Thanks for visiting my blog and commenting! I am a student of naturopathic medicine, and we learn quite a bit about the mind body interaction, in face it’s a scientific field called PyschoNeuroImmunology, now isnt’ that a mouthful You adrenal/pituitary/hypothalamus axis is the control centre of your endocrine system, the system that uses hormones to exert physiological influence. One example of how your mind affects your body is stress. Stress invokes a fight or flight response, and when our thoughts are stressful (anxious, nervous, scared), our adrenal glands release cortisol to deal with the perceived stress, whether real or imagined. Cortisol is good in that it enables the body to react by increasing blood pressure, mobilizing glucose for energy, raising heart rate among other things, but over time and too much stress, the adrenal glands can become exhausted, leading to Adrenal Fatigue, a very common condition in our hectic world. Techniques can be used to address stress. Proper diaphragmatic breathing, visualization, guided imagery, anything to put the body into a relaxed state, where the parasympathetic nervous system is used. Perhaps, instead of thinking about how your body is going to hurt after your workout, think of the good feeling you get after going to the gym, the endorphins pumping, the sensations you experience while doing your yoga, whatever you like about working out. In this way, your mind associates the working out process with positive results and you will look forward to the gym, rather than feeling lethargic. Of course, sometimes your body needs a rest, and perhaps instead of weightlifting, you focus on detox, light cardio, sauna, swimming, hot tub whatever. Learning to listen to one’s body is the most important part about being healthy!! the muscle