The Noisy Roommate’s Guide to a Healthy Life: Mindfulness and Healing

Have you heard of Dan Harris from 10% Happier? Believe it or not, I once worked alongside him when I was a reporter in Boston. Back then, Dan gave no hints of embracing the world of Buddhist meditation. Little did I know, he was battling panic attacks. A significant on-air panic attack for ABC News led him down the path of meditation as a remedy. Now, he’s a meditation guru with his own app and podcast, educating others on the benefits of mindfulness and self-healing. Quite the transformation, isn’t it?

Recently, I stumbled upon one of his podcast episodes featuring Ellen Langer, the first female tenured professor in Harvard’s psychiatry department. She’s incredibly intelligent and unapologetically so, which I found quite amusing during the interview. What fascinated me most was her research uncovering the power of the unconscious mind, aligning so well with what we practice in yoga. Being present and paying attention has profound effects on our health and well-being. As they say, “believe and you can achieve.”

It sounds simple: change your mindset and reach your goals. So, why isn’t everyone more successful? It’s that little voice in our heads, the one saying, “I’m not good enough,” “I don’t have time,” “It’s not possible.” Michael Singer, a spiritual teacher and author, refers to this as the “noisy roommate in our head.” (Interestingly, my husband’s “roommate” isn’t negative, just bizarre.)

Take exercise, for example. How many people struggle with it? Maybe a mindset shift is needed. Langer conducted a study with cleaning staff whose jobs are physically demanding. They didn’t consider it exercise because that’s something you do after work, and they were understandably exhausted. Langer’s team educated one group, showing them how their work was actually exercise. This group, without changing their routines, lost weight and had better health outcomes than the uninformed group. A mindset change alone improved health predictors like blood pressure and BMI.

This excites me! Much of what I’m consuming these days confirms the body’s amazing ability to heal itself. As I prepared for surgery to remove part of my thyroid, I held this belief dear. I chose to remove a growing nodule to prevent future issues. Though I battled anxiety about losing a part of my body (I named it Azul), I focused on being present and training my brain and body for health and healing. Yoga teaches us, “where attention flows, energy goes.” I directed my energy toward recovery and rejuvenation, rather than worrying about disease. My intention was health and well-being. It’s tough, as Siddhartha taught: “to accept is easy, to continue is difficult.”

Harnessing the power of your mind takes time—it’s a practice. How can you redirect your thoughts and beliefs toward health and well-being every day? Whether it’s meditation, prayer, chanting, yoga, affirmations—anything that brings you into the moment and boosts your mood and attitude, releasing good hormones that help your body thrive.

Dr. Langer’s latest book, The Mindful Body, offers convincing insights. If you want to reinforce these ideas, join me in yoga class. Let’s come together as a community to do better.

Tags: #Mindfulness #Yoga #SelfHealing #DanHarris #EllenLanger #Meditation #HealthAndWellbeing #MindsetShift #MichaelSinger #TheUntetheredSoul #TheSurrenderExperiment #withDavida