Relax and vitality, two sides of the same coin

Wed 7 February 2024

Taking care of our wellbeing means achieving a cyclical balance between relaxation and vitality in our daily life.

Increasingly, cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of illness and mortality, followed by cancer, nutritional deficiencies, respiratory diseases and diabetes. As we know today, these diseases share risk factors: poor diet, stress, physical inactivity and harmful substances consumption (specially tobacco and alcohol).

If we want to avoid these diseases but also go further and have a healthy life and find a true state of wellbeing, the question is clear: what are the key factors to achieve this? One of the keys is undoubtedly our personal ability to find balance with vitality and relaxation, which is related to all the factors mentioned above, especially with excesses.

Vitality is defined according to the dictionary as “the state of being strong and active”. The first truth for that purpose is very simple and at the same time very profound: both states are related and their cyclical character is similar to Nature’s cycles: it is commonly accepted in the scientific community that a living organism goes through phases of anabolism and catabolism; that is, it is necessary for the body to recompose and expose itself in successive phases.

This means that there is a direct relationship between our ability to relax and the ability to activate and also the moments we allocate to these states; of course, relaxation normally occurs during night rest and sleep, when toxins are eliminated and our organs are repaired, but not only, and these points of relaxation or activity can be induced by our attitude and habits and also by our food choices.

NATURAL ADVISE

On the one hand, we can remember the sentence “Let your medicine be your food and food be your medicine”. Born on the island of Cos, Hippocrates is known as the “father of medicine”: his studies of food showed a complete theory of food as a healing element of our body understood as a whole, a container of our emotions.

At Symbeeosis we believe in the power of certain plants to help us achieve these states of vitality and/or relax. Organic nutritional supplements and certain herbal teas can be very helpful. Beyond the consumption of caffeine or theine, we believe in the power of mountain tea, and the fantastic properties of honey and fruits or vegetables to create a state of invigorating energy precedes relaxation.

However, it is important to remember that these states are connected: it is impossible to be alert or concentrated without a prior state of relaxation or sleep, and vice versa, and the best way to rest is to previously use that physical energy in a moderate activity (sports have to be scheduled always at least three hours before bedtime).

A very interesting scientifically concept nowadays in use is that of “Vitality in practice (relaxation in practice)”, about which authors such as Coffeng, J.K., Hendriksen have researched for years. This perspective is extended because it confirms that relaxation and energy or vitality are truly the two sides of the same coin, so they recommend (1) increasing daily physical activity during the day (2) increasing relaxation during the day (even at work) (3) using natural methods of managing that own energy, using one’s own biorhythms and natural and organic food and supplements to find a balanced lifestyle.