Power of the mind, intelligence of the body

Did you know there are over 100 trillion individual processes happening inside your body every second? Try and comprehend this for a moment. The intelligence and computing power simultaneously managing 100 trillion processes every second to maintain balance within the body is almost unfathomable. This extraordinary balancing act is known as homeostasis.

Your body is constantly transforming itself to meet the demand of your internal and external environments, with the primary purpose of staying alive. This incredible intelligence keeps your lungs breathing, heart pumping and brain firing autonomously, along with trillions of other processes.

Current scientific and medical research is revealing how the mind plays a primary role in the body’s ability to maintain balance. This means the quality of your mind affects your physical health and wellbeing.

This is most clearly seen in the fight or flight response. When the mind consciously or subconsciously perceives danger, the body responds and goes through a massive transformation to survive the threat. To muster huge amounts of energy, the body begins to shut down parts of the brain, digestive system, immune system and cellular repair function as well as many others (systems that are responsible for long term survival) to prioritise short term survival.

Think of it like this... if you were to walk out your front door and be faced with a hungry wild tiger, you wouldn’t want to be wasting energy problem solving, digesting food or fighting off tiny bacteria. You would want the intelligence of your body to kick in and prioritise short term survival over long term survival to get you out of danger.

The problem we face today, is that we’re triggering the fight or flight response in situations that aren’t the least bit threatening, such as getting a parking ticket, missing the train, breaking up from a relationship, seeing someone’s caller ID on your phone, getting the wrong food order just to name a few.

And we all know that having your digestive system systematically shut down and your immune system go offline is not a practical nor resourceful way to respond to a parking ticket. But it doesn't matter whether the perceived threat is real or not. The body responds to impressions of the mind.

Just as the mind triggers the body to transform in a fight or flight response, the mind also has the capability to activate its direct opposite, the relaxation response. In this state the body becomes calm, rested, and begins repairing itself from the impact of stress and fatigue. Meditation is a mental process that triggers this relaxation response. When the mind is effortlessly led into a de-excited state, the body immediately follows.

Through a daily practice of meditation, the body moves out of its habitual fight or flight response and learns to maintain health, vitality and balance, even in the face of challenges and demands.

Things you’ll notice after a few weeks of meditating;

Greater self-awareness

Emotional stability, clarity, connectedness and enthusiasm

Cognitive capability increases

Focus, concentration, creativity and adaptability rise

Digestive system kicks back into gear

Greater energy and ability to process life more efficiently

Immune system gets boosted

Less time feeling tired, stressed or unwell and faster recovery from illness.

If you really want to look after your body, then you must look after your mind. Health is not just about the body nor exclusively about the mind. The mind and body are interconnected and interdependent. Start with your mind and the body will follow. Meditation plays a leading role is expanding our awareness of our body and enables to become more clear about their relationship and how we can nurture them both as one thing.