Mindbody medicine

In anticipation of a new masterclass I will be leading, I’ve decided to synthesize years of material I’ve collected on the mind-body connection, what we sometimes refer to in medicine as psychoneuroimmunology, or neuroendocrinology. Basically, this is the idea that our thoughts can and do affect our biochemistry and thus, our cellular biology. What is also fascinating to me is that not only do our thoughts influence our body, but amazingly, so do our feelings. Our feelings are the result of emotions, which Dr. Joe Dispenza refers to as the “end product of an experience.” Emotions help us store information as memory better than thoughts alone because we simultaneously associate a feeling with the memory.

So, if your thoughts and feelings are so powerful, why doesn’t everyone want to support them to create the best possible biochemical outcome?

The answer can be a bit of a tough pill to swallow. In fact, we get addicted to our negative, often repetitive, thought patterns. Rumination anyone? This unconscious addiction is exactly why I’ve amalgamated all this information to help us reorient to what we actually want, alchemize our emotional experiences and stories, and attain the level of equanimity (and even, gasp, joy!) that we are all worthy of embodying.

Core Mindbody medicine principles

1.        Our thoughts and feelings create chemistry in our blood which feeds back our brain to create more of the same; this is referred to as the thinking-feeling loop (or cognitive emotive loop)

a.        Ex: you feel stressed before a test  produce the hormone cortisol and other neuroendocrine products such as epinephrine and norepinephrine (adrenaline and noradrenaline)  alerts your body (sweaty palms, dilated eyes, rapid heartrate) and mind to prepare you with alertness and focus

2.        How you think and feel over time creates your personality; a state of being

3.        Now that we understand the fortitude of thoughts/feelings, we can either be in a state of survival (the hormones of stress, “fight or flight”) or creation (“rest or digest” where healing occurs). I’d also call label this state “flow.”

a.        This is why folks that are chronically stressed with creativity and may express other related physical symptoms such as a low libido  

4.        Our bodies can and do become addicted to the hormones of stress (albeit subconsciously), because these energizing states make us feel aroused (even if that feeling is “negative” or “bad”) and subsequently without “wanting to”, we can slip into these states without realizing it

a.        Ex: Waking up on the “wrong side of the bed” for no apparent reason

b.        Ex: gossiping about the same friend, coworker, or family member every single day to get the same juicy hit of energy

c.        This is why breaking habits can be difficult – the body can become conditioned into a state of stress and perceive change as wrong

5.        Rewiring your brain to be creative and not stressed requires repetition, consistency, and a lot of energy (willpower, mental fortitude) because it is unfamiliar and unknown (which your body will initially translate to unsafety)

a.        ***many of us need to practice feeling good because that state is unfamiliar; we need to expand a state of “havingness”

In my experience, getting into your body and somatically approaching these concepts (alongside the cognitive techniques of meditation/reflection/contemplation) is amazingly synergistic and supports faster healing.

In addition to the above work on beliefs and mindset, I work with clients to:

b.        Incorporate yoga, breathwork, intentional and/or functional movement

  • Balance in our tissues creates balance in our brain

  • Strength and length in muscle tissue supports optimal function;

    • Like balance in the nervous system

c.        Approach your body like a sacred vessel – using natural med principles (sleep, light, water, nutrition, community, etc) to support ENERGY which you need if you want to change your mind and harness the extraordinary capacity of your neuroplastic brain

d.        Incorporate small somatic practices into the day to feel conscious and responsive, rather than reactive

The journey of healing is certainly a non-linear one. Every day is an opportunity to stand up for the life you desire by taking small steps in the direction of your dreams. MY dream and intention with this material is to help birth a reality where folks feel aligned, authentic, and animated in their uniqueness and in sharing their gifts with the world.

 Becoming aware of our attention and our intention is a crucial part of this transformational process.

 If you are interested in chatting more about how you can make your mind your ally, you can schedule a free discovery call here!

amy tarquini