Living Perfect Health

Cultivating peace of mind is the most powerful action you can take to create greater health and joy in your life. Since your body and mind are inseparably linked, anything that disturbs your mental peace simultaneously creates disturbance in your body. For instance, if you argued with your spouse this morning, you may still be feeling tension in your stomach, tightness in your neck, or the sudden need to take a very long nap.

As hundreds of scientific studies confirm, mental peace nurtures our health, while mental turmoil weakens it. A powerful example of this mind-body connection is the effect of hostility on the human heart. Research carried out by a group of psychologists found that people who scored highest on tests designed to measure hostility were more likely to experience heart attacks, angina, and symptoms of coronary disease than those who had lower scores. Equally striking, a recent Boston study found that hostility was a more important contributor to heart disease than high blood pressure, smoking, and high cholesterol levels.

Other research has found that emotional turbulence weakens the immune system. A Harvard study showed a video of violent battle scenes to a group of volunteers and found that their immune function was decreased for several days after seeing the disturbing images. In contrast, a second group was shown a video of Mother Teresa comforting children, and the researchers found that those who had seen images of compassion had strengthened immune systems.

Is hostility affecting you?

Check off any of the following statements that describe your tendencies.

□ I do more than my fair share of the work at my job and in my relationships.
□ I am easily frustrated by minor mishaps.
□ I am often criticized by those who have more faults than I do.
□ Just as I am about to achieve a goal, the people I count on usually let me down.
□ Whenever I need to do something important for myself, the people around me choose that moment to demand my undivided attention.
□ When I can’t find something, it’s usually because someone decided to clean up and put it away without telling me.
□ It’s better to be direct with people and tell them when something they’ve done isn’t working or has negative consequences, even if their feelings get bruised.
□ I feel irritated if someone takes the seat in front of me at a movie.
□ Frustrating situations often make me think of similar aggravating events from my past.

If you checked three or more boxes, practicing peace will benefit you. For any statement that you checked, consider how you might reframe your attitude from hostility to peace. For example, if you believe that most of the people around you aren’t doing their fair share, begin to pay attention to what others are doing during the course of a day.

Notice how many things your partner, spouse, or coworkers take care of. By shifting your awareness from what you’re not receiving to what you are, the impulse to feel hostile will start to dissipate.

If you tend to feel irritated when you have to wait in line at the store, make it your practice for one day to have a pleasant conversation with every cashier you encounter. Ask them how their day is going or how long they’ve been working at the store, and notice how your edginess spontaneously subsides.

Most important, be loving and peaceful with yourself. Your inner tranquility will make is easier to express peace to those in your life – and you will find yourself judging, worrying, and controlling less, while enjoying more laughter, love, and harmony.

If you would like to deepen your personal experience of mind-body healing, we encourage you to explore our Perfect Health program, led by Dr. Simon and the Chopra’s Center’s team of healing arts masters and certified educators in meditation, yoga, Ayurveda, and holistic healing. After a week in our loving hands, you will return home with a lifetime of benefits.

To learn more, please call 888.736.6895 or ask your question here.