So who are the most ‘mindful’ people in the world?
What type of people can control their minds and live in the present moment?
I’d probably say Buddhist monks – would you agree?
Hmmmmm – Mindfulness is currently corporately cool and trendy BUT is it all that it’s cracked up to be?
An article in ‘The Telegraph’ on March 16th 2016 got my attention.
It seems these enlightened Buddhist types are getting obese!
For according to a startling new study, nearly half the country’s monks are obese and suffering related health problems such as high blood pressure, diabetes and high cholesterol !
They are getting FAT because of the donations to their daily diet, researchers concluded. The food or drink given to them often consist of juices, sweet tea, snacks and street foods – all loaded with fat and sugar.
The largely sedentary nature of temple monastic life – with large amounts of time spent in prayer and meditation – is also exacerbating the health issues.
Health officials have now launched a new campaign to promote leaner clerical living by weaning monks off unhealthy food, teach them how to prepare nutritional balanced meals and encouraging them to exercise.
Jongjit Angkatavanich, a health and nutrition expert at Bangkok’s prestigious Chulalongkorn University, said the study showed that 48 % of monks are obese.
“Obesity in our monks is a ticking time bomb,” she told the Bangkok Post. Her study found 42 per cent of monks have high cholesterol levels, 23 per cent suffer from high blood pressure, and more than 10% are diabetic.
So you can be the most mindful person on earth but you can’t escape your physiology – if you are eating crap – even if you are mindfully eating crap – then the consequences are not good; stressed organs – an overly stressed nervous system and brain, foggy thinking – poor concentration and memory – feeling anxious and uncomfortable – low energy – the list goes on…
So yes be as mindful as you can but make sure you have the knowledge too!
The original article is here;
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/asia/thailand/12195261/Thailands-monks-are-put-on-diet-and-fitness-regime-amid-obesity-time-bomb.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter#
