Mind-body wellness practices prioritize health, well-being and the balance of our physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs. Mind and body are not two separate entities, although they are often treated that way. Physical health and emotional health are intimately intertwined in what is known as the mind-body connection. Choose healthy nutritious foods Pray, meditate, pause, or breathe.
Integrative psychiatrist James Lake, MD, of Stanford University, writes that extensive research has confirmed the medical and mental benefits of meditation, mindfulness training, yoga, and other mind-body practices. Researchers began studying the mind-body connection and scientifically demonstrated complex links between body and mind. The mind-body connection is the link between a person's thoughts, attitudes, and behaviors and their physical health. In this view, the body was like a machine, with replaceable and independent parts, with no connection whatsoever with the mind.
But when you can relax your mind and body, your body stops producing hormones that generate stress. Once thought of as a fringe science, research on the mind-body connection entered the mainstream just 30 years ago when David Spiegel, Director of the Psychosocial Research Laboratory at Stanford University, discovered that women with breast cancer who participated in mindfulness group therapy had less pain, improved quality of life, and even lived longer than women who only received traditional medical care. But during the 17th century, the Western world began to see mind and body as two distinct entities. A section of study participants reduced their stress by practicing mindfulness meditation or attending a support group.
A regular mindfulness practice can help reduce stress, increase mental focus & attention, reduce emotional reactivity, improve connections with others & help you be more in tune with your mind-body. A holistic doctor can help you decide which combination of mind-body therapies is best for you and your lifestyle. Until about 300 years ago, virtually every system of medicine in the world treated the mind and body as a whole. But until recently, scientists didn't understand how powerful the connection between mind and body could be.
While the impact of breathing on the mind is an example of a type of mind-body connection, the use of guided imagery is an example of how what happens in the mind affects the body.
