Healthy mind, healthy body. Saluting Mental Health Week
Wednesday 07 May 2025
It’s difficult to separate the mind from the body. They either work together in harmony or against each other. But there’s always a relationship between them. Only in extreme circumstances will that connection be broken. But even then, some remains. We only breathe, for example, because the brain issues an instruction to the lungs via a breathing nerve. So, when we talk about Mental Health Day, an important day in the calendar of social concerns, let us not abandon the vital connection between our minds and our bodies. The health of each has a vital impact on the other.
Sport generally unites the mind and the body. Nothing is entirely physical. Without courage, for example, you’ll quickly come up against obstacles you can’t overcome, however physically strong you think you are. In an intense grading, when all your physical strength is gone, only those who dig deep inside themselves and find some determination at the bottom of the well will be able to pick themselves up and carry on.
The factors in sport which link the mind and body are generally known as ‘rules of the game’. We ‘play by the rules’, without which there would be chaos. The truth of the matter is that people like rules – not diktats, but pre-agreed rules they ‘sign up to’ in order to join the game. Rules are a kind of security, a familiar base, a haven and an agreement between players, which fosters camaraderie, a very important mental gift. Domestic dogs love rules they understand. Without them, they become unruly, unhappy and feral. But even then, as pack animals, they will invent rules to ensure safety of the pack. Contrary to a lot of modern opinion, children are the same (without directly aligning them to dogs!). Provided they respect their Senseis (and this is achieved by their Senseis showing them respect), they love the security of a set of understood rules within which they can ‘play’.
At Meiji Martial Arts, we set much store by the importance of attitude and mental development, alongside making the body feel better with structured exercise, workouts, pre-arranged and contact sparring. It is often said that true health isn’t just measuring weight loss, muscle development, lung capacity or even an impressive fight record – it’s a positive feeling of wellbeing. In other words, it’s the uniting of the body with the mind.
When we bow on entering and leaving the Dojo, and to each other, this isn’t meaningless ritual. It acknowledges that we are there with a positive mindset. This affects our physical behaviour and strengthens our minds. It increases our self-confidence, our self-respect, our respect for others, and our sense of belonging. Our belts system is similarly beneficial. It enables everyone to grade at their own pace, building milestones in mental as well as physical achievement, strengthening our whole being.
The Bushido Code we follow epitomises the belief in uniting the mind and body into a tower of strength. The Samurai were some of the most formidable warriors in history. But the rules behind their physical success were to do with strengthening the mind. Courage, unlocking new levels of confidence. Respect, for mutual growth. Honour, and the dignity of owning your actions. Compassion, strengthening your very soul.