I'm in the midst of an intensive review of course work for the Masters Degree program I will graduate from in June of 2014. It's called Consciousness Studies, by the way, you can find out more information about it here.
One of my favorite areas of study turns out to be the mind body connection. I have long believed that any illness I experience is a result of some unresolved emotional or spiritual issue. I have spent all of my adult life tackling physical illnesses from a foundation of inner beliefs and wisdom. So when I discovered that what I instinctively knew to be true had scientific validity, I was excited to learn more! Turns out there are literally thousands of studies that prove there is a powerful and profound connection between the mind and the body, even if we don't understand how it works.
To put it simply and briefly, there are dozens of scientifically verified techniques that you can use to learn to listen to the wisdom of your body and allow it to heal. These techniques are not meant to be in place of traditional medicine, but as complimentary techniques. Two of these techniques are meditation, specifically one point meditation, and imagery, specifically visualizing work crews repairing your body.
Contrary to popular belief, meditation is not about emptying the mind, or clearing the mind. It's about focus. It's about training your mind to focus so that when, in the course of a day, it goes to places that don't serve you well, you can redirect it. One point meditation is about focusing on one thing, over and over again, for a period of time. Twenty minutes once a day is ideal. While you are focusing your mind, you are freeing your body to heal.
Visualizing work crews is a fun type of imagery. Imagine you have, for example, high blood pressure. Again, I am not recommending you disregard doctor's orders. These techniques are meant to be complimentary, not alternative. High blood pressure is caused by a build up of material in your blood vessels that simply makes it harder for the blood to move through them. So you could imagine a crew of people/critters/robots...whatever suits your fancy, in your body, hammering or chipping or hacking or dissolving or in some other way getting rid of that buildup. You can have fun with this, giving them names and assigning a supervisor, maybe giving them uniforms and any other attributes that will help them do their jobs better.
The mind body connection is powerful. Don't ignore it!