The greatest scientists have yet to fully understand the miracles of the human body, yet we often forget how powerful and wonderfully complex we are.
Did you know that over 50% of American children have a diagnosable health condition? While rates of illness in adults and children have been skyrocketing over the past decades, it is easy to forget the amazing ability of our mind/body to heal. It is our birthright.
Do you know you have an amazing resource right now?
The human body is more complex than the most advanced computer system ever created and even the most laudable scientists and cutting edge thinkers admit we are far from understanding the many mysteries and miracles it holds. The number of synapses and cells in our brain has been compared to the number of stars in the galaxy and our brain performs countless complicated tasks without conscious thought. Our liver even has the ability to regenerate up to two-third of its mass within a short period of time. I only wish technology had that capacity! I believe the more we learn about the orchestrations and wonders of this mind/body we inhabit, the more we will be able to make informed and wise decisions in our lives, tap into our true potential and honor the intricate and synergistic complexity of our mind/body.
Everything in your body is coordinated to function interdependently. Each part of the human body is not an island functioning by itself, but rather the complex intertwining of all parts of you impacting and influencing other parts. It reminds me of the children's song about "your foot bone is connected to your ankle bone, the ankle bone is connected to the thigh bone. .". We get it, I think, on a structural level as evidenced by the growing recognition of the contributions of the chiropractic field in demonstrating the connections between structural subluxations and suboptimal functioning in a broad range of areas from neurological to immunological. A growing majority accepts this interconnected synergy on a structural level, but often this holistic viewpoint is more elusive in less concrete interconnections- like our mind/body connection and even the synergistic workings of our hormones, neurotransmitters, glands, organs, right down to the very way our cells communicate.
The mind/body connection is one aspect of this that I find particularly fascinating. Colloquially, there is an understanding of this from commonplace sayings such as "he died of a broken heart" or "the stress killed him", but rarely when we have a physical symptom do we get curious about the possibility of an emotional component. One study that deepened my appreciation for this relationship is Jon Kabat-Zinn's study on psoriasis, a very visible skin condition. He found that visualization helped patients heal at a four times greater rate than those who did not use visualization techniques. They received the same physical treatment, the only variable was whether or not they engaged their mind in their healing process. Psoriasis is a very visible skin condition, so there was less subjectivity than if a patient was self reporting. Strong confirmation of the ability of the mind to help our body heal. Although not always valued in conventional medicine, it is so well accepted as a principle, that research acknowledges the "placebo effect." For a treatment to be deemed effective in scientific research, it has to be better than the placebo effect- in essence saying it has to outpace our body/mind's ability to heal. Which of course acknowledges the power of the mind to bring healing just by your belief and expectation that you will heal.
If you are in doubt about the mind/body's innate ability to self repair, I encourage you to check out case studies of spontaneous remissions of disease. The Institute of Noetic Sciences has assembled a database of over 3500 cases of spontaneous remissions defined as "the disappearance, complete or incomplete, of a disease or cancer without medical treatment or treatment that is considered inadequate to produce the resulting disappearance of disease symptoms or tumor." There are amazing reports of not only the mind's ability to improve how we feel (subjective), but that this transcends the psychological to a myriad of tangible physical improvements (objective) as well from everything from ulcers to incurable cancers.
A fascinating component of our capacities to self repair and heal is how it is impaired by prolonged stress (sympathetic nervous system activation) and turned on by our parasympathetic (rest and digest) part of our autonomic nervous system. One possible explanation is the body's prioritization of energy expenditure to fight off danger/threat (sympathetic arousal) v. using it for healing and repair. If there is a fire in your house, your most likely immediate response would be to mobilize all your energy and resources to put out the fire. It seems nonsensical to imagine sitting there while the fire is burning planning on how to repair a broken door. Our immune system is similar in the way it prioritizes expenditure. The challenge comes for many of us with our stressful modern day lives is how to actually engage our rest/digest branch of our nervous system. Lissa Rankin, MD, has explored this phenomena and identifies one of the most powerful factors to activate this ability is decreasing loneliness by cultivating community where you are seen and loved for your authentic self. Other ways include time in nature, expressing ourselves creatively, healthy relationships, acts of service, playing with children and animals, laughter, and mind/body practices such as yoga, meditation, and tai chi.
What if we all began to deepen our appreciation of this and cultivated practices that fed and nourished this ability? We live in a culture where reductionism, fast paced lifestyles, and isolation are rampant, so here is to us individually and collectively bringing back, a returning to, an honoring of our interconnected wholeness and building our authentic community. What are you willing to do today to nourish and take care of yourself and feed your ability to heal and repair, to feed the part of you that is meant to be healthy and radiant? I would love to hear and support you!
Suggested Resources:
Mind over Medicine: Scientific Proof you can heal yourself. Lissa Rankin
Why Zebras Don't Get Ulcers: The acclaimed Guide to Stress, Stress-related Diseases, and Coping. Robert M. Sapolsky
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