Mind-Body Medicine and Mental Balance
Mind-body medicine is a new term from integrative medicine that views humans as an inseparable unit of body, mind and soul. This holistic view is not new. It has its roots in the medical traditions of many ancient cultures, for example Egyptian and Greek medicine, Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). All of these traditional medical systems had one perspective in common: perfect health can only be achieved when there is a harmonious balance between body, mind and soul. In order to maintain or restore this balance, they developed various mental techniques such as meditation, breathing exercises (Pranayama) or Qigong, in which a state of inner peace and balance is created by controlling the mind. This mental balance was considered a basic requirement for physical health.
Everything is not proven, or is it?
The findings of these ancient healing methods were based on the intuitive observations of traditional doctors and were incorporated into these millennia-old medical systems as knowledge gained through experience. However, these findings have never been scientifically proven. That is why opponents of this “pseudo-medicine” were able to push them into an esoteric corner for a long time.
These old findings have now been documented in a large number of studies and clinical trials, which give mind-body medicine a completely new status. For example, it has been proven that meditation has significantly positive effects on physical health. Meditation has been proven to improve heart rate variability and heart health. It increases the production of antibodies and improves the activity of immune cells. Furthermore, it even prevents chronic inflammation by reducing inflammatory markers in the body.
In this context, the concept of the soul, which was interpreted in a more religious and esoteric way, is also interpreted differently. Soul is therefore what defines the human being inside: psyche, mental state, world of thoughts and emotions. The term soul has become more concrete and tangible and therefore offers many therapeutic approaches for holistic preventive medicine.
Mindset and the power of thoughts
„In the course of time the soul takes on the colors of the thoughts“
Marcus Aurelius and many philosophers before him firmly believed that the way we think determines our lives and that cultivating positive thinking inevitably leads to a healthy and fulfilling life. This “mental hygiene” has long been laughed at in our culture. We were taught “personal hygiene”, brushing our teeth, combing our hair and cutting our nails. Cultivating positive thinking has been dismissed as hocus pocus. In addition, until the end of the 1990s, scientists agreed that the structure of our brain cannot be changed. Especially not with a few positive thoughts. However, from the year 2000 onwards this has changed fundamentally. This year the neuroscientist Prof. Dr. Kandel was awarded the Nobel Prize in Medicine for his research into brain plasticity.
Kandel was able to prove that every thought creates a new neuronal connection (synapse) in our brain. And the stronger the emotions and sensations underlying a thought, the stronger and more powerful this neural network is. So, no matter how old we are, at any point in our lives we can program an inner attitude in our brain that helps us to achieve our full physical, mental and spiritual potential. Our mindset determines whether we actually implement our good intentions, how and for how long we do it, and how we react to possible setbacks. That’s why the right mindset plays a fundamentally important role, especially when it comes to health issues. In no other area of life do we make so many good resolutions that we ultimately fail to implement.
