__ Exercise at least three times a week
__ Eat nutritious, preferably organic food
__ Take your vitamins & supplements
__ Get checked once a year
Is there anything missing from this common 'How To Be Healthy' checklist? A growing body of evidence and experts say YES - and this missing link may just be the most important ingredient of all in your quest for holistic health and wellness.
Decades ago, mind science pioneer Jose Silva famously claimed that 90% of all illnesses came from the mind1 - or more specifically, when a person is unable to shield their mind from poisonous emotions, stress, and negativity.
Today, numerous scientists and healthcare professionals support this notion, some even raising the figure to as high as 98%.2
The good news is, we now know that just as your mind can cause illness, it can in many cases also heal and prevent it.
How exactly does your mind play such an important role in your holistic health? And more importantly, how do you harness your mind to heal and keep you healthy?
In this Ultimate Guide, we'll answer these questions and more, so you can tap into the power of what may be your biggest asset for lifelong health, vitality, energy and productivity.
How Your Mind Controls Your Health
The notion that the mind influences physical health isn't exactly groundbreaking - in fact, it was embraced as scientific fact as early as 8 BC in Ancient Greece.
However, as the field of medicine evolved to focus more on antibiotics and drugs, this notion was waysided by the mainstream for centuries, until the correlation was eventually regarded as unscientific or fuzzy at best.
But over the past few decades, the progression of medical technology has given us an unprecedented insight into the interplay between the brain, the immune system, and a person's overall health - and it goes far deeper than the physicians of Ancient Greece ever thought.
The simplest way of explaining this, according to Neuroscientist Dr. Joe Dispenza, is that the human brain cannot differentiate tangible physical sensations from perceived thoughts or emotions. Which means that as far as the brain is concerned, disempowering mental states like stress, negativity and self-loathing all trigger the same chemical reactions as real physical illnesses or injuries.
In fact, some studies suggest that the mind's influence over the body is so powerful, it can even override what's physically going on in the body.3
In one eye-opening experiment to prove this 'mind over matter' theory, Harvard psychologist Ellen Langer assembled a group of overweight hotel maids who, despite vigorous daily activity, couldn't lose weight.
She then divided the maids into two groups. The first group was told that due to their daily activities, they were more than satisfying the surgeon general's definition of an active lifestyle. The second group was told nothing.
Within a month, Langer found that the first group, by virtue of increased confidence alone, had enjoyed a drop in weight, blood pressure and waist-to-hip ratio.
We now know that the human brain is constantly sending chemical signals that influence the immune system. Whether these chemical signals help or hurt your health depends on the nutrition, drugs, stress and emotions you're subjected to - which in turn influence your vulnerability (or immunity!) to a wide spectrum of physical and emotional disorders.4
How wide? Dr. Dispenza suggests it's possible to use the mind to reverse (at least to some extent) not just the gamut of inflammatory and autoimmune conditions, but also 'incurable' maladies like Parkinson's, certain forms of paralysis, and even aging itself.
And then there's the emerging science of epigenetics, championed by eminent Stem Cell Biologist Dr. Bruce Lipton.
In the context of health, the key principle of epigenetics is that your DNA, which determines your health setpoint and predisposition to certain illnesses, can be altered on the fly, based on your thoughts, attitudes and perceptions.
Dr. Woodson Merrell, author and Founding Executive Director of the Center for Health and Healing in New York, has this to say about epigenetics:
“This exciting new field of epigenetics--meaning literally "around" the gene--allows us to see how environmental factors alter our gene expression in a specific place within each cell. As a result, we now know that when we take active control of these factors, we can literally help control our health and genetic destiny.”
The takeaway here is loud and clear:
Whether you're looking to heal from an illness, or simply to maintain or elevate your health and vitality, it's crucial you get your mind working for you instead of against you.
But how? The first step is to understand…
The 3 Measures Of A Healthy Mind
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Modern Life's Assault On Your Inner Well Being (And How To Fight Back)
Whether you're running from saber-toothed tigers or running after impossible deadlines, life on Planet Earth has always presented stress-inducing challenges for your mind to navigate; which in turn can have a negative effect on your health.
But modern life, although less likely to put you in the path of deadly four-legged predators, has its own sneaky ways of harming you - often through elements that, in theory, should make your life easier, not harder.
For instance...
1. Fast-paced Living
The problem: From high-powered smartphones to demanding careers, modern life moves at breakneck speed. The unwanted side effects? Skyrocketing stress levels. Degraded attention spans. Lack of sleep. And severe information overload. Studies even suggest the technological multitasking most of us engage in daily triggers the stress hormone cortisol, and damages our memory more than marijuana.5
The solution: Limiting your exposure to technology and getting yourself organized are, in my experience, the best ways to reclaim your mind and health from the pressure of modern life. Effective strategies include keeping your smartphone out of your bedroom, taking no-internet weekend vacations, having a daily to-do list, and setting aside quiet me-time for meditation and relaxation.
2. Junk Food
The problem: The root cause of our modern dilemma with food is a corporate agenda not to nourish us, but to force-feed us with hazardous additives, chemicals and flavor enhancers that get us addicted to fake food in the same way we get addicted to drugs. The documented side effects of this nefarious scheme include brain shrinkage, depression, high blood pressure, weight gain, and a wide spectrum of illnesses.6
The solution: I could tell you to start eating healthy, but everyone already knows that, right? I have found that one of the most common reasons people don't stick to a healthy diet is lack of preparation: they get busy, they get stressed, and for the sake of convenience and comfort, they roll up to the drive-through. Instead, try pre-preparing all your healthy food for the week on a Sunday night, and take it to work with you. Also, personal growth blogger James Clear recommends a "5 ingredient rule" when buying foods at the store: if a food item has over 5 ingredients in it, toss it.7
3. Medication & Supplements
The problem: From aspirin to synthetic vitamins to sleeping pills, Big Pharma wants you to believe there's a bottled solution to every problem. And the marketing works - with America spending at least $21 billion a year on vitamins8, and $300 billion on painkillers alone9. Unfortunately, many widely used medications and supplements are either ineffective at best, or at worst come with a host of dangerous side effects that cause chemical imbalances, addiction patterns and damage in your brain and body (each year 4.5 million Americans are rushed to the emergency room due to drug-related side effects10).
The solution: Education is key; both on the effectiveness and side effects of any medication or supplements you put in your body, and of the natural alternatives that may be available - such as chiropractic treatment for pain, meditation for anxiety, and good old fashioned diet and lifestyle change for weight loss and diabetes. Of course, certain types of medication and supplements are in fact irreplaceable, so please don't make any changes until you've consulted your doctor and done your research. For starters check, out David McCandless' excellent chart that shows the level of scientific evidence behind most of today's most popular supplements.
How To Heal Your Mind, So Your Mind Can Heal You
Changing your diet, exercising regularly and sleeping more are all proven ways to heal your mind from years of accumulated stress and toxins.
The challenge with these methods is that they take time and require considerable willpower - which is why studies show the vast majority of people who try diet and fitness plans end up failing or falling back into their old habits within weeks or months.11
The solution? Supplement your efforts with mind-body healing modalities that condition your brain to work for you instead of against you - and in turn, trigger lasting, effortless and even enjoyable transformation from deep within. For instance, you could try:
Meditation: One of the world's most popular and scientifically validated holistic health modalities. Melts away stress, slows aging, and strengthens immune system. Recent studies even show meditation positively alters human DNA.12 Many people find it hard to concentrate when they meditate, or they fall asleep - which is why the correct meditation technique is vital. I recommend guided meditation.
Visualization: By visualizing specific positive images and situations in your mind's eye - such as a healthier and more fit you - you can train your subconscious mind to develop the thoughts, actions, habits and beliefs that will turn those visualizations into reality. The science behind it is that since the human brain cannot differentiate between thought and reality, conditioning it with these positive visuals is an extremely effective way of turning thought into reality.
Want to learn more about visualization for healing? Read our collection of Frequently Asked Questions on visualization.
Affirmations: Affirmations work in a similar way to visualization - except instead of images, you're programming your subconscious mind by repeating a series of positive statements such as, "Every cell in my body is healthy and energized."
Chakra Healing: For thousands of years, Eastern medicine has pinpointed the existence of the Chakras - a 7-part energetic ecosystem in the human body, each part controlling a different aspect of life. Given that blockages in the Chakras can lead to illness, stress and other challenges, Chakra Healing trains you to energize them through mind exercises, meditations and other mind-body tools.
Emotional Freedom Techniques (Tapping): Tapping is the act of unblocking acupressure points in the human body, which when left unattended can cause various physical and emotional disorders. This is achieved by physically tapping on these points, while reciting specific statements. The verdict is still out on whether there is credible scientific evidence behind Tapping, but many people still claim it helps them immensely.
Mind Movies: Our own in-house technology. Mind Movies are 3-minute videos that combine visualization, affirmations and multimedia technology to reprogram your subconscious mind for any desired outcome. With our easy-to-use Mind Movies Creation Kit, you can even create your own Mind Movies, laced with your own positive statements, images and even videos to help you achieve your personal goals. Mind Movies are used and loved by over 2.1 million people worldwide.
Get more information on these healing practices and the fascinating scientific proof behind them in 6 Daily Practices Scientifically Proven To Activate Your Mind's Holistic Healing Switch.
How I Trained My Mind To Heal My Body
Allow me to share a personal story that will demonstrate the incredible healing power of the mind - and remind you that there are countless personal paths you can take to start awakening your natural healing abilities.
You see, a few years back I was the furthest from healthy. Wholesome food was a rarity; the norm was junk food, comfort food and convenience food.
I worked 14-hour days (this was back when I was building the Mind Movies movement from scratch). I didn't sleep enough. I drank and partied too much. And as for exercise? What exercise?
My body reflected my lifestyle. I was flabby all over, I felt sick way too often, and I was always at least a little tired.
Deep down inside though is where the real problem was. My self-hatred and bad habits were an unstoppable bullet train, fuelled by the self-defeating thoughts circling around in my head every moment of the day.
"You're too far gone," I often heard my inner voice whispering as I looked in the mirror. "You'll never get healthy." "You just don't have the discipline." "You're too old and your best days are behind you."
I even felt compelled to mentally judge other women for being too fat or too skinny or too health-conscious or not health-conscious enough - when in reality, the person I was truly judging was myself.
Being a student of personal growth, I was lucky enough to know from the start that the solution to my healing began on the inside. So the day I realized I was sick and tired of being sick and tired, I drafted up my game plan.
I called it the I Love You plan - and it was simply about training my mind to love me again.
Why? Because when you learn to truly (and I mean truly) love yourself, the lifestyle choices you make start automatically aligning with a healthier and happier version of yourself.
Here's a list of steps I took to transform my diet, my self-image and my daily habits, from the inside out:
1) I would walk into the bathroom every morning, strip naked, look at myself in the mirror, and say I LOVE YOU. Not once, not twice, but until I had tears in my eyes, knowing this was my truth.
2) I reframed my thoughts. So instead of thinking I was "depriving" myself of delicious food and fun nights out, I made a conscious effort to believe that I was choosing to love myself. And so every green breakfast smoothie, every morning bike ride on the beach, every early night in bed, was an act of love.
3) I made it a point to spend a few minutes every morning visualizing a healthier me. I visualized all the activities I'd be doing with my newfound fitness and energy, how good I'd look in the mirror and to others, and the positive emotions I'd feel from it all. This morning visualization left an 'afterglow' in me that lasted the whole day, helping me stick to my healthy habits and meals.
4) Speaking of meals, preparation was key! Every Sunday night I'd prepare my I Love You meals for the week: wholesome, organic and delicious food that tastes as good as it makes you feel. I reminded myself that I was taking the time to prepare these meals because my health was worth it, my body was worth it, and I was worth it.
5) I ended each day with an empowering guided meditation that reminded me of my goals, my inner strength and my deep love for myself. These sessions not only helped me clean out any accumulated 'junk' from the day - they also helped me sleep better, which is an essential step to any kind of healing!
The results of this exercise were life-changing:
* Within the first few days, I found the quality of my thoughts and self-image improving (the negative self-talk was disappearing!)
* This in turn helped me stay the course with my healthy habits, meals and exercise - no more resistance or relapses
* My skin cleared up and I no longer felt bloated
* I stopped getting sleepy and lethargic in the middle of the day
* I started falling sick far less often - my immune system was strengthening
* I returned to my ideal body weight within a couple months
* Most importantly, I was able to sustain these results over the long run
As you can see, my game plan involved a number of mind-body healing techniques - but you're completely free to experiment with your own until you find a combination that works for you.
Just remember to stay patient, consistent and committed - and before you know it, you too will be healing yourself with the sheer power of your mind.
I hope this article has helped you understand the science, techniques and possibilities surrounding the mind-body healing phenomenon.
Now I'd love to hear from you: what do YOU want to achieve through mind-body healing… and do you have any experience with it so far?
You’re still in time to welcome the New Year in your BEST shape!
You see, we’ve created a super revealing 30-second quiz that uncovers your No. 1 Weight Loss Saboteur, so you can find out what’s stopping you from having the fit and healthy body you desire.
So what do you say? How about we make 2017 the year you break away from a cycle of health and weight loss frustration? Just say YES.
References:
1 https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/mind-body-healing-cancer/
3 http://www.theepochtimes.com/n3/67071-can-the-mind-affect-reality/
5 http://bigthink.com/ideafeed/modern-life-is-harming-your-brain
6 http://www.nutritionsecrets.com/junk-food-your-brain/
7 http://jamesclear.com/junk-food-science
9 https://consumerist.com/2016/04/28/5-things-we-learned-about-the-300-billion-painkiller-industry/
10 https://www.drugwatch.com/side-effects/
12 https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/changing-our-dna-through-mind-control/
