Health is a condition of mental, physical and social well being where infirmity and illness are absent. The pursuit of health is essential for the maintenance of good health, but what defines health? What is the distinction between what is unhealthy and what is normal? What is the best way to go about attaining good health?
There are many different answers to these questions. Many of the answers can be traced back to classical Greece and Rome. Hippocrates was one of the first doctors to write about these topics, and he argued that physical health was akin to spiritual health.
Hippocrates believed that to be healthy one needed the full enjoyment of life, in other words, one had to not be bothered by pain and not be preoccupied with fear. One had to know oneself, one’s body and one’s mind. In this way, Hippocrates concluded that to be happy and to achieve health, one had to take care of all three.
For Hippocrates, health was achieved through exercise, both through exercise in himself and through exercise in his followers. As he wrote to a friend, those who did not exercise were apt to become mad, apathetic and angry. These people were liable to die because they had lost control of their temper. On the other hand, people who exercised were said to live longer than those who did not exercise. And through exercise, good health was maintained.
According to another ancient Greek philosopher, Diogenes of Corinth, health was attained through good eating habits. Through diet one could keep diseases at bay, especially those which affected the stomach, like inflammation and constipation. Good eating was equated with health because one did not get sick through diet. Diogenes went on to say that by eating healthy foods one could remain mentally and physically healthy.
In modern times, good health is equated with cleanliness of the self, a free mind that has no worries and no anxieties. It is also the belief that life itself is beautiful and to achieve it a person should strive. Good health, as defined by these ancient philosophies, can be attained by engaging in physical exercise, eating healthily and having good attitudes. Only by doing these can one hope for a long and healthy life.
There are a lot of ways in which people can engage in physical exercise. These may include, cycling, jogging, running, walking, swimming, dancing, yoga, singing and dancing. Exercise can also be prescribed by a doctor or a physiotherapist. But for those who do not have time for all these things, the best solution would be to go for the all-natural, easy to follow fitness regime which entails only working out the joints, strengthening and stretching the muscles and working out the body from the inside out. This is a health program that will help one to attain health naturally and it is one that is not expensive to do.
Being healthy, being fit and staying that way are the three major aspects of good health. Through exercise one can work on his physical fitness and not just the mental aspect. By being fit, a person will have better health. He will not only be able to lead a healthy lifestyle, he will also live longer and avoid diseases that come along the way.