Exploring the Mind-Body Connection

In the West, we tend to separate mental and emotional issues from physical health problems. This has never been the case in traditional medicine. All systems of traditional medicine have seen a strong correlation between mental and emotional state and physical health issues. 

Even though we may not consciously recognize these connections, our language expresses the fact that they exist when we make statements like the following. He’s a pain in the neck. I can’t stomach this. She vented her spleen on him. This burden is too heavy for my shoulders to bear. 

The truth is that healing is seldom a process that only involves the physical body. It also involves changing our minds. In fact, we need to start recognizing that healing actually begins in the mind with the belief that it’s possible to get well. 

With this in mind, we’re going to explore this mind-body connection in this month’s herbal hour. We’ll talk about traditional links between various organs and body parts, the ailments that affect them, and the mental and emotional states that contribute to them. We’ll not only give numerous examples of these connections, we’ll also talk about how to use herbs, essential oils, and flower essences to help change our thoughts and feelings to support healing the physical body at the same time.