I’ve been reading up on a lot of recent mind-body research lately, and it’s exciting to see the number of studies showing that we can heal our bodies using just our minds. Beliefs, and the emotions they generate, are being linked to chronic pain, allergies, heart disease, and more recently, asthma.
The statistics around asthma are pretty shocking. According to the CDC, around 25 million Americans suffer from the disease, and that number gets bigger each year. It’s also the most common chronic disorder in childhood, impacting more than 7 million children under the age of 18.
Asthma triggers have always been thought to be things like smells – ranging from cigarette smoke to perfume – pollen, and pollution. While all of these things, and more, do contribute to asthma, an interesting new study suggests that beliefs about asthma triggers also impact the way the body responds to potential triggers.
The Power in our Minds…
In the study, published in the Journal of Psychosomatic Research, a group of participants who classified their asthma as “moderate-persistent” were divided into two groups. All were exposed to the same harmless scent. One group was told the scent would help to relieve asthma, while the other group was told the scent could make their asthma worse.
The group that expected the scent to aggravate their asthma experienced significantly more inflammation in their airways. What’s more, that inflammation was still evident 24 hours later. The group that was told the odor may help to alleviate their asthma did not experience any irritation or inflammation from the scent.
Just by believing their asthma would get triggered, the first group not only helped the body to create inflammation, but they also made themselves more vulnerable to future asthma attacks, and even more inflammation. The other group’s belief that the scent was therapeutic protected them from experiencing inflammation. Amazing!
Studies like these don’t mean that asthma is “all in your head.” It’s just the opposite.
Research like this means that our beliefs, as well as the emotions they generate, contribute to very real processes in the body. In other words, your body interacts with your beliefs the way it would with a set of instructions, so if you believe a certain scent aggravates your asthma, your body will obey by creating inflammation.
Stop and really think about that for a minute…
It’s pretty incredible when you consider how a single belief can kick off an entire process in the body. That process can be potentially harmful, like inflammation, or it can be protective, like boosting immunity or preventing inflammation. All of that, from a single belief!
Beliefs Create Reality…
That’s a lot of power we’re holding in our minds. When we talk about how our beliefs create reality, though, it can be tempting to start harping on what we’re doing “wrong.” We notice that we have a lot of limiting beliefs, and wonder things like, “Does my asthma mean I haven’t done enough work on myself? Why can’t I let go of my limiting beliefs so I can be healthier and more positive?”
The reality is, we all have limiting beliefs, and we all experience negative emotions. We’re human, and that’s a good thing!
Instead of criticizing ourselves (which just adds stress and continues the negative cycle) we want to pause, and start noticing our limiting beliefs. So do that, think about your own limiting beliefs, then write them down in a journal, and tap through them. Beliefs run deep, so they can take a long time to transform, but you’ll be amazed by the positive changes that happen when you do.
As a reminder of how powerful the mind is, let’s do a littleTtapping exercise around opening up your breath. Even if you don’t have asthma, I urge you to try it.
Start by taking a few deep breaths. Notice how your breath feels, how deeply you’re breathing, and how open or closed your chest and throat feel as you breathe. Now, let’s start tapping:
KC: Even though my breathing is tight and shallow, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
KC: Even though my breath feels tight and shallow, like there’s only so deep I can go, I love and accept myself fully.
KC: Even though there’s all this constriction in my chest and throat when I breathe, I deeply and completely love and accept myself.
Eyebrow: All this tightness in my breath
Side of Eye: All this tightness in my chest and throat when I breathe
Under Eye: My breathing feels so shallow
Under Nose: My breathing feels so tight
Under Mouth: All this tightness in my chest when I breathe
Collarbone: All this tightness in my throat when I breathe
Under Arm: All this stress constricting my breath
Top of Head: All this stress making my breathing shallow
Eyebrow: So much tightness in my chest and throat when I breathe
Side of Eye: So much shallowness in my breathing
Under Eye: All this stress keeping me from taking big, deep breaths
Under Nose: It’s safe to release this stress from my breathing now
Under Mouth: It’s safe to relax into deeper, bigger breaths now
Collarbone: I don’t need to constrict my breath
Under Arm: I can just let it flow
Top of Head: Letting go of all this tightness and shallowness in my breathing now
Eyebrow: I can breathe more deeply now
Side of Eye: I can take fuller, bigger, more relaxing breaths now
Under Eye: It’s safe to let my body get all the air it needs
Under Nose: It’s safe to relax my breathing now
Under Mouth: It’s safe to open up my breathing now
Collarbone: Letting my breaths flow more naturally and openly
Under Arm: Relaxing and opening up my breathing now
Top of Head: Letting my body get the big, full, deep breaths it needs
You can do a few more rounds, or if you’re ready, go ahead and take a big, deep breath. Notice any changes in your breathing. Is it deeper and fuller? Does it feel more rejuvenating and/or relaxing than usual?
I’m a huge believer in the mind-body connection, but I’m still always shocked by how much deeper and fuller my breathing feels after I tap on opening it up. 🙂
Your mind is an amazing thing. Be sure to use it for what you do want, and use Tapping to clear out the rest.
Until next time,
Keep tapping!
Nick Ortner
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