, go back to great biology. Uh, think of this like peanut butter and jelly they're great on their own, but together unbeatable, or, if you're like me, maybe more like avocado and toast.

Dai Manuel: 4:24

Throw a nice egg on top of that. Oh my goodness, I'm in it. But what happens when this connection isn't there, when we neglect either our mental health or our physical fitness? I mean it does. It throws everything out of balance.

Dai Manuel: 4:39

I went through a period when I was so freaking focused on building muscle. I literally just like I want to put size on right and I ignored my mental wellbeing. I mean, it takes a lot to put muscle mass on. You know and I try to just tell this to everybody like it's not easy to build muscle. I have a lot of respect for people that put muscle mass on. It is not just a natural thing that's easily done. I mean, of course, you see certain versions of the human anatomy on certain magazines. We might question how they're able to attain a certain physique, but that's besides the point. The main thing is, even they too, even with certain supplementation because I'm going to be devil's advocate's advocate it still takes a lot of work to do that, and so we have to really honor the, the muscle mass that we do have, but also do what we can to not only retain what we have, but also stimulate it enough that it will evolve with us as we age. But we neglect that physical piece.

Dai Manuel: 5:47

Because when I was so focused on building muscle, I mean I was like a muscle-bound zombie. There's actually I gotta dig up the photo. I mean I must have been pushing close to. I remember I weighed in and it was over 240 pounds, which for me, on my frame, is significant mass. But but you would not even recognize me. You would think I would have done some sort of magic filter to my photo to make me wider or like I stretched the image. But no, no, no, that's me. I got to walk through the door sideways, kind of stuff, right.

Dai Manuel: 6:15

But interestingly enough, I became extremely strong. But I was always fatigued, I was always feeling stressed out and, quite frankly, you know my own anxiety and depression it just became really unbearable. And it wasn't until I started integrating some mindfulness and health practices into my routine and it wasn't much at the beginning. I got to tell you it wasn't much at all. It was getting out even for regular walk, which at a period of my life I was like I want to go for a walk. I said, well, I'm going to the gym crush some weights right, but just even getting out for that regular walk. And then I started getting back into sort of hiking and nothing like I wasn't climbing a few shouts or anything. I was like going out for walks in the woods and the nice thing about living in Canada, especially Pacific Northwest Vancouver we've got a whole backyard. It's just a bunch of trees, so you can really get out and start to appreciate that.

Dai Manuel: 7:11

Anyways, I really started to notice a change and I started to just feel better about myself. I just felt like I didn't need that goal to put on all this muscle mass. I wanted to lean out. I wanted to feel better in my own skin. I wanted not to feel sore and tired all the time. I wanted to start sleeping properly and sleep correctly at night, without this sort of weight on top of me that was constricting how I breathe. And that was some of the biggest changes that I noticed when I really started to emphasize more harmony between the mind and body side of both of those equations. Right, like we can focus so much on the body and inevitably we end up neglecting the mind. Uh, I'm not saying ignore one to prioritize the other, but I think it's important to recognize where our energy is going, because where energy goes, our attention goes too right. So, uh, the the World Health Organization, interestingly enough, reports that mental health disorders are among the leading causes of ill health and disability worldwide, and poor physical health can exacerbate these issues. It's a vicious cycle and the one feeds the other. It's like balancing a dumbbell on a seesaw. I mean, it just doesn't work, at least not the round one.

Dai Manuel: 8:29

Now let's talk about aging, because I know I hinted at it a second ago. As we age, it's even more critical to maintain our mental and physical health, would you not agree? Studies from the National Institute on Aging show that individuals who stay mentally and physically active are less likely to suffer from chronic diseases, have better mobility, enjoy a higher quality of life. I mean hello. The consequences can be severe when we don't pay attention to this connect. Physical health deteriorates, leading to mobility issues, chronic pain, which can then lead to depression and anxiety. There's a term for all this you know like especially that physical health deterioration it's called decrepitude. Now, on the flip side, maintaining this condition can keep us vibrant and active well into our golden years, and I'm like no way man, I'm into my platinum years and beyond right Like sign me up for the 120 Club. Please. Imagine being that sprightly octogenarian who can still do yoga poses. That would make a 20-year-old go right, it's all possible. It's all possible. We got to look at what we do and what we do every day, because that ultimately leads the back to where we're going.

Dai Manuel: 9:50

All right, let's talk strategies or harmony. How can we get our mental and physical health back in harmony? Here's some practical tips and you're probably going to think I've been listening to a lot of your episodes. Here's some practical tips and you know you're probably going to think I've been listening to a lot of your episodes. I swear to goodness, this is the same stuff you keep saying. I'm like, yeah, I'm glad you're picking up on that. How are you doing with that? You know, are you doing these things? Are you doing them even a little bit of the time? Because, believe me, if you do these things just a little bit of the time, you're going to get a lot of the time benefit. You get what I mean. You will still reap the benefit, even if you're doing some of these only some of the time. It's just, most people don't really give much attention to any of these things. It's not intentionally speaking, and so what I want to do is just bring these five things to your awareness and let you start to recognize. How does this play out in my own life and do I see any opportunities to harmonize?

Dai Manuel: 10:50

Well, first of all, you got to think about daily movement. Incorporate physical activity into your daily routine. It doesn't have to be marathon, because, believe me, I'm not signing up for no student and apologies if you do a lot of big running out there. Oh man, hats off to you. I wish I did be more like you. I need a bunch of mud under my feet and obstacles to distract me, and you can get me to do about a half marathon just at that point. Anyways, I digress. Simple activities like walking, stretching, short workouts can make a huge difference. Even a dance party in your kitchen totally counts. Just let your daughters be the djs, they will love it. Now, number two mindfulness practices. Yep, I've said that, I think, on probably the last 100 episodes. Anyways, integrate mindfulness practices like meditation deep breathing yoga.

Dai Manuel: 11:47

According to the American Psychological Association, these practices can reduce stress, improve mental clarity and enhance overall well-being, basically like a mental spa day, right? When you think of yoga, though, though it does involve a certain physicality to that mental practice as well, and so I I do really enjoy presence of having both the mind body awareness in one activity. Now, number three is balanced diet. Think about harmonizing your food choices, right. Fuel your body with nutritious choices. I mean, is it coming out of a box or a can or a bag in the frozen section? You have to ask yourself how long has it been in that? You know? When was it packaged? What kind of things do they have to put into it to allow it to have that extended life on the shelf? I'm not here to poo-poo that stuff. I'm not here to say don't eat that stuff. I'm just here to say be aware if a lot of the things that you do eat are all coming from that section of the store, because there's opportunity to improve on and introduce other things that are in the fresher section of the store we track. I know it's hard. I mean it's probably one of our largest expenses. Next to the roof over our head, our food expense is the next largest one, and it's because we do choose to allocate the dollars for that. Does it mean we have less holiday time? Sure, but it levels us up on all the other quality of life that we get to experience all the other time. Hopefully that's not taking anybody off, but if it does take anybody off, that's why am I getting ticked off for that. Anyways, a balanced diet right, right, or this harmonized idea of finding more foods that are more healthy or nutritious, less, uh, whole foods. This can be good for you both with mental, because remember you are what you so maybe put down timmy's double, double, right, pick apple, pear, pear, maybe some deli meat. Either way, there's lots of practical tips and tricks and I would love to share a bunch of the resources that I've put together that I've helped a lot of clients with over the years. So just make sure you check out the 2% Collective community. It's in the show notes. Love to have you come, check it out and dive into some of those resources so we can help you with the nutrition side of things.

Dai Manuel: 14:23

After that, we got quality sleep right. You've got to make sure you get enough rest, like really recoverative rest. You know the kind of rest that we wake up from feels like I just had a power nap and a hammock on the beat. Is that what you experience every morning? Poor sleep can wreak havoc on your mental and physical health. Stick to a regular sleep schedule and create a restful environment. No more binge-watching late-night shows. Your body will thank you. Believe me, mine is. Take a break Me and Netflix. I actually made my netflix membership lapse, been a member since they went digital streaming online. I think about that. I let it go. I let it go along with a bunch of other streaming subscriptions because all of a sudden it was just like I'm not gonna watch, I'm gonna just remove it tempted to watch it because it was becoming too easy.

Dai Manuel: 15:25

Now, listen to audiobooks or something meditative, that's it. I do that when I'm going to sleep instead of putting it on a screen, stimulating my mind, and it's funny that's been. One thing I struggled with was the quality sleep part, but, man, since making that choice definitely improved my mood. Listen, your body and your mind will thank you on that one. Now also got to talk about number five social connections. So what are we talking about? We talked about daily movement, talked about mindfulness practices, talked about balanced diet, talked about quality sleep, and we got to talk about social connections.

Dai Manuel: 16:02

You got to engage with others. You know, I tell myself this too. I don't do it all the time, but I coach so much. I'm constantly connecting with people online for conversations over digital means. Sometimes I forget I should probably meet people up in real life too, and uh, and I know that I put a lot of energy out when I'm doing stuff like this, and sometimes I just don't want to be socially engaged. So there are other ways to engage. I'm not saying you got to be there to give each other a high five, but I got to say when you do have that opportunity to be fully present for the moment. Enjoy it, appreciate it, cause we know it's not going to happen every day. Strong social connections are vital for mental health and motivate you to stay physically active. It's part of the blue zones. Remember the nine uh nine power uh zones, um, but also remember the uh oh, my goodness.

Dai Manuel: 16:55

Uh, the nine healing factors, right? All that like what was very interesting on all these studies. You know, there's definitely resiliency in both mental, physical, emotional and spiritual health. There's also this very deep physical shift that happens when we have strong social connections. So there's all this like sort of not only anecdotal but also scientifically backed proof, and we had to start asking ourselves well, what's going on here? So, creating the opportunities to create stronger social connectedness they're vital for all of us All of us, because this is what binds us all together all these connections in our local communities. They grow into more global communities, but either way, it all starts in our local home area.

Dai Manuel: 17:41

So you know what? Making time to prioritize what's going on in your own neighborhood and finding those opportunities to connect with the neighbors, develop some more social connections and stay physically active together. Well, jake, working out with the buddies is way more fun than going solo. Why not make some fitness buddies, right? Anyways, you got to let me know how you like. In the new format of the episode, I realized I just got to go a little bit more off the cuff, if you know what I mean. So I've been living a lot of my notes instead of my usual self, where I get nervous and I try to stay to a script. You know, most of the time or right now I'm like way off script most of the time.

Dai Manuel: 18:28

Ah so let me know what you think, please, thank you, please share, let me know, um, I got, I got something funnier. Okay, let me share a quick parable that basically nails the key message of this episode. Okay, so here's the deal. Now, this may be paraphrased and ripped off of something, but whatever, um, I apologize if it is not meant to be a ripoff, but it is sort of a parable on a story of a story, of a story of a story. Okay, so here we go. Two friends lived in a vibrant village Kai, a powerful blacksmith, and Mia, a wise gardener. Kai was physically strong, but stressed and anxious.

Dai Manuel: 19:21

Mia was mentally sharp but physically weak. One day, a wise elder appeared out of nowhere, looking like he had just walked out of a wisdom convention. He told them Kai, your body is straw but your mind is burdened. Mia, your mind is clear, but your body is weak. Balance both for true well-being.

Dai Manuel: 19:45

Now, despite never ever seeing this guy, they figured he looks old and wise. Taking his advice, kai began meditating while Mia started exercising Soon. Kai's stress decreased and Mia's strength grew. The villagers noticed their transformation and followed suit, creating a healthier, happier community. The lesson Like Kai and Mia balance your mind and body for a fulfilling life. Sometimes it's okay to take advice from complete strangers if they seem to know something.

Dai Manuel: 20:26

Integrate mental and physical health practices daily to thrive truly. So. That's all for today's episode. My wellness warriors, you gotta let me know what you thought about today's episode because, as I normally try to stay to a script, I decided to go off script 80 of today's episode. Do you let me know? Because my wife's been saying you should really do that and that's the feedback I've been getting. So I thought what the hell? Here we go, rip off the band-aid. So you gotta let me know how, how, how is it going? All right, remember, the connection to mental health and fitness is real and extremely powerful and by taking small steps to integrate some of the practices we talked about today into our daily lives intentionally, we can thrive and not serve.

Dai Manuel: 21:12

Before we go, I've got to ask for your feedback stories, suggestions, what strategies have you found effective in balancing mental and physical health? Let's keep this conversation going on on Instagram, facebook, tickety-tockety and all those favorite platforms to stay updated and join the conversation. And if you love this podcast, your reviews and subscriptions. Well, they're so appreciated, I'm so grateful for them and, by the way, I'm gonna start reading them on on, uh, the episodes. I'm gonna start sharing some of the showcase, some of the anyways. I'm not get all the man anyways, but you've been part of this incredible journey. All right, keep pushing yourselves positive. Aim to improve by just 2% every day, because it's all in all of us right, we can all improve by that. I'm Diane Manuel and you've been listening to the 2% Solution. Let's keep thriving.