“Stop focusing on working out”—a professor says you should follow these five science-backed steps to improve your wellness instead

Many people say they exercise, in part, because of the positive effect it has on their mental health, but a new book by Dr Susan Henney and Dr Justin Hackett, Mind-Body Wellness: A Science-Based Approach , details the science that has uncovered the interdependent relationship between mind and body, and its effect on wellness.

“When we exercise the mind, we are often relaxing the body,” Henney tells Fit&Well. “This is an important piece of the wellness puzzle, as the body neither can nor should be ‘on’ all the time.

“When we exercise the body, we are often quieting the mind, which also has benefits in stress reduction and mental clarity. However, when we are successfully engaging in those activities that we most enjoy or through which we thrive, we most often expend both mental an