Illness and the Mind
Dharmadeva
Illness and the Mind
by Acarya Shankarsan’ananda Avt.
All over the world today, in matters of health and healing, both
doctors and patients are aware of the fact that many, if not most
of our diseases are actually psychosomatic, and that illness is
inseparably linked to the state of our mind. The link between
negative emotions and the onset of diseases has been
confirmed again and again. In one study, 28 out of 32 multiple
sclerosis (a serious progressive disease of the central nervous
system) patients questioned, experienced tragic or stressful life
situations just before the onset of their disease. This severe
psychological stress was shown to have produced marked
abnormality in their body’s immune system. It has been
estimated that more than half the people seeking the service of
doctors actually suffer from emotionally caused illnesses. Stress,
fear, frustrations and insecurity are known to be responsible for
problems such as hyper-acidity, peptic ulcers, high blood
pressure, heart attack and various mental diseases.
Today, conventional traditions of medicine are still unable to
deal properly with mind related illnesses and the doctor advises his patient to go for a holiday,
or try yoga. So how does the system of yoga deal with it? Yoga considers all aspects of human
existence: physical, mental/emotional and spiritual. The physical yoga poses called ‘Asana’
helps to balance our hormone production and thus balance the emotions. Through the regular
practice of Asanas, the functions of various organs are optimized and the nervous system gets
strengthened. This enables us to become more resistant towards stress and be able to deal
better with life’s ups and downs But another and often neglected aspect of yoga which is found
highly beneficial in curing psychosomatic illnesses, is the regular practice of meditation.
Scientific experiments have shown that the response of the human organism to meditation is
just the opposite of its reaction to stress and worries. Meditation relaxes the central nervous
system, slows the heart rate, lowers the blood pressure as much as 20%, and slows the
breathing to less than half its normal rate. As all the body’s processes relax, the meditator
experiences a state of profound rest. He or she then feels a heightened alertness and mental
clarity, and the physical and mental efficiency after meditation is greatly enhanced. A regular
meditator simply enjoys life more than before.
Meditation is a key to success in all spheres of existence, because those who are able to check
the restless wanderings of their mind and focus their attention at will, can learn anything easily
and achieve their desired goals in life.