Attention to the mind for health is a vital part of integrative cancer care. Along with any necessary conventional treatments to the disease, cancer care must expand beyond the cancer diagnosis to the whole person. A core component in each individual’s whole person, mind-body healing influences the entire physical body into optimal wellness.
The state of mind impacts health through the mind-body connection. Research shows that the mind does not dominate the body and instead it becomes body. The body and mind are one. No separation exists between the mind and body. The mind feeds the body; the body feeds the mind. Since emotions, feelings, thoughts, beliefs, actions, behavior, and ego impact and literally shape aspects of biological functioning, studies indicate that mind-body vitality strengthens the mental and emotional inner life supporting optimal health and healing. Empower yourself with information and practices about mind-body wellness.
Reflect on your self-care and lifestyle routines related to your mind and mind-body connection. How do you feel minute-to-minute, hour-to-hour, day-to-day, week-to-week, month-to-month? What are your daily practices to support your mental and emotional health? How do you cultivate and maintain calm, including when you feel stress associated with cancer and other aspects of your life? How do you power and empower yourself? What actions are you taking to move more fully to your inner peace and any other improved situations? Ponder these essential questions as you learn more about your mental and emotional inner life, mind-body connection, and whole person body, mind, and spirit with social and environmental health with and without cancer.
Mind-body healing can be strengthened and further rooted through various strategies and practices. Empower yourself through mind-body wellness for your health and healing. Along with this section, know that the foods you eat strongly influence your mind-body. The reality is that if you eat junk food, you will feel like junk in some ways. Healthy foods bring harmony instead of havoc. Foods even cultivate moods. Other body key components impacting the mind include exercise, sleep, inflammation, toxicity, supplements, weight, alcohol, drugs, and other whole person parts that create the whole, including spirit, social, and environmental health.
Explore mind-body guidance, tips, tools, and resources to support your optimal health and healing. Additionally, direct forms of expertise addressing the mind-body, and other whole person dynamics, comes from a Cancer Coach here.
How to Calm Yourself
There is calm in chaos. Learn about supportive strategies to help you find your calm within.
Healing Environment
What qualities create an ideal environment for healing internally and externally to support your optimal health and healing? Explore how to create a vital healing environment.
Movement
Movement helps create physical health in the body and whole person transformation. Learn about movement practices, including 5Rhythms, yoga, and dancing shaking, that support body, mind, and spirit integration.
Imagery and Cancer
Imagery is one of the most powerful ways the mind communicates with the body. Mental images are associated with our core identity. Explore our imagery and cancer resources.
Cancer As a Turning Point
How can people with cancer find increased joy and mobilize their immune system also with an innate healing capacity? Read this empowering information.
Feelings, Thoughts, and Beliefs
The stuff of what you feel, think, and believe impacts your health. Our empowering information helps create better emotional and mental vitality. Explore core strategies to mind-body healing. Articles include Emotions and Cancer, Creating Healthier Beliefs, and Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and Posttraumatic Growth.
Stages of the Cancer Journey
How people move through each distinct stage of cancer supports their journey and empowers them with resources. Learn more about body, mind, and spirit through the stages of cancer.
Meaning and Purpose
What is your meaning of love, life, and suffering? Explore your precious life to discover and express your reasons to live.
Healing Versus Curing Cancer
What is healing? How does it relate to curing? Explore these important concepts.
Storytelling for Cancer Patients
Stories have meaning, power, and transformative potential. What is your story? Explore the power of story and ways to express yours.
Intuition and Instinct
Are you seeking guidance and support through your intuition and instinct? Explore ways to find your center and direction inside of yourself. You will find clarity to develop more confidence in your decision-making and journey.
You will learn through our Mind section how the mind-body connection is deeply impacted and even defined by and through the physical body. Read other articles too and especially the following topics.
