Relax the Mind, Relax the Body

From the Cosmic Tarot, the Seven of Pentacles; from the L'Oeil de Lotus, 'Illness:'

          The two cards drawn today emphasize the mind/body connection. Just as eating healthy food helps us to have a healthy body, what we feed the mind can affect the body as well. Research shows that mindfulness techniques, as well as other stress-reduction practices, are a good complement to medicine (but not necessarily as an alternative to it).  In the wise words of Sister Chan Khong, "Body and mind are two faces of one reality and they support each other. Because of the way we live and consume, stress accumulates in our body and erodes our sense of well-being. By taking care of our body and incorporating moments of deep relaxation into daily life, we reduce stress, anxiety, and irritation, and help balance body and mind. Sometimes our body needs to rest, but our mind still wants to do many things. Though we think we can overcome the needs of the body with the mind, this is not something we can continue doing forever. From time to time, we need to stop, bring our awareness back to our body, and relax."