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In the western world, the phrase is widely used in sporting and educational contexts to express the theory that physical exercise is an important or essential part of mental and psychological well-being.

Mens sana in corpore sano is a Latin phrase, usually translated as "a sound mind in a sound body" or "a healthy mind in a healthy body". The phrase comes from Satire X of the Roman poet Juvenal (10.356). It is the first in a list of what is desirable in life: You should pray for a healthy mind in a healthy body. Ask for a stout heart that has no fear of death, and deems length of days the least of Nature's gifts that can endure any kind of toil, that knows neither wrath nor desire and thinks the woes and hard l labors of Hercules better than the loves and banquets and downy cushions of Sardanapalus. What I commend to you, you can give to yourself. For assuredly, the only road to a life of peace is virtue.

Over time the phrase has come to have a range of meanings. It can be construed to mean that only a healthy mind can lead to a healthy body, or equally that only a healthy body can produce or sustain a healthy mind. Its most general usage is to express the hierarchy of needs: with physical and mental health at the root. Many aspects of the Roman empire from sculpture to the columns of their buildings had their origin in ancient Greece. This saying also derives from a far older Greek philosopher who predated Socrates. Thales of Miletus seems to be the origin of the saying. But we can agree that however it is said “a sound mind in a healthy body” is an ideal to strive for.