Many researchers and doctors believe that as much as 80 - 95% of all illnesses are stress related. Stress can come from any change that the body has to adjust to. The deleterious effects of stress on the body have been well documented. When an individual is highly stressed for long periods of time, the neurochemistry is altered, affecting the brain negatively. Additionally, physical or emotional trauma can sensitize the limbic system (emotional) center of the brain keeping us in a chronic state of fight/flight and create a vicious debilitating stress cycle.
Evidence shows that chronic stress actually shrinks the brain and causes physical damage to the body. Long-term overproduction of stress related chemicals could lead to hardening of the arteries, digestive disturbances, osteoporosis, migraines, pain syndromes and many other diseases. It is important to be aware of developing stress patterns.
There is internal stress and external stress. Often times, the effects of stress are insidious. Stress is not what you think it is! We live in a stressful world but how we interpret or manage the stress is based mostly on our interpretation. Furthermore, many clinicians and researchers believe that 95% of stress is unconscious or internal. This stress is stored in the form of pictures, memories, cellular memories,and beliefs and keeps the nervous system in a constant state of stress. Mind/Body practices are powerful tools to help keep the external stress under control and release and remove the internal stress.
In the last few decades, Western science has been proving that the mind and body are inextricably linked. In fact, researchers and scientists have discovered that our emotions are processed in our bodies and minds simultaneously (Pert, 1986).
Your body attempts to carry out the physical equivalent of your thoughts by activating your nervous system, adjusting your muscle tension, and altering hormonal output. It is important to note that thoughts are happening both consciously and unconsciously and most of our thoughts are unconscious.
Physical and emotional trauma leave an indelible imprint in our minds and bodies. This is sometimes referred to as cellular memory. It is believed that unconscious thought patterns are stored in our bodies and are largely based on past conditioning, unresolved emotions, or trauma. These limiting patterns impact our behavior, health, and overall well-being. Additionally, the power of words, imagination, and touch all produce physical, emotional, and mental changes. Therefore, it is necessary to use a holistic approach to create balance and allow the healing process to take place.
Through mind/body practices such as mindfulness meditation, imagery, movement, and energy balancing combined with bodywork, we can achieve deep relaxation, reprogram our neurology, and balance our energy for stress/pain relief, healing, peak performance, and optimal functioning.
Stress and the Mind/Body Conection
