A holistic approach: What does the interconnectedness of mind, body and soul mean for me?

This is a piece of writing giving my own personal story into the close link between the mind, body and soul and how we must not isolate any one part of the sacred triad. Viewing something holistically is essential.

The Triforce is a symbol that represents a path towards growth and harmony both in the myth and in the real world. The three triangles of the Triforce represent the virtues of Power, Wisdom, and Courage. These virtues correspond with the Body, the Mind, and the Soul.

In this piece of writing, I will outline the significance of the interconnectedness of mind, body and soul. Through personal accounts and discussion, I will detail my journey that led me to incorporate these three aspects into my daily life. This writing will be interwoven with academic definitions and research to enhance the overall understanding for the reader, and solidify my own learning. Furthermore, it will be a piece of exploration, drawing some interesting conclusions to end the assignment. When I was younger, I certainly did not have a conventional or particularly easy childhood. I was diagnosed with Asperger’s and ADHD at the age of six, and found school life challenging, often feeling ostracised and misunderstood by many of my peers and teachers. I was in and out of therapy, to no avail. Eventually, I was medicated for these ADHD “symptoms”, in order to succeed in school, and at life in general. This medication calmed me considerably, but also numbed my true character where I became somewhat like a zombie. A significant shift in my awareness began when I started university. I learnt that being neurodiverse does not make me defective in any way, and is instead a gift. I stopped the medication, tuning into the root of these diagnoses and learning to channel my energies ito self care, rather than assuming a victim posture. My meditative practice and journey into Shamanism, reinforced my awareness of the mind-body link. I also began to engage in soul development, where I connected deeply with nature and the inner divine. Soul development is heavily concerned with finding your life purpose, and developing yourself as a compassionate and loving being who contributes fully to the universe, bringing a sense of satisfaction and wholeness to the individual doing the work (Trout, S. 1997). My eyes were slowly beginning to open.

“After spending six years working in the mental health sector, and training as a counsellor, I began to notice the missing link in this modality; viewing the body as a whole system and the need for a holistic approach. The more aware I became, the more disillusioned I felt.”

From an indigenous and holistic perspective, involving in-depth, semi-structured interviews with Māori spiritual healers, the current dominant biomedical model of health and illness has a limited view of people and their wellbeing. It was found that five interconnected aspects were essential, in their eyes, for health and wellbeing. These were mind, body, spirit, family and land (Tabetha-Mark, G. & Lyons, A. 2010).

Furthermore, I began to recognise the lack in my life. After endless night shifts and considerable stress working within the public sector, I managed to improve my poor health using self-help techniques to redirect my thoughts. I was intent on improving my health, and spirituality had now become a prevalent part of my life. Consequently, I took a leap of faith, and launched myself into massage therapy training, to move away from the mainstream approach, opting to help people inhabit their bodies and step into their power. A four-year qualitative study on counselling students taught hatha yoga, meditation, and qigong, found a significant reduction in stress levels, positive physical, emotional, mental, spiritual and interpersonal changes, and better skills and therapeutic relationships (Schure, M, Christopher, J & S, 2008). This demonstrates the necessity of adopting a holistic approach to health, to bring balance into our lives, and feel more empowered as a result.

With this newfound awareness, I began to realise that I had somewhat lost connection to my body. It was not until this year that I truly learnt to treat my body like the temple it is, discovering the power of yoga as an exceptionally centering and well-rounded approach to maintaining general wellbeing. Research firmly supports the benefits of mind-body activities. Cowen, V. and Adams, T. (2005) studied twenty-six healthy adults participating in six weeks of either ashtanga yoga or hatha yoga class. Significant improvements were found in diastolic blood pressure, flexibility, perceived stress, and health perception.

Fortunately, the use of Yoga and other complementary healthcare interventions for both clinical and non-clinical populations has increased substantially in recent years (Salmon, P. et. al 2009). I managed to access all the tools needed for my own expansion, and learnt to harness my true potential and break out of existing fear patterns. I was no longer disconnected, but felt a sense of oneness within myself and with the universe at large. This phenomena has been explored and evidenced through a qualitative analysis of focus groups, which found that soul-based mind-body approaches such as Alexander Method, Taichi and Body-Oriented Psychotherapy increase an individual’s sense of wholeness, where they feel greater unity between body and self (Mehling, W. et. al. 2011).

Holding onto the premise that we think too much and feel too little, gave me the strength to sit with my emotions and pain, feeling them in my body and finding a way to channel them into creative pursuits. This is not something we are taught about within society or at school, which is worrying. Once we learn to really feel, and let go of resistance, sending positive messages to our cells, it is possible to thrive in this universe. This lesson came to me in full force when I met a hypnotherapist whilst on my travels through Guatemala. I worked on curing a twenty seven-year old chronic sleep condition through three therapy sessions, regular affirmations, and visualisations for the duration of a month. Two case studies conducted by Davis, E. (1994) further reinforces the notion that the stories we tell regularly, enter the subconscious mind, and then manifest in the body. These influence our limiting beliefs, sense of self-worth, ability to change and how we experience fear. Having an awareness of our ability to change the narrative can be a fundamental in the healing journey and contribute to positive holistic health and wellbeing.

Essentially, every single life experience, every triumph and every struggle has been leading up to this point. I have now committed to a journey to inspire and motivate individuals to connect with their multidimensional nature and truth, using a mind-body-soul approach so they can step into their power. I cannot stress enough how vital it is that we connect to our inner divinity, and our feelings, in order to be whole again. Fundamentally, we have trained ourselves away from truly feeling our emotions and our pain. We have become disembodied and lost connection to ourselves. It is only through true awareness gained by bridging the gaps with a holistic approach to health and wellbeing, and by re-directing our thoughts, that the individual can thrive in this ever-changing world with a healthy mind, body and soul.

Reference List:

Cowen, V. and Adams, T. (2005), Journal of Bodywork and Movement Therapies, Vol. 9(3), pages 211-219.

Davis, E. (1994). The unconscious power of affirmations: A hypnotherapist's perspective. Australian Journal of Clinical Hypnotherapy and Hypnosis, Vol.15(2), pages 53-65.

Mehling, W. et. al. (2011), Body Awareness: a phenomenological inquiry into the common ground of mind-body therapies, Philosophy, Ethics, and Humanities in Medicine, Vol. 6.

Salmon, P. et. al (2009), Yoga and Mindfulness: Clinical Aspects of an Ancient Mind/Body Practice, Cognitive and Behavioral Practice, Vol.16(1), pages 59-72.

Schure, M, Christopher, J & S (2008) Mind–Body Medicine and the Art of Self‐Care: Teaching Mindfulness to Counseling Students Through Yoga, Meditation, and Qigong, Journal of Counselling & Development, Volume 86, pages. 47-56.

Tabetha-Mark, G. & Lyons, A. (2010), Maori healers' views on wellbeing: The importance of mind, body, spirit, family and land, Social Science & Medicine, Vol. 70(11), pages 1756-1764.

Trout, S (1997) PhD, Born to Serve: The Evolution of the Soul Through Service. Alexandria, VA: Three Roses Press.