In the past, the mind-body connection was considered New Age mumbo jumbo.This is no longer the case.Even prestigious instituions like the Harvard Medical School now offer short term courses on Clinical Training in Mind-Body Medicine with subjects like 'eliciting the relaxation response', change your mind change your mood, 'youga:self-inquiry and redeveloping a relationship with the body'.
More and more research is directed toiwards the study of mind-body connection using sophisticated technology that measure changes in the brain and body chemistry caused by thoughts and emotions. Dr. Candace Pert of Georgetown University, author of Molecules of Emotion, The Science behind Body Medicine, studied neuropeptides, molecules produced by the nervous syestem. Her work implies that all of our cells experience emotions, all together, all at once. When we are happy, all our cells from our internal organs all the way to our skin are happy, too. Same goes for sadness, fear, and anger! Can you imagine what happens to your body when we are sad, fearful, and angry for long periods of time? Combine this with genetics, poor lifestyle choices, and an unhelathy environment and disaster could follow! Other reasearchers and wellness practitioners like louise l. Hay cancer survivor and bestselling author of heal your body and you can heal your life, go as far as saying that even cancer can be traced to long-term deep resentments and self-defeating belief systems that literally eat away at the body.
While it's true that not all diseases can be overcome without medical intervention especially if it has already manifested on the physical body, wellness gurus say that we still have the capacity to live a joy-filled life amidst illness with the mental and emotional choices that we make everyday. Healing is multi-dimensional.As the mantra goes: Change your mind, change the world!
This is the best thing about the mind-body principle in holistic health. It puts the responsibility and control of wellness,-and conversely, illness-on the person who matters most: YOU
