1. Mental Fitness: Finding Peace
Christine Faust HW420-02
September 7, 2013

2. Introduction
• What is mental fitness
• Benefits of mental fitness
• Part 1: Clinical Studies
• Part 2: Exercises a person can incorporate
• Summary
• References

3. What is mental fitness?
• Mental fitness is training the mind to
influence the body
• Development of our Inner life and
consciousness
• A sense of calm, balance and inner peace
• Evolution of our psychospiritual life

4. The Benefits of Mental Fitness
• Develop the minds healing capabilities
• Transformation of ordinary health into
precious health
• Heightened state of pure awareness
• Enhanced resistance to mental distress and
physical disease
• Peace

5. The Stages of Mental Fitness
• Reactive Mind- reacting to life as we know it
• Witnessing Mind- watching habits, thoughts and
actions to see what is positive
• Calm Mindfulness Abiding Mind- living with good
intentions
• Unity Consciousness- feeling connected to all things,
a spiritual consciousness (Dacher, 2006)

6. Part One: Clinical Research

7. Elmer and Alyce Green
• In the early 1970’s discovered that mental
imagery could effect physiological functions in
the body.
• From this study, they found that people could
control their blood pressure, pulse, muscular
tension as well as skin temperature (Dacher,
2006).

8. Candace Pert
• She discovered neuropeptides that are
proteins that circulate through the body
carrying messages from one part of the body
to another.
• The mind and body are completely connected.

9. Dr. Peter Schnall
• He studied business professionals that had stressful
jobs. These people suffered from job strain. Too
much work and not enough time to do it in.
• Some people dealt with the situation by summoning
inner strength, others became depressed and
defeated.

10. Richard Davidson
• He studied brain activity, blood flow and
metabolic activity in relation to negative and
positive emotions.
• Right prefrontal cortex responded to negative
emotions.
• Left prefrontal cortex responded to positive
emotions.

11. Part Two: Exercises for you

12. Meditation
Meditation has been practiced for thousands of years, it is most commonly
used for relaxation and stress reduction.
Meditation is considered to be a type of mind-body complementary
medicine. Meditation produces a deep state of relaxation and a tranquil
mind. During meditation, you focus your attention and eliminate the stream
of jumbled thoughts that may be crowding your mind and causing stress. This
process results in enhanced physical and emotional well-being.
Benefits of meditation include:
• a sense of calm, peace and balance that benefits both your emotional
well-being and your overall health.

13. Meditation and Emotional Well-Being
When you meditate, you clear away the
information overload that builds up every day
and contributes to your stress.
The emotional benefits of meditation
• Gaining a new perspective on stressful
situations
• Building skills to manage your stress
• Increasing self-awareness
• Focusing on the present
• Reducing negative emotions

14. Meditation and Illness
According to the Mayo Clinic, meditation may help the following
issues:
• Allergies
• Anxiety disorders
• Asthma
• Binge eating
• Cancer
• Depression
• Fatigue
• Heart disease
• High blood pressure
• Pain
• Sleep problems
• Substance abuse

15. Yoga
Yoga is a Hindu spiritual and ascetic discipline, that
includes breath control, simple meditation, and the
adoption of specific bodily postures, is widely practiced
for health and relaxation.
Yoga has been shown to reduce lactic acid which
causes stiffness and tension
Increases the bodies range of motion in the joints
Better posture
Produces increased body awareness

16. Summary
• Mental fitness is the development of our inner
life and consciousness.
• One of the benefits of mental fitness is the
enhanced resistance to mental distress and
physical disease.
• Exercises such as meditation and yoga have
been shown to reduce stress and anxiety.
• Mental fitness is being aware of the
mind/body connection.

17. References
• Dacher, E. S. (2006). Integral health: The path to
human flourishing. (1 ed., pp. 20-23). Laguna Beach,
CA: Basic Health Publications, Inc. DOI:
www.basichealthpub.com
• WebMD, (2012). The health benefits of yoga.
http://www.webmd.com/balance/guide/the-health-
benefits-of-yoga
• Mayo Clinic, (2011). Meditation: A simple fast way to
reduce stress.
http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/meditation/HQ0
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