One of the absolute KEY missing pieces in today's health care is so important, that I will flat out say, it is THE SINGLE most important to your health. Much more than any green juice or superfood out there.

Our emotions regulate our biochemistry and thus our physical health.

Yes, we know now that certain diseases can only thrive in a body in which there is "negative vibration frequency". Studies have linked emotional stress to lowered immune system function, increased blood pressure, cholesterol and inflammation markers, including altered brain chemistry and blood sugar imbalance.

Your thoughts control your body.

We truly are a physical reflection of our inner state of health - why any lasting health change MUST start be changing our INNER health.

In a study published by Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences, they showed how imaging technology can reveal how emotions manifest in our body. And thus in change alter our physical state of health. This is truly amazing.

Self-reported body maps showing areas where subjects felt sensations increased (warm colors) or decreased (cool colors) for a given emotion. (Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences)

This is also why, we can eat a super fanatic health-nut diet, which may be "right for us" - that is, we know our biochemistry set-point and have matched that with the right nutritional strategies to balance out - and yet, still struggle with little to no progress health wise, if our emotions are toxic.

Detox your emotions.

Many of us think, that we need detox diets to clean our bodies, and yes, sometimes we do after years of eating garbage and perhaps abusing drugs etc. However, more importantly though, we need to detox our emotions.

Our emotions constantly set off a cascade of biochemical reactions in our body - promoting inflammatory responses and activating genes of disease.

Many times, we will see someone, who lives the "perfect health-nut" life, and suddenly they get some inexplicable disease. Nothing is inexplicable. Most of us just don't want to do the work with regulating our emotions and detoxing our toxic thoughts. We feed of this self-destructiveness - addicted to misery.

And this is an addiction we MUST break, whatever health goal we have. Nothing else matters.

A healthy life is not constricted to exercise, sleep and green juice. These are actually the least important pieces to achieving a healthy and happy life. Managing our emotions and taking control of our mind, is the key to EVERY healthy issue and breaking any self-destructive behavior. Yet, this is also the single aspect, that most of us have the most resistance to dealing with. Often times we get angry, if anyone points out, that we have to control our mind and make a choice to STOP all the negative garbage, we have going on on the inside. This is what we need to do to change our life - it is always a choice, and most often, we do not change, because we are not willing to give up our attachment to certain things and self-beliefs, regardless of how much hurt they may be causing us, they are still familiar. For most of us, knowing the outcome is extremely tempting.

We are so afraid of not knowing the outcome that we fight change, like a cat hanging in the curtains.

We may change our diet, but we do not like to be told that our emotions are toxic, and that we need to clean up our internal garbage. Why do we get so resentful and angry, when told that we need to change our mindset?

Because there is no magic pill. No green juice, no goji berry or chia seed powerful enough to make up for our lack of personal development.

Most of us who struggle with self-destructive behaviors, such as addictions and eating disorders, are stuck in this 5-year-old mindset. So very fragile, scared of rejection, scared of risking anything... scared of life, yet craving it so badly.

We want instant gratification. We do not want to clean up our own mess, leaving it to those around us to always come and put our pieces back together - til next time we crash. Over and over again.

Never learning the lesson, that we need to take responsibility for the outcome of life and change our ways, both mindset wise and behavior wise to THRIVE in this skin we are in. No one can do the inner work for us, no amount of money can pay the price of happiness that only comes when we change our core beliefs.

Here is the thing - stress is EXTREMELY toxic.

Whether it is perceived or real, our body reacts in the exact same way: increased inflammation, digestive distress, weight issues, addictive issues, chronic fatigue, adrenal exhaustion, hormonal imbalance and heart disorders - even cancer is closely tied to stress levels, much more-so than what passes our lips. When stress becomes chronic, and cortisol is thus constantly elevated to cater for this "fight or flight" mode, we suffer from a desensitization to this hormone. This is not good news, because cortisol regulates our immune system.

In other words, inflammation is now allowed to run rampantly. Our immune system can no longer protect us from pathogens and other foreign invaders.

I want you right now to think about, how your daily thoughts are affecting your physical health - this is important. We are not what we eat - rather WE ARE WHAT WE THINK.

It is also interesting to note that certain emotions are associated with pain in specific regions of your body.

When we are very sad, deep in grief, it feels as if our chest is just ripping into pieces. Like glass splinters cutting into every vein of our heart center. Add to that, it is known that after losing a loved one, one's risk of suffering a heart attack shoots up by 21 times!

Yes, sometimes we do die from a broken heart.

When we are anxious, it feels as if our guts are cramped together like a ball. And we know that anxiety decreases the secretion of digestive enzymes, why most digestive disorders have a root cause in not dealing with anxious emotions. This means that we can eat all the perfect foods in the world, but if we are not dealing with our emotional garbage, we will not progress. We will become our garbage thoughts. Our light will not shine. Our physical body will stay stuck in pain from suffering - suffering that is based in the mind.

How do you detox your mind?

I am a big fan of sound therapy, because it bypasses cognitive thinking. Many of us - and certainly myself included - have a tendency to over-analyze and over-intellectualize everything to the point of taking no action. People talk too much.

We need to talk less and FEEL more.

Our feelings - when in tune and with practice - reflect inner wisdom. Something that our mind will never tap into, no matter how smart we are. Smartness is overrated - how many highly intelligent people do we not have, who are severely lacking in compassion, people skills, empathy and wisdom?

The world does not need more intelligent people.

What we need are more people who are wise. People who make choices based on the bigger picture, who have cut their attachment to ego. And this is what we should all be striving for.

All pain and suffering stems from attachment to ego.

Something we cannot "talk-therapy" us out of. it is a feeling we must dare feel - it is about daring to let go of attachment. Letting go of the fear of not knowing what is behind that closed door.

Sound taps into "chakras" and emotions stored in your physical body that enables you to release them without having to rely on your tricky mind to get you there. Sound can change the vibration in your body within 5 minutes, lower cortisol and switch you from the sympathetic nervous system to the healing and restoring parasympathetic nervous system.

No willpower required. No talk needed. All you need to do is listen to sounds designed to tap into different vibrations associated with different chakras in your body, and a shift will happen.

The key is consistency. I like to start every morning with 11 minutes sound meditation as an inner shower to keep every day fresh and start from scratch - letting go of toxic emotions from yesterday in order to not repeat behaviors and thoughts that are not constructive.

Always moving forward. Always committed to the process, rather than the outcome.

Some of my favorite artists who only make music designed on vibration healing are: Joseph Levry, Deva Premal and Snatam Kaur. Just listen to some of their songs and use whichever you resonate with. You need not know the science behind each of their music pieces - your body will benefit from the sounds regardless - these mentioned artists only make music designed based on the science of cymantics - how sound can change physical matter and detox emotions.

References:

J Physiol Pharmacol. 2011 Dec;62(6):591-9. Stress and the gut: pathophysiology, clinical consequences, diagnostic approach and treatment options. Konturek PC

Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences. 2013 Dec; doi: 10.1073. Bodily maps of emotions. Lauri Nummenmaaa et al.