Mind Body Medicine
Is Mind-Body Medicine Right For Me?
Mind-body medicine can be useful to everyone, regardless of diagnosis! Science has taught us that the mind and the body are inseparable. For example, if you have an injury, the pain that is experienced involves emotional areas in the brain. Likewise, if you are really stressed or upset emotionally, your tolerance to painful stimuli reduces. This is a two-way street.
Everything that we call "mind" such as thoughts, behaviors and emotions, are found to have specific patterns of physiology such as chemical and electrical patterns in the brain and body - how we move, how much we move, how we hold our posture, and how we express our inner experience through body language or verbal expression are found to be represented in biological patterns. One famous researcher, Candace Pert, says it this way, “There is no state of mind that is not found in the status of your immune system (or your endocrine system, or your organs, or muscles, or joints...). It is all connected”
TOXIC STRESS
Mind-body medicine and the field of “psychoneuroimmunology” (now that’s a mouthful!) studies the effects of stress. Stress is universal - from animals to humans, we all experience stress. Stress can come from physical, nutritional, social, environmental, mental, emotional, and other sources. To the brain and body, stress is stress. And whether the stressor is real or perceived by the mind through thoughts or anticipation, it carries potentially adverse impact on our health and well-being. many diseases and health problems (as much as 80 - 90% of them accordign to the American Institute of Stress and The Center for Mind-Body Medicine can be linked in some way to the biology of the stress response.
We can help. Mind-Body Medicine focuses on the interactions between mind and body and the powerful ways in which emotional, mental, social and spiritual factors can directly affect health. Scientifically-validated techniques can enhance each person's capacity for self-care and self-awareness. Example techniques include mindfulness/meditation, guided imagery, nutrition and mindful eating, biofeedback, and the use of drawings, journals and movement to express thoughts and feelings. Thousands of studies published since 1960 demonstrate the efficacy of mind-body medicine in relieving insomnia, anxiety, depression and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and in lowering blood pressure and stress hormone levels, relieving pain and improving immune functioning. (source: www.cmbm.org)
Whether you are looking specifically for training in mind-body medicine for your chronic health problem, or appreciate the integration of mind and body in all of your care, you've come to right place!