Healing with Mindfulness

Mindfulness can literally help rejuvenate and heal.

Mindfulness involves being fully present in the moment. Not just during meditation, but throughout our daily lives.

Ellen Langer, a Harvard psychologist, has conducted extensive research on the mind-body connection. Her findings provide stunning evidence that our minds and bodies are connected in deep, intricate, and sometimes surprising ways.

In one of her studies, Langer invited a group of elderly individuals to participate in a week-long retreat where they were asked to live as if they were 20 years younger. She found that after just one week, participants exhibited improvements in vision, hearing, memory, strength, and even physical appearance. These results were replicated by subsequent studies. (Pagnini et al., 2019)

Langer's research also explored the perception of time and its effect on healing. In one experiment, participants were inflicted with a minor wound and were told that the clock in the room was either speeding up or slowing down. Those who believed that time was passing more quickly experienced faster wound healing compared to the others.

Additionally, her team informed one group of housekeepers that their daily work activities constituted good exercise. As a result, this group experienced significant improvements in physical condition compared to the control group (Crum & Langer, 2007).

Mindfulness has a profound impact on our physical and mental well-being. By being present in the moment, maintaining a youthful mental state, and embracing uncertainty, we can reap its healing and rejuvenating powers.

Accepting uncertainty is a way to practice mindfulness. Because where they are no doubts, there is no choice.

References:

• Levitt, S. D. (Host). (2024-06-07). Pay Attention! (Your Body Will Thank You) (No. 133) [Audio podcast episode]. In People I (Mostly) Admire. Freakonomics. URL: https://freakonomics.com/podcast/pay-attention-your-body-will-thank-you/
• Langer, E. (2010). Counterclockwise: A Proven Way to Think Yourself Younger and Healthier. Hachette UK.
• Langer, E. (2023). The Mindful Body: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health. Random House Publishing Group.
• Pagnini, F., Cavalera, C., Volpato, E., Comazzi, B., Riboni, F. V., Valota, C., Bercovitz, K., Molinari, E., Banfi, P., Phillips, D., & Langer, E. (2019). Ageing as a mindset: A study protocol to rejuvenate older adults with a counterclockwise psychological intervention. BMJ Open, 9(7), e030411. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-030411
• Crum, A. J., & Langer, E. J. (2007). Mind-Set Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect. Psychological Science, 18(2), 165–171. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-9280.2007.01867.