How Your Mind Can Transform Your Body

Published by Olga Pavuka at 3. September 2018

The connection between your mind and body is close, powerful, and often a valuable tool in taking control of your life. The power of thought can affect you in profound ways, particularly in regards to its truly incredible effect on your health.

Some of us, perhaps especially those of us in Western society, tend to think of the mind and the body as separate entities. However, there’s a clear connection between the way your brain thinks and the way your body feels. Just like you can use your body to reduce your psychological distress, you can also use your mind to improve your body. By simply changing the way you think and taking charge of things that occupy your mind, you can improve your physical health and well-being.

On average, we think about 50,000 thoughts per day, but unfortunately, most of these thoughts are unconscious and negative. Our thoughts are filled with things that make us worried, anxious and upset. As you can imagine, these negative thoughts are not conducive to healing yourself. Negative thoughts can paralyse or halt our entire being and inhibit progress in our pursuits and goals in life. More importantly, our thoughts affect both our emotions and our actions.

If we can change negative thoughts, we can also change our negative emotions and actions. The solution begins from within: transform the mind, and you will transform the person. You need to sort your head out first!

Here are 5 simple rules which can help you get your thoughts under control and achieve your goals.

Remind yourself as often as possible: this moment is all you have.

In order to experience continuous health and wellbeing, it is important to be centred in the moment. Those who live in the past invite mental stress which is disguised as regret, fear and anxiety. Similarly, those who are future orientated live with fear, worry and anger, since they anticipate a future which never arrives as planned.

Engage in daily exercise.

Regular exercise offers incredible benefits for your body and mind. Exercise has a powerful effect on many of the biomarkers of ageing, including muscle mass, strength, aerobic capacity, bone density, and cholesterol.

Not only does exercise keep the body young, but it also keeps the mind healthy and promotes emotional well-being.

Spend time in nature as often as you can, and find time to meditate.

New science shows that a walk in the woods rejuvenates the mind and improves our ability to pay attention and focus. Meditation for even a few minutes a day can help alleviate anxiety and chronic pain. It can also help with self-control enabling you to break bad habits, like smoking, more easily.

Enjoy a good belly-laugh at least once a day.

From a scientific perspective, laughter is an elegant mind-body phenomenon that reduces the production of stress hormones and boosts the immune system.