From ‘The Straits Times’, ‘In TCM (Traditional Chinese Medicine), the heart is believed to control the mind and hence all mental activities. When a person engages in a lot of thinking or has a diet of fried and spicy food, excessive “fire” accumulates in the heart…’
Comments: According to Buddhism, the mind is the precursor of everything, including physical health, which in turn might seem to condition mental well-being. As long as not liberated, the well-being of our mind and body are closely linked to each other. This is because we are attached to and thus spiritually affected by our physical health.
Even so, cultivating the mind still takes priority over building up the body in the long run as spirituality is that which carries over from one life to the next. Even if one is super-fit in this life, there is no guarantee one will be fit in the next, especially if has little regard for morality. And even if one is often ill, one can still practise the Dharma at the mind level, if not in action.