What if we have the power to heal our bodies by changing how we think and feel?
Dr. Bernie Siegel, MD, raised awareness on the mind-body link and felt that the “mind and body are not separate units, but one integrated system.” His book Love, Medicine, and Miracles talks about the power of the mind in overcoming disease. In her book Mind over Medicine, Dr. Lissa Rankin, MD, an ob/gyn doctor, writes about how our mind has the potential to make us sick or make us healthy.
Dr. Rankin brings up the point that you have more power to heal your body than you’ve ever imagined. The body is naturally wired to heal itself and the mind operates this self-healing system. By not remembering that our minds are connected to the rest of our bodies, we are sabotaging ourselves. Think about it- when you have a cut on your skin, even if you do nothing, your body will eventually close up the wound.
However, it’s in the relaxed state, when the stress hormones drop and the parasympathetic nervous system takes over, that the body can use its energy to heal itself. It’s in the relaxed state that the body can return to homeostasis, aka equilibrium. Physiological stress has been generally known to predispose the body to illness while physiological relaxation is what is needed for the body’s self-repair mechanisms to operate correctly. So, if you’re feeling really badly physically, it’s important to ask yourself what else is going on in and around your life.
Our Bodies Have the Capacity to Heal
