Healthy Mind-Body Connection

This Western viewpoint had definite benefits, acting as the foundation for advances in surgery, trauma care pharmaceuticals, and other areas of allopathic medicine. However, it also greatly reduced scientific inquiry into humans' emotional and spiritual life, and downplayed their innate ability to heal. 

In the 20th century, this view gradually started to change. Researchers began to study the mind-body connection and scientifically demonstrate complex links between the body and mind.   

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."

MAKE SPACE FOR A POSITIVE MINDSET

The average person has an estimated 70,000 thoughts per day! Take a moment to think about the thoughts that run through your mind. Are they positive and uplifting? “Today is going to be an amazing day!” Or negative and self-defeating? “I don’t have the energy to get through today.”

Positive thoughts boost your mood, spirit, and generate even more positivity and happiness in your life. Conversely, pessimistic thoughts create a domino effect of negativity. Your thoughts tremendously affect how you live your life and how others perceive you. Thankfully, you don’t have to live with negative mental chatter. Choose to change the channel and have a positive outlook. It takes practice, but soon enough, your mind will naturally gravitate toward positive thoughts. Practice cultivating a happy outlook with these tips.

LET GO OF:

NEGATIVE SELF-TALK -  Bashing yourself takes a toll on your health. When you hear negative self-talk, say “cancel cancel,” and replace it with a positive comment to condition yourself to be kind to yourself.

LIMITING BELIEFS - Replace beliefs that aren’t serving you anymore with uplifting, supportive thoughts.

COMPARISON - While it’s easy to want what others have, comparing yourself is like discarding everything you’ve got going for you at this very moment. Admiration is awesome, as it’s often a reflection of the great things we want for ourselves. Learn to distinguish between admiration and comparative self-judgment.

RESISTANCE - If you want different results, do things differently. Make small changes consistently and they’ll add up and transform your life. Change is scary, but crucial to self-evolution; don’t resist it.

YOUR EGO - It’s nice to be right, but it’s nicer to be happy

HOLD ON TO:

GRATITUDE -  Even when you think you don’t have it all, focus on what you have today. Keep a gratitude journal and write down five things you’re grateful for each day.

YOUR ENERGY AND PURPOSE  - Make a conscious effort to strut! Even when you’re feeling down and discouraged, stand tall and smile! Posture affects your mood; make it work in your favor.

UPLIFTING PEOPLE - People who are vibrating on a positive frequency will keep you grounded, inspired, and connected to your greater purpose. They’ll help you believe in yourself, too.

QUIET TIME - Take time to reflect, meditate, or simply make quiet time for yourself. Clear your mind and let physical tension melt away.

GOOD DEEDS - Uplift someone else by doing something kind and notice how it impacts your mood and energy.

Mindful Eating

So often we eat mindlessly. We stuff food into our mouths while working on the computer, watching TV, or when we’re on the run. The pleasure of eating lies in slowing down and fully experiencing all the elements of food.

Take some time to explore each of the following during your next meal and notice the difference. The main thing is to have fun, learn something, and understand yourself better.

SIGHT -  Look at your food and imagine you’re an alien. You just arrived on Earth and have never seen this food before. Look at it carefully without naming it. Can you see the water, the rain, and the sunlight within the food?

SMELL - Bring the food up to your nose. Without naming the scent, experience smelling the food, and then describe what you smell.

PHYSIOLOGICAL REACTION -  Now focus on what’s going on in your mouth. Begin to notice that saliva is produced, even though you haven’t yet put the food in your mouth. Notice the mind-body connection and how your senses respond right before you eat.

TOUCH - Now notice how the food feels on your tongue. Without naming the sensation, just experience the mouthfeel. 

MOTION AND MOVEMENT -  How is it that your hand knows how to move the food directly to your lips? As you bring the food up to your mouth, notice what happens next. The mouth receives the food. Nothing goes into the mouth without it being received. And who or what is doing the receiving? The tongue. Observe what the tongue does with it. How does it get the food between the teeth? It’s amazing that the tongue is so skilled, and that such a remarkable muscle can actually receive food and then know what to do with it every time.

TEXTURE -  As you chew, the tastes changes, as does the consistency. At a certain point you’ll become aware of the texture of the food because the taste has mostly passed. If the texture causes aversion, you may want to swallow it, but try to keep it in your mouth.

SWALLOW -  Don’t swallow it yet. Stay with the impatience and the inborn impulse to swallow. Then observe what’s involved in getting the food down to your stomach. When you detect the impulse to swallow, follow it down into the stomach, feel your whole body, and acknowledge that your body is receiving nurturing food.

BREATHE - Next, pause for a moment or two, and see if you can taste your breath in a similar way. Bring the same quality of attention to the breath that you gave to seeing, feeling, smelling, and tasting the food.

SILENCE - Be silent. At this point, you probably understand what meditation is. It’s doing what we do all the time, except we’re doing it with attention – directed, moment-to-moment, nonjudgmental attention

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