Today we are talking about the body mind connection - a favourite topic of Sarah and Russ. This about your body speaking your mind - the body and mind as a connected system. Now there is more credence given to ‘psychosomatic’ illness - remaned ‘functional illness’. In the episode we talk about a BBC show - the Diagnosis Detectives. In this show a young woman who lost sight in one eye had many tests and it was found the eye was functioning, it later came to light she had witnessed a horrible car accident the year after and this was the probable cause of blindness. Treatment consisted of therapy for the accident - and no treatment for the eye. This suggests that there is a mind component of every illness.
Survival instinct of pack mammals - the effect of evolutionary biology on health. How much of the response we have are innate survival mechanisms.
How much awareness do we have of our responses and programs we have running in our minds? What is the role of the subconscious?
There is research that certain personalities have different predispositions to different illnesses - type A (heart disease) and C (cancer) personality. There is also addictive personality disorder - although we are all susceptible to be addicted to those things that make us feel good (dopamine release).
Mindfulness as a way to gain some awareness.
Drugs as a way to numb pain or as a shortcut out of discomfort. Challenge as a way to grow. Psychedelics as a way to access a higher awareness of the body and mind. So the effect of any drug can depend on intention.
Some processes are ingrained - the body needs to release trauma via the body. Suppressing trauma can be stored in the muscles and nerves. Trauma releasing exercises can help to release the trauma from the body. If you repress the pain response - chronic problems can develop.
Kung-fu as a way to get more connected to the body. Shaking, breathing, movement as a way to access trauma release without necessarily going through the initial trauma - or trying to think your way out.
We talked about German new medicine - based on the work of Dr Hamer. From the website:
German New Medicine is not only a new paradigm of medicine, it is also a new consciousness. It is the awareness that our organism possesses an inexhaustible creativity and remarkable self-healing capabilities. It is the recognition that each cell of our body is endowed with a biological wisdom we share with all living beings.
The LearningGNM website is dedicated to bringing the groundbreaking medical discoveries of Dr. med. Ryke Geerd Hamer to the attention of health professionals and the public at large.
Update: latest on Dr. Hamer
Wim Hof as a ‘superhuman’ - studied in hospital in NL - found to have some control over his ‘autonomic’ nervous system via breathwork and meditation.
Top Tips for this episode:
Awareness, awareness, awareness! Feldenkrais, yoga, kungfu, movement therapy
Rolfing - deep tissue massage - the fascia
The psoas muscle - checking in on posture - are you curling up in a ball? Are you sitting up straight?
If you have an unresolved issue - start to explore these connections - if you have repeated sore throat - is there something you don’t want to say - if you have repeated ear ache - is there something you don’t want to hear
The body is composed of integrated systems. Mind - Body - Spirit
Body scan - start from the toes and think about each body part in turn - just bringing awareness.
Use of tech for biofeedback
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