SSP 002: How To Maintain A Healthy Mind, Body, And Soul

This is State Shifters episode two, Understanding Optimal Health.

Welcome to the State Shifters podcast, a show dedicated to helping you discover your true potential through connecting the mind, body and soul.

Welcome back, guys, to the second episode of the State Shifters podcast. Today we are talking about optimal health. And, and optimal health is important because it doesn't just take into account the body. And that's an important factor to understand is optimal health is body, mind and soul. And how do you take care of the body, mind and soul? Well, again, I'll have Josh Collins on the line and we'll kind of go through some of the ways that we incorporate holistic health into our lives. And for me personally, it's come down to a lot about implementing habits and routines that involve more mental practices than physical practices. I always had a consistent gym and exercise routine in place. So for me physical, physical health was something that came quite naturally, but it wasn't until I realized how important it was to maintain a healthy mindset. When I say healthy mindset, I mean positive thinking, being aware of the types of thoughts you're having. And then that brings you into spiritual health. And your spiritual health is a sense of purpose, its intention. What you're intending to do with your day, what intention do you have with your job? What's your purpose in life? Why do you get up in the morning? So spiritual health is highly important because it takes into account the body and mind and brings that together to kind of give you a platform to base all your energy on, to give you a reason for being. So tune in, enjoy and hope you.

Get a lot out of it.

Thanks guys.

See you this morning.

I'm good. We had our clocks go back an hour over the weekend.

It's a bit tough now, isn't it?

We've got a 16 hour time difference to deal with, mate, so as if life couldn't be any easier. But 6:30am here now and you're 10:30.

10:30, mate.

Good to have you back. Looking forward to another discussion about an important topic for us today, and especially for me and this one's, I think we're going to talk about the reason and the nature of health and what it means to be truly healthy. And for me, being truly healthy is bringing together the mind, body and soul. And I think most people tackle health purely from a physical level in terms of taking care of their body, which is important. But health for me must take into account the mind as well, but also the soul, which comes down to your awareness. And being healthy involves bringing together all three. So to start Things off. What's your thoughts around health and how do you think health plays into cultivating a spiritual connection with ourselves? And how do you think taking care of your body is also important for that?

Yeah, I think it's important all three of the aspects that you've mentioned. I think because the body is the vehicle for the mind and the soul and I don't think the mind and the soul can operate properly if they don't have a clean vehicle, a healthy vehicle to operate within. I mean, as you know, like doing a lot of yoga, the body is, is, is just energy. I think the healthier you become, the clearer that energy, the clearer that energy is and then it's so much easier to tap into. I think the reason for me, most importantly to stay healthy is because I want to live on this planet for as long as possible. Yeah, I think I want to, yeah, I want to experience whatever everything life has to, has to offer and I don't think fundamentally I wouldn't, I want to give myself the best chance of surviving. That's my main motivation, to be healthy in general. And I suppose the other one is that I just want to, while I'm on this planet be able physically to do the things that I want to experience.

Yeah, agreed. I feel the same as well and definitely the energy side of things. Like I noticed when, when I started working in the corporate world and I started my first full time job, I noticed the importance health and wellness was for me and particularly balancing your energy. I actually found when I exercised I actually got more energy and obviously when I ate the right foods I was able to give myself more energy. Having more energy for me is important because your day, it determines the quality of your interactions with people, determines the quality of the work you produce. So yeah, having vitality and a balanced energy in the body is really important I think for me all round, personal, career wise. So yeah, you're right. And yoga was a big factor for me in discovering what it meant to connect with the body and through that you can actually get a deeper connection with yourself. So I always encourage people if you're not sure where to start, like a spiritual journey or you want to develop a deeper connection with yourself, start through the body. So start, yeah, start exercising, start taking care of your health, start yoga. But to dig a little deep, it's a very broad topic so I could definitely talk about this for hours. But yeah, I've, I've got a few things that I want to touch on with health. I think food is a, is a big One is, what's your diet consist of, mate? What do you, what do you eat in the morning?

Well, I was gonna ask you because, I mean, I know you, you researched into it, you know, heaps, you know, when you first started getting into it. And I mean I just, I followed, I followed you for a lot of it. I was like, I was looking at how good you were feeling and looking and you were like, you seemed energetic. I was like, yeah, I want, I want to be like that. So I was like, that's, that's what got me on that. The high fat.

Yeah, high fat.

I think you turned me onto the high fat, low carb. Yeah, I mean you feel great, mate. Honestly, you do, you do, you feel fantastic. I mean that combined with a good sleep pattern, you just feel unreal once.

You get a taste for it, man. That's what got me. I had, I tasted what it was like to function at an optimal level.

Yeah.

And I was like, I can't go back, I can't go back to being, you know, tired or you know, not my body not. And now I think taking an interest in my health is developed a higher level of self awareness of my own body and when my, my energy is out of, out of balance. Yeah, actually, actually I'm very attuned to the times when I've eaten the wrong foods, I haven't got enough sleep, haven't meditated, I feel off. So I actually, yeah, I think it's important for developing self awareness as well. Start being your own, you know, being your own self experimenter. So yeah, test things out and notice your energy, you know, make note of the time as you're feeling feeling fresh. What did you do the night before you slept? Like, I think that's important. People should be aware of how they feel after they eat certain things, do certain things, their optimal sleep time. Because everyone's different, man. Yeah, that's the most important thing. You know, like I say to people, like eat a high fat diet, cut carbs out, but like at the end of the day, everyone has a unique genetic makeup that will respond differently to certain foods, to different lifestyle factors. Everyone should attune themselves to their own body, find out what works for them. And I think definitely as a base high fat diet works and our bodies respond best to good healthy fats, not too much carbohydrates and clean protein source. And then whatever your schedule is in terms of working out around that, you may need to supplement more foods for recovery. But yeah, I got you onto the bulletproof coffee in the mornings. And that was. That was a big one for me because that took out breakfast to me. I stopped eating breakfast. I was someone who loved breakfast, man. I couldn't go without it. I was three eggs in the morning on toast with a smoothie. If I didn't have that, man, I couldn't function. And to go from that to not having breakfast at all or just having a coffee was.

I know, I know. I tell people, man, they're like, I don't know how you. I could not do that. I'm like, you don't even know. You don't know until you try it. Like, you're just having that. You just having this, like, shot of, like, pure fat. Pretty much. That just cruises you through to, like, 2:00'. Clock.

Yeah. And I tell people, man, like, oh, like, I chuck some butter in my coffee in the morning.

People look at me weird. Eh.

Yeah. I mean, but I always say, don't knock until you try it.

That's right.

And some people just so resistant to it, like. Like, whatever. I'm not even just trying to explain to you why I do it. Like. But some people are really interested. They're, oh, like, why do you do that? And then, yeah, you know, they're the ones who are open to trying, and they're the ones who, when they do try it and they try this way of living, this way of eating, it's. They get hooked. I showed it to so many people at work, and I had a lot of people asking me, like, what else do you use? What else. What supplements do you use? And stuff like that. So I think, yeah, like, when people notice your energy and. And how healthy you feel, they inquire, they ask. Yeah, I was almost happy to help people because I want. I want people to feel this way as well, man. It's like, yeah, I feel like everyone. I think, yeah, a lot of people just haven't had a taste for it. They're too busy just not putting the right foods in their body.

So I was gonna say you were talking about how, like, how yoga or meditation is a good way to start spirituality. I think you're exactly right, man, because I think through. Through that meditation on the body, that's the start of the realization that you are not the body. I think that that comes from either yoga, where you're. So you're utilizing the body in every way and your mind is clear, or in or in meditation, whether it be like sitting or walking or whatever meditation you're doing, you slowly come to that realization that you're not your mind or your body, but those are the vehicles in which you live through. I think that's the main reason for me why they need to be healthy minded. Mind, mental health as well as physical health.

100% yoga and exercise. I think the reason people get hooked on it so much consciously or unconsciously is when they're doing these activities. You're getting out of your head, you're connecting with your body, you're going into the body. Especially yoga. Yoga is all movement with breath. And yoga actually means union. So it's union of the mind, body and soul. So you could not have any awareness of spirituality. But when you practice yoga, to be effective at the practice, you can't think, you have to flow, you have to flow with the body. So you're having a spiritual practice whether you realize it or not. But then the benefit comes when you can be aware of that and you can turn it into just a meditation and step away from the whole process and just be the watcher the whole time. Yeah, I think when you get, when you get good enough at yoga, it's, it's such a powerful and addictive way to just get a deeper connection with yourself. But I want to talk about, I know you've mentioned in the past the gym and lifting weights and strength training and how do you think that plays into all this? Because I know there's a certain. I think people get either confused or discouraged with weightlifting because their ego likes to get involved, as we all know.

Yeah, yeah, true.

Where do you think, do you think weightlifting is something that people can benefit from? Do you think there's a limit that once people kind of pass, their ego kind of takes over and it's no longer about the health or what do you think?

Yeah, I don't know. I think there's a large element of that external pleasure you get or just that rush of looking better or a goal that you're trying to reach. I think there's that rush that you get from that when you do weightlifting or when you have a body image in mind. And I think the way it becomes addictive and people always go to the gym to try and improve themselves is based on a fundamental lack of self love. Because when you're in that state of low self love, you constantly have to source that love externally to fill what you're not providing yourself. And I think health and fitness and beauty and physical strength and aesthetics is one way of people gaining that. There's a lot of. The mind always, constantly exists in a state of lack where it always feels like it's lacking something. Like something else external to the body would make it better than it currently is. And I think once you reach that state of mind where you understand that happiness is sourced from within and that nothing external can inherently make you a better person, then all of a sudden that becomes less appealing because the end that you're working towards has disappeared. And working out, like we were talking about, it sustainably becomes the goal. Working out for the sake of wanting to feel healthy and be active in the vehicle that you have, I think that becomes able. Once you realize that there is no goal to get to, that you are. The goal is to become where you are now, just become present, really.

That's powerful. I mean, I like to speak on personal experience. I definitely went through that phase of realizing that, you know, I was, I used to gym, I went to the gym a lot when I was, you know, 18, 19. I think the reason for me was I like, I went through a breakup and then I want, I think gym was my outlet. The gym was my escape from the pain that I was having. The emotional pain.

Yeah.

And, and it's a cover up, man, because when you work out, it's like, it's like a drug. Your brain is receiving the same sort of endorphins, the same dopamine as what happens when you take a drug. And obviously it's a spike. You get a spike in feeling good. Do you know what I mean?

Yeah, that's it.

You get that little rush of pleasure and then, you know, when it wears off, you're kind of back to that base level again. And if you're not happy there, you'll go for another workout. Yeah, I was working out like sometimes two times a day. I'd do a morning session, afternoon session, and then I had that body image goal where I wanted to look a certain way so I could appeal to more girls. Yeah, it's a, it's a hamster wheel, man. You constantly, there's no, you know, you'll get to the goal and you won't be satisfied. So you'll set another goal.

Yeah.

And you just keep going and going. And I think there's a point where it starts to impact your health in a negative way. Where you take in the protein shakes, you taking the pre workout supplements. It gets to a point where you go, wait a minute, is this about my health or the look, you know, what is the primary purpose of doing this? I think unfortunately for a lot of people, they're addicted to the feeling and they're Addicted to the image, the e. The image that they've got in their head of how they want to look.

Yeah.

And like you said, man, it's. You'll never be sad once you get there. You might get a momentary pleasure, but then what?

Yeah.

If that was the primary reason for you working out, then what, do you just stop? Or like.

Yeah. When you can't achieve that anymore.

Yeah.

It's like people that get plastic surgery when they're 50 or 60, trying to hold on, Trying to hold on to the image of youth, they can't let that go. So eventually you have to come to terms with the fact that the earth and everything within it is transient and constantly changing. I think a lot of people's pain comes from the fact they try to cling to things that are naturally trying to change. And there's that big misconnect there. I mean, I was the same, and I used to. Even. Even recently, I've picked it up in myself where I was really funny. I became aware of. I was like, wow. I didn't realize that I was still doing this. Where I have been, I've been skinny all my life. So there's always been this need for me to be bigger or, you know, just put on muscle or be more myself. So when you go. When I go to the gym, I see myself constantly comparing to everyone else in there thinking, oh, yeah, like, I'm bigger than him now. Like, I wasn't bigger than him before. So, I mean, like, I've gone somewhere. You know what I mean? Yeah. And then I'd be like, oh, I'm a lot. I'm a lot skinnier than him. So then, I mean, I need. Now I need to go more to be. So there's this constant comparison to everyone else in the gym based on this fundamental thought that I am currently not big enough or I am currently not as good as I could be. Yeah. And that's. Yes, the fundamental thought that I just become aware of it and you think, wow, that's. That's. That's why this is happening.

Yeah, that's. Yeah, I think that's the case for a lot of people do. Comparison.

Yeah, that's it.

Going to the gym, you see people, like, walking around, and I can see the egos walking around. It's like. Like I'm not. I'm not there for. You know, it's not a competition.

Yeah.

But some people treat it like competition. Yeah. I think realizing your main reason for going to the gym, as long as that reason is in Line with, you know, you're there for your health and wellness and that's primary reason you're not there to achieve a certain look, you're not there for anyone else. I think that's a big one. Females start working out for their partners to look good for their partners. That for me is wrong motives because you know that's again that's. It's not sustainable.

That's right. Yeah, it's not sustainable. Yeah, that's right.

But it's a big one. Yeah. I think I've realized for me when I've treat working out as the primary reason is for me to optimize my health and wellness and my performance in life. I now find the gym for me is either a lot, a lot shorter duration or I'll go days where I feel like I need to go. I'll know when I need to go to the gym. I might take two days off and I'll actually feel my energy drop because I haven't moved my body enough. So I'll go to the gym, have a quick workout, get the body moving and then I'm just topped up with just life energy.

Yeah, listen to the body, listen to what the body wants. I think that's another, I mean that's another topic on its own but that's actually the. One of the points of separation of mind and body is within the fact that you then realize that the body speaks. That most of the time the body speaks but is then translated through the mind. So the mind is like this filter where it can chop and change the information that the body is trying to tell you. I think once you like that's what you, that's what you exactly was saying. Once you lose the mind and the constant thoughts you can tap into that body energy and just listen to what it's saying and then yeah, you can feel it. You know that if you need to move or you even listen to when you're moving too much, you need to lay back. And when people are in that, you know that prime athlete state, their body is trying to tell them to stop. But their mind and then their attachment to performing at that level of being better than someone else is changing the body's message to no, I need to go harder, harder.

Yeah, that's funny you say that because I actually had like earlier this year I went through something like that where I was training for performance for my soccer, my soccer performance and obviously I was training very sport specific exercises but I was also like training a lot, not recovering correctly and I was obviously Just around more my career as well. And I was working up, getting up early in the morning and that's important. I think again, I wasn't listening to my body and I wasn't getting enough recovery and I actually got myself sick a couple of times just from the pure fact that I was burnt out, my adrenals were fatiguing. And it's super important to know, like you said, listen to the body and know if you need to recover, if you need to take a day off, if you need more sleep and you eat more food, all the answers are there. Or your body is telling you all the time what it needs. And when you ignore that, that's where the energy imbalance occurs and you expose yourself to getting sick, not just feeling tired and it's no fun. So definitely a balance. And yeah, got to tap into that, the body sensations. So I think the gym is an interesting topic that I think a lot of people could get a lot out of. Do you feel that? Like, so what's your gym routine at the moment? Are you kind of three times a week you go every day after work?

Yeah, I'm actually, I am going every day after work. I'm trying to go, I'm trying to go five days a week, Monday to Friday and then have the weekend off. And I've been, I've just been doing like, like, like what you do. Just go. And I go, I go straight from work on the way home, do like 45 minute, 50 minute, like quick workout, straight back on the train. I think it's just, it's just like that. You just feel like for me it feels good, man. You wake up with, you wake up with energy. It's just. Yeah, it's crazy. I think important thing to mention as well, which I think I forgot to mention, is that within the whole working out scheme, I know I say like the core motivation should always be to, to want to live on this earth longer and have a healthy vehicle in which to operate. But that doesn't mean that you can't have the other motivations. You can still have the motivation to look good or feel good as long as you are not attached to the outcome of that. That's the main point. The intention, if the intention is I want to look better, that's fine. That can be a goal. The pain from that will only occur if your happiness relies on the outcome of that event. So detach yourself from that and it's no longer like a poisonous feeling or a poisonous tension. It's just neutral.

Yeah, I'm So glad you mentioned that.

Because.

Like obviously it's important. Yeah, it's important to have goals and it keeps people motivated, man. Like when you set goals at the gym, that's where people get their motivation from to keep going when they see the result. And it's good. I like to see people motivated and working hard towards achieving something. Yeah. As long as the attachments there and they're doing it for the right reasons and they know, you know, the health is the primary reason for doing it.

That's right. I mean that's.

Goals are fine. Yeah. Appearance. Goals are also fine.

Yeah, I mean that's just that, that's just our opinion, obviously. I think, I think, yeah, it would make people a lot happier within themselves if that was their core motivation.

Yeah, yeah, I agree. Like for me at the moment, like my training regime changed a lot when I uncovered optimizing my training in terms of getting the most benefit for the least amount of time. And based on my situation with work and all these things I was doing outside of work, I just didn't have the time anymore to be in the gym now or an hour and a half and going every day. And that's where I think I notice that benefits, like, it's quality, not quantity. It's, you know, if you're willing to work hard, you don't have to be there very long. And that's what a lot of people don't realize. People like, oh, I don't have time for the gym and I'm working all the time, I can't go. Mate, if you can get down there in 30 minutes high intensity training, I guarantee you you'll get more out of that than a one and a half hour weight session.

Yeah.

So it's finding the workout routine or finding the exercises that work for you. And for me it was balance between high intensity training and some, some weights as well and sports specific training.

Why do you think people don't go to the gym? Like what are the reasons people wouldn't go or like choose not to go?

Yeah, I think they prioritise other things and maybe some people think that, you know, they're not attached to the look, they don't care about the look, but it's more, they haven't, they're not attuned with their health, I feel. But like, I don't think you need to go to the gym to take care of your health. Maybe other people have other outlets for health, but man, weightlifting for me, strength training in general, I think it's important. I think it's really important for the body, maintaining a strong, healthy body as you age. Like you said, from a longevity perspective, strength training is important. I don't mean lifting big, heavy weights, but like maintaining some sort of base strength level is important. So I think everyone should lift weights.

Yeah, for sure. I think it's funny like how people, how we've evolved as an evolution as a civilization from. We never needed gyms because we just hunted for food. Or like we, like there's always been something natural to keep us fit and healthy, whether it was war or whether it was before hunters and gatherers. And then until you get to the recent history where we have agriculture, there's no need to move around to get food. We can grow food in one spot. Changes the whole civilization to now. We have to choose to work out rather than just getting it through our normal daily activities.

Yeah. Because we live these sedanary lifestyles, mate. We're sitting down all day, literally. I know we're going against our natural urges. The natural urge for the body to move.

Like it's.

Yeah, yeah.

I mean, I know, I know guys that go like, leave home, sit in a car, get in the office, sit down all day, get in the car, drive home, sit on the couch, watch tv. Like, you know what I mean?

Like, that's drained.

That's what I mean. But like, to me, I mean, I'm not saying I've never done that because I definitely have. But to me, that, like, that's a. That's a whole day where you pretty much don't move. Like your body, your body is in one position. Yeah, it can. I mean, it just cannot be good for you.

No, no, it really can't.

You're at lunchtime gym, are you?

Yeah, yeah. And I do it mainly because just my productivity, like my energy, like I go to the gym to get more energy.

Yeah.

It doesn't, you know, I come back after the gym just alive, man. I'm ready to smash out the afternoon. And I could never understand how people could just sit down and work through lunch, not even go out and go for a walk, you know?

Yeah.

Yeah. It's tapping into that inner energy that when you move the body, it's your connecting with its natural. Its natural urges and desires, especially around an office environment. That can be very helpful to just go for a walk, get the blood flowing, come back refreshed, clears your mind, gets you out of your head and it's good for your health. So it's. Yeah. If you can develop a good exercise schedule around your workplace that's obviously the ideal situation. You go in the afternoon, why not mornings?

Nah, nah. I haven't got into a good enough routine to get myself. To get myself up in the morning. I think a lot of it is I stay up too late because I try to talk to people. Back in Perth, three hours behind, seven o' clock there, it's ten o' clock here, then I don't get enough. So I don't get to bed early enough. So I don't wake up early enough.

Yeah, fair enough.

Yeah. Because I could definitely see myself going before, before work. But I actually don't. I don't mind going after work. That's a nice little. It's a nice little end to the day.

Yeah, dude, I agree.

How's it going? How are you going over in Canada?

Yeah, I'm still, still finding a routine that works for me. I haven't started working yet, so I've kind of. I've been flexible at this stage. I've been working at different. Working out at different times. But I've. Yeah, I always worked out at lunchtime. So now I'm kind of going more mornings, I feel, because there's more classes available in the morning over here. So I'm quite enjoying it. Morning workout is good, man. It gets you up. For me, once you get that workout done for me, it's the hardest part of the day. And when you get it done early, no matter what happens in the day, I feel like I've achieved something and it's a really good feeling. I feel when I get up and I do my routine and I smash a workout at the gym, it's just. I feel, yeah, I feel, Feel really satisfied.

I always like the way. Yeah, I always like the way. You described that. I never thought of it like that before. Yeah, like doing that at the start of the day. Yeah. It's like a mentality that the hardest part of the day is over. That's fantastic.

Yeah. I mean, I'll mention this. I actually did a video about this just recently about pain at the gym. Everyone can push themselves to different places when they work out, but there's like a unique opportunity at the gym to turn it into a spiritual practice. And that is through pain. And what I like to do when I go to the gym is like, I. Sometimes I'm a bit weird, man. I think I'm. I think I'm a. I just love inflicting pain on myself, on my body when I'm working out.

Wow.

Because it's just when you get to that place of, like, extreme exertion where you're just giving it everything. I feel there's a point, man, where I actually notice in myself where I disconnect from the pain, disconnect from the. Just the absolute agony my body's in from pushing myself.

Yeah.

And you access this place of peace. It's really weird. It's really peaceful. But it's strange. But in that place, I kind of hit it and I can just push through barriers. It's crazy. I did, like, a spin class last night. I hadn't done one in a while, and I really wanted to get a lot out of it. So I was just in my head watching my body. Like, what? Being the observer. Not identifying with the pain and then creating that space. Creating that space between the watcher and the pain or the condition. And come to massive spiritual practice. And you can push through extreme barriers.

Wow, that's hectic.

We can actually reach. A lot of people don't realize, but you get to that point of where you think you can't go any further. The truth is you can literally go a lot further than you think. And that's what most elite athletes and professional athletes would tell you. Like, you think. You think there's a limit, but your limit is a lot further away than you think it is.

But that's another point of the mind masking what the body's actually saying.

Yeah.

Like, the body knows it could go further if it needed to, but the mind. The mind gets in the way and tells it. Tells it to stop. Yeah. And that's. And that's what. And that's. It's probably based on fear most of the time. Yeah. Thinking of mind putting a filter over what could happen if you keep going.

Yeah.

Yeah. It's an interesting point.

But, yeah, I mean, like, turning into a spiritual practice is cool. Working out mindfully. You know, can you go to the gym and be present and just walk around without comparing yourself to people picking up your weights, you know, taking care and each. In each rep. And then obviously, Schwarzenegger talks about the mind and the muscle. Each time you do a certain exercise, your attention should be in where the muscle you're working. And that's actually. They've actually done research on that. It's been proven to show that you put on more strength and you put on more size when you direct your attention. As in you work out mindfully rather than just working out and clearly not thinking about anything and just thinking about other things. So if I'm doing. If I'm doing Squats. I'll like, put my mind into my glutes, what muscle is being worked here, and direct my attention to that area. Apparently. And apparently it works.

Yeah, I'm sure it does. But that makes. That makes sense what you're saying, because I've never experienced that before. That place you were talking about when you lift, like, through. But I mean, but like, that makes sense to me when I think about how same one of the last podcasts about through it, like, fit through emotional or spiritual pain is the way you can grow the most because you realize that that pain is not yours. It's. It's the body's or it's the minds. It's not your personal pain. So if that works on a mental and emotional level, why wouldn't it work on a physical level where you're at a point where you realize your physical pain also isn't your.

You.

It's just being experienced by the body that you're in. So why can't you not then dissociate away from it? And I mean, that's exactly what you've done, which I. It sounds amazing.

Yeah, well, I mean, it's just practicing. Isn't it like practicing putting, getting myself in those situations where I'm practicing disidentifying with these extreme moments of pain. So obviously when a moment does come, when I don't. I don't want to experience pain, at least I'll be better equipped to deal with.

Yeah.

You know that situation.

This is about letting go, isn't it?

Yeah, sort of. I call it, like, surrender.

Yeah.

I think when you're experiencing it, you have to just experience it fully, man. Sometimes the mind gets in the way. Like, you're like, oh, like, this sucks. Yeah, I'm dying. But can you just experience it fully? Like, feel it in the body? It's like I just go, holy shit, I'm this. I am just absolutely wrecked here. But embody that fully and just don't let the mind get involved. And then you can create that gap in classes, PT classes, like any HIIT class, but it's all on you. You know what I mean? There's an instructor there, but you get to decide how hard you go.

Yeah.

So, yeah, it's like a little test. See how far you can push yourself. Yeah, obviously I might be a bit weird in doing that. That's just me. But for, I think other ways that people can tap into their health. Obviously exercising is massive. Spoke a little bit about food and importance of a good diet. Yoga as well. How do you think belief, as in, you know, the thoughts we have. How do you think that plays into health? Like, you know, there's obviously research now that shows, you know, thoughts are energy and the placebo effect is a great example of the power of the mind when it comes to self healing. What are your thoughts on that?

Yeah, that's a big issue, big topic. I think, I think it's illustrated best. Like we spoke about this before in Letting Go, the book where. Yeah, I mean he basically says that the thoughts that you put out to the universe and then what you get back either emotionally or physically. So you can, you can receive back a negative thought in the form of a negative physical infliction. Which I think is fascinating. I mean, I think, I think that, I mean that's a whole new topic. Belief in itself. And the fact that the saying I'll believe it when I see it, really it's. I'll see it when I believe it. It's the other way around. Once you believe, I mean that brings into the form of manifestation. But I think, I mean in terms, if we're going just based on health, I think like what I said before, I still stay true to, is the fact that you need to let go of the attachment to what you're actually trying to achieve, which sounds so counterproductive and paradoxical. But in letting go of the. Trying to achieve happens naturally through your subconscious, you've put the intention out into the universe and the thoughts that you have about not getting there or the fear that you have of it not happening is only blocking that from manifesting. So I think if you have any body goals or any health goals, you can have that intention and belief about where you want to go without having the attachment of achieving it. Because that can only end badly if you don't and it's going to cause you suffering throughout that process. So I think, yeah, that would be my main point on belief. I think obviously quite a hard thing to do just straight up, but I think slowly detaching yourself from all things is important. But from the end goal that you're trying to achieve. They say that intention is desire without attachment to the outcome.

Yeah, I like that one. Yeah, that's a good one. That. Yeah, yeah. Like a belief is important, right? I mean like you said, if you, if you believe you can do it, you will. If you believe you can't, you won't. Like it's as simple as that. Like it's the same with working out and training. If you have body goals, do you believe you can you got to believe in yourself. You know, I think a lot of people just have bad body image because they just have this belief that they, you know, they don't deserve to look or feel a certain way. You know, like it's. That plays. It will play into it. But, man, on that note, I think we've covered a lot of, you know, we could talk about this for so much longer, but I think we've covered a bit of the truth behind what exercising and what it truly means to be healthy. And I don't know if you could give one takeaway to someone, one tip about how they could live a healthier life so they could develop a deeper connection with their self, what would it be?

Big question. I think it would probably be to bring yourself to the now, to be aware of the present moment. Because when you're in that space, you no longer have any desire or fear to reach a certain outcome. So whatever you want to achieve is so much easier and you can get there without this mental fight and resistance that you have the whole time. Yeah, I think that'd be my main takeaway. Slowly reaching that point will allow you to make all action towards a healthier lifestyle easier, mentally, spiritually and physically.

Yeah, good point. My tip will be on a physical level to start eating the right foods to get your diet right. I just think diet's so important. Before you even step foot in the gym, diet has to be correct. It has to be in line with what your body needs. And I mean, the gym for me is optional. I just think as long as you maintain a healthy, nutritious diet, the body can perform at its optimal best. And I've noticed the difference that's made on myself and the energy that I have within and without from eating the right foods. And to me it's most important. So, yeah, figure out what your body responds to, food wise, and then make sure you're putting the right things in and drinking lots of water, of course. All right, mate, it's been great chatting to you, dude.

Yeah, buddy, my bed's on.

Yeah, I'll look forward to talking again soon.

Yeah, mate, speak soon.

Take care, mate.

There we have it. Another episode of the State Shifters podcast. Thank you so much for listening and if you'd like to know more information.

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State Shifters or visit the website at www.state-shifters.com.

Thank you, Sam.