Continue your journey to a healthier, happier life. Explore our full course catalog and begin your personal and professional transformation.  

We are all aware of our physical and mental health, and most of us take the necessary steps to maintain them in good working order. We eat a healthy diet, exercise, get sufficient sleep, and try to minimize the stress life sends us.  However, equally important, if not more important, is our spiritual health. Unfortunately, most people are unaware of this, and few do anything to enrich it.  

Good spiritual health is a key aspect of our overall health, without which our physical, mental, and emotional lives suffer.  The ancient Vedic texts tell us, “There is only one problem - ignorance of our true Self, there is only one solution - Enlightenment”.  

It’s important to understand that spirituality does not necessarily equate with being religious.  A religious person can be spiritual, but living a spiritual life doesn’t require deities or adhering to a specific religious belief system. It differs from religion in that there are no specific rules or doctrines.  

Being spiritual means recognizing our connection with something greater than ourselves, prioritizing compassion and love for ourselves and others, being selfless in our service to the world, and ultimately, striving to know who we truly are.  Human suffering is caused by identification and attachment to the body, mind, and sensory experiences.   

Spiritual health is the recognition that there is something greater than our individual self, something more to being human than mere sensory experience, and that the greater whole of which we are part is cosmic or divine in nature.  As Paramhansa Yogananda told us, “You are infinite, spaceless, timeless, beyond body thought and utterance, beyond body and mind.  You are endless blessing in which worlds and universes are floating like bubbles.”  

A healthy body allows us the freedom to follow our spiritual path. Embracing our feelings and emotions without becoming attached to them keeps our mind uncluttered. Spiritual health means living fully from the qualities of your heart, with both outward and inward strokes. As spiritual health affects all areas of our lives, we must incorporate its basic principles in everything we do.    

In the Yoga Sutras, the great Indian sage Patanjali describes both outward and inward steps to spiritual health, which he calls the Limbs of Yoga or Union.  Let’s look at some of them and see how we can introduce them into our lives.  

Outward Stroke  

These first two are called the Yamas and the Niyamas. They are guidelines as to how we should behave towards others and ourselves.  The aim is to create a harmonious relationship with all life, eventually leading us to perform right actions spontaneously.    

Non-violence  

This means to not cause pain by your thoughts, desires, words, or actions, allowing you to cultivate a love for all and to treat others as you would want to be treated yourself. Try to accept all life peacefully and don’t harm yourself through diet, lifestyle, and toxic relationships.  

Truthfulness  

Practice being truthful in your thoughts, words, and actions.  Speak lovingly and remain silent if speaking the truth will be hurtful. Try to be non-judgmental and always be true to yourself.  

Non-stealing  

Not only don’t take, but try not to covet or want things that don’t belong to you.  Don’t take more than you need.  Avoid taking advantage of someone, wasting their time, or unnecessarily demanding attention. Share and be generous.  

Moderation  

See if you can avoid extremes and be moderate in all areas.  Focus on the Divine rather than the body, dedicating your actions to a higher source.  Don’t waste your energy and, in particular, sexual energy. Stay aware of your energy levels, and make sure your vital energy batteries remain fully charged.   

Abstaining from Greed  

Avoid hoarding or receiving gifts you don’t need.  Enjoy material things, but release the sense of “mine” and don’t get attached.  Clear out the closet and practice recycling. Live simply, taking and using only what’s necessary.  Be humble, compassionate, and generous.  

Purity  

Learn to love your body, keep it clean, and eat a healthy diet.  Let go of negative emotions like hatred, anger, lust, greed, and pride, and create a clear and uncluttered mind.  Be pure in your relationships and your environment.  Make conscious choices and be uplifting in your speech and actions.  Fasting purifies the body, acceptance purifies the mind, and silence purifies speech.   

Contentment  

Accept everything as a blessing, without envy, expectations, or needs, and find your true happiness within.  Let go of the need to control situations and circumstances, of fears, regrets, and anxieties of the past or future, recognizing the moment is always perfect.  Help those in need without seeking personal gain.  See if you can be at peace with everything and everybody.  Love your life and be grateful.  

Discipline   

Activate your inner fire to remove and transform whatever no longer serves you.  Regain mastery over the mind and body.  Be aware of the things or people that no longer serve your evolution.  Thank them and let them go.  Pay attention to what you eat, how you sit, and how you breathe. Live consciously.  Practice tolerance and self-control, accepting insults and praise with a calm mind.  

Study  

Spend time studying the sacred texts from your own and other traditions and try living in harmony with them.  Read about the lives of great saints; they have left their footprints for others to follow. Practice self-study daily by turning your awareness within for inner reflection, letting go of any unwanted and self-destructive tendencies, allowing you to remain centered and non-reactive to the dualities of life. Periodically checking your spiritual progress.  

Devotion  

Find a focus for your deepest love, be it God, a spiritual teacher, your partner, or your children.  Set aside time each day to contemplate the Divine within everything, which opens the door to freedom and unboundedness.  Recognize your life as spiritual and surrender to the wisdom of uncertainty.  Try to serve humanity in some way in everything you do.  Allow your finer levels of feeling to develop.  

Inward Stroke   

The inward stroke of spiritual health is prayer, contemplation, and meditation, which you can practice separately or combine in a daily practice.    

While it’s fine to have desires, when praying, try to center around gratitude and support for others rather than just your own personal shopping list.      

Contemplation helps us assess our progress and adjust to fine-tune our life’s true purpose. Listen to the wisdom of your heart and higher self and not just the demands of your ego.  Spending time connecting with nature is an opportunity to practice this.    

Meditation is the most powerful tool for spiritual health.  Again, Patanjali describes this in different stages.  

Focused Attention  

Unlike what we usually think of as concentration, this is repeating a mantra, observing the breath, or holding attention within a spiritual center of the body and returning to it whenever we drift away. This helps create a witnessing awareness and a one-pointedness, training the mind to prepare for deeper meditation.  

Continuous Flow  

As a result of the focused attention, now there are very few interruptions. The activity of the mind becomes refined.  The mantra or breath flows effortlessly, and awareness settles from activity to inner silence.  

Realization  

Now the mind is completely settled, all thought activity has been transcended, time, space, and bodily awareness are lost, and we come home to who we are.  Unlike the other steps, we don’t practice realization; it is the culmination of practicing all of them.  

Meditation allows you to move beyond all the noise and stories that you create during your life, and to slip into the pure silence of infinite possibilities where we literally bump into our True Self.   The balance of regular meditation and regular activity will allow you to integrate these qualities into your daily life, and you will glow with spiritual health. Find a comfortable practice for you and make it a daily good habit.    

Access to a spiritually focused community can also be a valuable asset to your spiritual health.  Receiving and sharing the love, understanding, and support of like-minded people is very beneficial when doubts, questions, or challenging times arise.  Everyone doesn’t have to follow the same practices; having the same goal is enough.  

No matter what you include in your spiritual health practices, enjoy them.  Spirituality is meant to be fun, not serious and boring.  Stay flexible and open to making changes as you grow and evolve.  Stay balanced and grounded, but let your heart soar as high as it wishes.   

Finally, these words from Kahlil Gibran give us a good picture of a spiritually healthy life, “To wake at dawn with winged heart and give thanks for another day of loving.  To rest at noon hour and meditate love’s ecstasy.  To return home at eventide with gratitude.  And then to sleep with a prayer for the beloved in your heart and a song of praise upon your lips”.  

Wishing you health, joy, and enlightenment.   

Roger Gabriel is Chopra Global’s Chief Meditation Officer and a member of the Chopra Center Certifications’ Advisory Board. Want to learn from him directly? Enroll in the Chopra Meditation Certification, the Chopra Meditation Enrichment course, or the Chopra Meditation Foundations course.