What Is MindBody Medicine?
At its core, Mind Body Medicine is a form of self-care. It focuses on utilizing the conscious mind to influence positive change in the body and mental/emotional states via the Autonomic Nervous System and the powerful ways in which we can help heal and care for ourselves. It also utilizes the latest science in Neurogenesis and Neuroplasticity, meaning we can grow new neural pathways and can consciously choose which ones we want to strengthen. It gives each one of us a sense of agency, that we have some control over our health and wellbeing. It teaches that the mind and body are deeply interconnected as a unified whole in which one aspect can have a profoundly dramatic effect on the other. Thoughts, feelings, beliefs, and attitudes can affect and shape every aspect of our biological functioning. And conversely, how we care for our bodies can affect our minds and spirit. In essence, our beliefs, thoughts, and emotions have the power to stimulate health or disease.
Mind Body Medicine is is well researched and proven to be beneficial for many health issues as stated in the New England Journal of Medicine April 9, 2020 op-ed "New Era for Mind Body Medicine",
"...randomized, controlled trials have suggested improved health outcomes and quality of life in multiple physical and mental health conditions that are related to or exacerbated by stress, including chronic pain, anxiety, depression, cancer related fatigue, tobacco addiction, inflammatory bowel disease, and cardiovascular disease...we believe the future is promising for mind-body medicine."
What Are MindBody Skills Groups?
Mind Body Skills Groups provide a way for us to learn skills for taking care of ourselves and to practice them with others in a compassionate, supportive environment. We will learn and practice a variety of skills that will help us to change the way we deal with stress, illness, and life. These include various forms of meditation, guided imagery, breathwork, autogenic training (self-hypnosis), biofeedback, writing, and drawing. These groups are highly experiential and designed to assist us in coming to know ourselves better and in learning and using tools that support us on our healing journeys. Through using these techniques, we can experience deeper relaxation, less pain, less fatigue, greater energy, and enhanced immune functioning. They can help us more successfully deal with pain, chronic illness, stress, anxiety, and depression. Over time we can experience greater self-awareness and sense of wellbeing.
Mind-Body Skills Groups offer a powerful and effective combination of researched based healing therapies to help participants deal with life changes, stress, and illness in an intimate and supportive group setting. The groups are small, usually 7-9 people, which allows for a deeper level of connection, sharing, and support. The groups meet at a set day and time for 8 weeks, 2-hours each week, which provided an opportunity for participants to begin to integrate the mind-body skills into their lives, with the support of the group to help them work through any difficulties along the way.
Please fill out the form below to inquire about MBM Small Groups or one-one work. I look forward to hearing from you!
Additional information as well as videos and supporting research can be found at https://cmbm.org