The question of the connection between mental and physical health has been asked repetitively for centuries, and it has only been in the last several decades that Western medicine has caught up to holistic practices and began to acknowledge an interdependent relationship between the two. Mental and emotional patterns create biochemical pathways in the body, and it follows that just as the mind affects the body, so too the body can affect the mind.
The great Persian poet Rumi offered his inspired take on love, advising the seekers to consider, “your task is not to seek for love, but merely to seek and find all the barriers within yourself that you have built against it.” Substitute the word “healing” for “love” and you have the basic philosophy that lies at the heart of any true holistic healing modality. Your body naturally cultivates wellness. Every second of every day, every cell in your body is working to bring your body back into a state of optimal functioning.
What an interesting saying, ‘food for thought’, like an idea to ‘chew on’.
When it comes to digestion, it is as much about our brain as it is our gut. Sayings like these indicate our subconscious awareness of this gut-brain connection and relationship. Both can affect and mirror each other in how they process and digest things.