One thing I’ve learned about myself is that when I commit to something I really go for it which is why I have had 22 personal training sessions since the beginning of August. All was going so well as my PT Paul Cole was continually surprising me with different and challenging ways to build my fitness and transform my body into a lean machine of pure muscle.
On Saturday after a couple of late nights my mind went into full on victim mentality and I found myself repeatedly saying to Paul “I can’t do this” “this is too hard” “it hurts” “can I stop now?”. Paul did a good job of pretending to be sympathetic yet continued to push me – although I must have been a nightmare client for him! It suddenly hit me that my mind was controlling my ability to perform at my physical best. This should have been obvious to me given my job yet the difference in my attitude had such a dramatic effect on my physical strength that I felt stunned by the speed with which I managed to sabotage my own training session. Feeling somewhat knackered yet still deep in thought I sat down and started writing about the mind-body connection.
This year I have known many friends and colleagues who are experiencing a range of frightening health issues. The last thing these people need to hear are platitudes that a strong mind creates a strong and healthy body. So I held these people in my thoughts as I began crafting a mash up that blended hypnosis, creative visualisations and guided meditations. On Sunday in my sister’s recording studio and accompanied by her channelled piano playing we recorded this healing meditation. Our thoughts create our emotional responses. Our energy is increased or decreased depending on whether our emotions are positive or negative. If we can create a positive and supportive environment internally then is it possible to activate our body’s blueprint to heal itself?
According to a growing body of scientists who study Epigenetics it isn’t your genetic code that determines your fate. All illness is created from an emotional trauma that has been frozen and hidden within a person’s unconscious mind. When you release emotional trauma you begin to heal. When you know what to look for, a person’s body will indicate clues to their emotional disposition. Many ancient healing systems including Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, recognise the role that emotions play in health and physicality. In the 1920s Harvard scientist Walter Cannon MD identified the fight or flight response and the damage that long term stress can do to the body.
David Hamilton who spent four years in the pharmaceutical industry developing drugs for cardiovascular disease and cancer found that men in happy marital relationships who have undergone major heart surgery, heal more quickly. Louise Hay, founder of Hay House Publishing believes that every thought we think is creating the fabric of our existence and our thoughts and emotions will ultimately show up on our body. When we feel in balance emotionally we support our body’s natural blueprint for perfect health. When we are stressed, out of balance or start to suppress our emotions we will notice a deterioration in our physical health. If we continue to ignore these early signs we may develop a more serious illness. You can learn so much just from observing people. Every part of our body can act as an indicator of the emotional imbalance that people experience. For example our eyes are the way we see our world. Is it possible that short-sightedness is simply a person’s unconscious reaction to not wanting to see something clearly? A friend of mine with five children has gone through years of abusive relationships – her marriage and subsequent relationships were typified by rows, accusations and physical violence. Her youngest daughter now wears hearing aids in both ears as she has lost seventy percent of her hearing. What young child wants to listen to their mummy and daddy rowing all the time? She has effectively switched off the sound of rows.
Since the age of eleven I suffered chronic migraines that were so bad I had strong injections for them and would keep me in a darkened room for three days. I couldn’t eat, think, read because the pain was so bad. Years later I identified that I had unconsciously created these migraines as a way of forcing my body to rest. In the past I would push and push myself to the point that I physically couldn’t work and had to rest. I no longer have migraines because I now listen more carefully to my body’s feedback. Whatever your beliefs about the mind – body connection if you or someone you love is unwell then let me know so I can send you my complimentary healing meditation.
Sometimes life throws us a curve ball and our clearly defined path is no longer a safe place for us to walk. Fear and anxiety cause us to shrink from the perceived threat of further pain and our self esteem takes a battering. In time we are able to pick ourselves up, readjust our inner compass and gather up the learnings and insights from this unsettling period if uncertainty. Yet some people are unable to shake off these negative reactions and freeze. Their life becomes a sort of nightmarish Groundhog Day as they are trapped on a treadmill where they are unable to get off. This is why I am such a big fan of emotional freedom techniques that enables individuals to release a lifetime of hurts in a way that is quick and comfortable. I work extensively with leaders operating within a commercial environment who are shocked at the speed with which behavioural change can be demonstrated.
There is a saying that goes something along the lines of “you will never be fired for choosing IBM” and it’s this mentality that stops some companies experimenting with methods that whilst perceived as ‘at the frontiers of leadership development’ are also seen as high risk. In my view playing it safe will always sabotage the soul of an organisation and well calculated risks can transform a market sector.
