Swami often reminds us that our body is a temple of God. It is a gift bestowed on us to use as His instrument. Therefore, we must make an effort to stay healthy and strong. Taking care of oneself means different things to different people. Most would not argue that attention must be paid to body, mind, and spirit. Yet, for many of us on the spiritual path, it is often easy to justify efforts spent on controlling the mind and nurturing the spirit, rather than tending to this physical shell. However, Swami says, "The body has to be carefully and tenderly fostered, it is a precious gift given for achieving a laudable task." We need our physical bodies to live in this world, to perform our duties and do His work. Ironically, we need this physical body in order to transcend it!

At the most basic level, taking care of our physical body includes watching what we eat and exercising. There are also more subtle measures that we can take to stay healthy and protect our bodies from injury. The first thing we can do is to recognize the limits of our body. We all overuse our muscles and abuse our bodies in some way or the other without realizing it: sitting for long periods of time, using improper body mechanics while lifting heavy objects, or even not drinking enough water, can wreak havoc on the body.

Water for example, plays an important role in maintaining the integrity of our muscles, joints and ligaments. It provides essential nutrients to our muscles, and prevents them from becoming tight and fatigued. Water also flushes harmful toxins and metabolic by products out of our system. So when you suddenly find yourself feeling tired, lethargic and achy, for no obvious reason, think about how much water you have had!

Many of us also demonstrate poor posture during sitting and standing. Poor posture is one of the main causes of back injury. Any change in your normal spinal curve due to poor posture can create stress and strain on the muscles, ligaments, and bones in your back. This, in turn, causes pain.. These are the muscles that give us "core stability", and protect our spine. Developing good posture involves an understanding of what poor posture is. Try this test: Stand up and slump forward, rounding your back. Loosen your stomach muscles, and let them fall to your knees! Now try this: Stand up straight distributing your weight evenly through your feet, tuck your chin into your neck, pull your shoulders back, tighten the muscles in your stomach, and feel your lower back flattening slightly. If you are doing this correctly, you are probably demonstrating good posture! Poor posture is usually the result of weakness and muscle imbalance in the abdominal and lower back region. Weakness in these muscles makes us more susceptible to lower back injuries. Low back injuries during lifting can be avoided by following 5 easy tips:

     1.Stand using a wide stance
     2. Keep your back straight and bend at your hips and knees
     3. Keep the object close to you
     4. Hold your stomach muscles tight to help support your back
     5. Avoid any twisting movements

Furthermore, with society's greater reliance on technologies for work and entertainment, many of us find ourselves living a relatively sedentary lifestyle. We have to schedule physical activity into our routines! We spend many hours sitting in front of our computers for work and for entertainment. However, sustained sitting, particularly in the wrong position, can cause the muscles in your neck and upper back to become tight and overworked. This can lead to muscle spasms, neck pain, poor posture and general instability, which can become chronic problems. Yet there are some very simple precautionary measures that we can take to prevent this from happening:

     1. Ergonomic computer set-up
     2. Proper sitting posture, maintaining the normal curves of your back
     3. Frequent breaks
     4. Stretching and strengthening exercises
     5. Drinking lots of water

Healthy living begins with an awareness of the limitations of this body, and what it needs to stay strong. Stay hydrated and develop good posture. Stay strong, particularly in the abdominal and back region. Stretch all major body parts at least once a day, and more frequently if you are sitting for long periods of time. If sustained sitting is unavoidable, at least make sure you are sitting correctly, and take precautions to avoid overuse injuries. Finally, use proper body mechanics while lifting and moving objects.

Knowledge is the easy part. More difficult, however, is to demonstrate the discipline that we need to put this knowledge into practice. It seems mundane, but it is worship in the most fundamental way. How can we seek the God within the temple when the walls of the temple are broken and crumbling?