Many people think of the mind, the body, and the spirit as separate entities. They separate each aspect like this:
- The mind is related to emotions, thoughts, and mental well-being.
- The body is related to movement, muscles, and physical well-being.
- The spirit is related to something greater than yourself and spiritual well-being has its own development process.
However, over the past 100 years, leading scientists, philosophers, and analysts around the world, such as Joan Borysenko, Deepak Chopra, Randolph Byrd, and Albert Einstein, have been slowly uncovering the truth. The truth is that these three aspects of human health are deeply interconnected. Mental, physical, and spiritual health rely on each other to create overall wellbeing. When one weakens, they all weaken. Recently, a fourth aspect, emotional well-being, is now being viewed as something separate from mental well-being and directly impacts overall health!
We know what you’re thinking… How could our thoughts control our physiology and vice versa?
A great example of this interconnection is the stress response! Put simply, stress is registered in the mind. Stress triggers corrosive hormones, like adrenaline and cortisol, to be released. Within milliseconds, autonomic functions, like digestion and immune response, are suppressed, while thoughts and emotions are refocused on survival, or what Harvard physiologist, Walter Cannon, coined as “fight-or-flight”. A lot happens within a few seconds of being stressed! Now imagine what happens when you remain in this state of stress for months or years! Some of us do. The amount of damage caused by this imbalance of mind, body, spirit, and now emotion, leads to a laundry list of diseases and health issues in the future.
In good news, a balance between these aspects of health is quite attainable!
This is what inspired Jamie Kliewe to found OMNI Balanced Life Center. Kliewe understood that a balance between modern medicine tools and traditional medicine techniques would create a great pathway to mind-body-spirit connection!
So, we sat down with Kliewe to hear about her journey as a holistic practitioner and what she does to strengthen her mind-body-spirit connection:
OMNI: “What originally drew you to holistic wellness and a more whole approach to healing?”
JAMIE: “Looking back over my life, I was interested in and practiced a holistic lifestyle to the best of my education and ability since I was a teenager. It became evident to me later in life that this is where I needed to be. So eventually, when my children got old enough, I went back to school to get some more education, certifications, and licensure to make this a career for myself. I believe this was innate inside of me for a very long time!”
OMNI: “Do you believe the current healthcare system is starting to recognize the mind-body-spirit connection?”
JAMIE: “I do believe that the current healthcare system is recognizing Mind-Body-Spirit connection. Science is heading in the right direction. I also think there is a lot more room to grow. The path to a Mind-Body-Spirit connection is only beginning. There are a lot of different factors involved in the recognition process and some may try to prevent some information from coming forward. But, the truth is the truth! I see most of the recognition happening on the ground level with the physicians. Though there are a lot of wonderful life-saving attributes to modern medicine, many physicians are realizing some of the shortcomings and pitfalls, which is nice to see.”
OMNI: “To improve your own wellness, what are some mind-body-spirit connection techniques you use?”
JAMIE: “Of course, as practitioners, we have to practice what we preach! We can’t be telling everybody else what to do and not be making an effort to do those things ourselves. I am very adamant about that. I try to wake up early before everyone in my family gets up in the morning. I, then, practice prayer and meditation. Journaling is something I have been doing for a very long time! I feel when I have a lot of things running around in my head, getting them down on paper is an opportunity to express those thoughts. I practice self-care to avoid burnout. My husband and I will take vacation time to recharge our batteries, which is very important. I also follow the 90/10 rule. I will be 90% on target with my diet and exercise routine while giving myself some room for my favorite treats!”
As the paradigm shifts, we continue to see the blending of modern and traditional healing practicing. The future of the Mind-Body-Spirit connection is bright, exciting, and lead by passionate practitioners, like Kliewe, who want to see a balanced healthy community!
