Body/Mind Medicine

Body/mind medicine uses the concept of wholism to produce balance in a person's body, mind, and spirit by effecting a change in one or more of these. Examples of body/mind medicine include prayer, meditation, yoga, creative therapies such as art therapy, and support groups.

Hans Selye was an early researcher into body/mind medicine when he proposed the General Adaptation Syndrome (yes, GAS--oh, that Hans!) Because of Hans and his GAS, today we understand that our bodies don't differentiate between a physical stress or an emotional one, or even between a real threat and an imagined one. Whether you encounter a mother grizzly bear on your hike or simply THINK that the movement you see up ahead is a bear, your heartbeat quickens, you might begin to shake, and your entire being moves into a "fight or flight" response. This is pure, unadulterated survival. When a person no longer turns off the adrenaline flow and moves into chronic, low level stress, however, the body begins to wear out and fail. Often the person then goes to an allopathic medical doctor to "get fixed"--and depending on how long the person has maintained this stress, she or he might indeed need a few parts "fixed". Because of the interrelatedness of our beings, though, simply altering how we perceive ourselves and our lives can bring about physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual balance. Namaste. ~Whitney