Celebrate World Healing Day: Healthy Mind and Body

Always held on the last Saturday in April, World Healing Day is a global celebration held in hundreds of cities in over 65 nations. It’s a day that brings people together across different religions, geopolitical, racial and ethnic lines to recognize and celebrate the need for mental and physical health.

It’s a day to involve ourselves in activities that promote the health of our body and mind, a day to love ourselves and take care of the health of others around us. Tens of thousands worldwide will join together to wrap the planet in a wave of healing intention while creating an image of global unity.

Start Your Self-Healing Journey

We often overlook how feelings of stress, anxiety, depression or other negative emotions can have an impact on our overall health. On April 29, take a moment to consider how mental and physical well-being affects us and those around us. By focusing on our physical and emotional needs, we can ensure that we are living our best lives.

It’s the perfect time to learn and understand various self-healing techniques. Here are some self-healing methods that are natural, effective and long-lasting for your physical health:

• Yoga, Tai Chi or Qigong
• Massage Therapy
• Acupuncture
• Reiki
• Homeopathy
• Reflexology
• Healing Salt Baths

Working on your physical wellness helps to ease depression symptoms and reduce anxiety. Physical exercise can release endorphins, take your mind off worries and help you cope with issues in healthier ways. Physical health concerns have a huge impact on our mental state.

For example, chronic pain can lead to depression, while poor nutrition can make us sluggish or irritable. Research shows that meditation can increase the empathy part of the brain, while shrinking the stress and fear part of the brain, which can dramatically reduce the majority of illnesses. Ensuring that our mental and physical health are in check will help us maintain a healthy balance. Here are some ways to address our mental health, along with our physical health:

• Prayer
• Guided Mediations
• Aromatherapy
• Healing Affirmations
• Gratitude Journal
• Mood Therapy

To take it one step further, UHSM recently partnered with BetterHelp, a mental health platform that provides online mental health services directly to consumers. While WeShare by UHSM members already have access to counselor-led care through a vast PPO PHCS network, available at over 1.2 million locations, members can prioritize mental wellness with BetterHelp’s convenient access to online therapy.

The Importance of World Healing Day

According to Harvard researcher Dr. Herbert Benson, mind, body and spiritual practices are believed to be able to cut health cost savings worldwide by trillions. This is because exercises like reflexology and yoga can profoundly improve physical and mental health.

This World Healing Day is particularly important as it allows us to reflect on how our mental and physical health are intertwined. It’s important to acknowledge that these feelings are normal and shouldn’t be ignored—instead, they should be addressed with proper self-care methods.

This April 29, let’s use World Healing Day to focus on ourselves and our health. You can honor World Healing Day by staying mindful of yourself and others who need healing and help to take action to improve their health mentally and physically. On Saturday, let’s come together to share hope and spread healing!

Happy World Healing Day! Let’s work together towards a healthier tomorrow!