Introduction To The Mind-Body Connection (1)

This is a recording of the first event of the Mind-Body Connection series of 2023. An introduction to Mind-Body Connection, where we have an overview of the MBC and why it's essential for overall well-being. I mostly share my personal experience and work with my clients, have a profound chat with you guys, and we conclude it with a gentle MBC meditation.

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Transcript

Hello everyone.

Thank you so much for joining the live event,

The first one of the series,

And it is a short introduction to the recording from this event on the platform.

First of all,

I would like to introduce myself.

My name is Diana Mirzaeva.

I am a Mind-Body Connection coach,

A psychosomatic specialist,

And a meditation teacher.

I have a course here on the Insight Timer dedicated to the topic of the Mind-Body Connection.

I give one-on-one private sessions and I have an eight-week long program.

You can follow me on Instagram to get to know me a little better,

To know all of the details of how it is possible to work with me,

And of course I'm very happy to connect with all of you here on Insight Timer.

Well,

Today the topic of the first event of the series would be introduction to the Mind-Body Connection.

I will mainly give you the general information about the topic,

But mostly I would like to share my personal experience,

The work,

The experience of my clients,

And of course to have a profound chat with you guys,

To know you better and why you are here,

So I can better serve you in the next live events.

I would of course like to state that in the beginning that it is a safe and supportive space for all the participants,

So please feel free to share your ideas,

Opinions,

Questions,

Experiences,

So we can explore the Mind-Body Connection deeper together.

Let's be present and have fun and chat with each other.

Okay,

So let's start with three deep breaths,

So we can arrive in this moment,

Let go of everything that probably bothers us and concentrate on ourselves and our space.

So let's breathe in through the nose and breathe out through the mouth.

You can do any sound,

Try to be wild and let everything go out with a sigh.

So let's start.

In,

Out.

Try to make it long,

A little deeper breath in,

Out.

Try to relax all your muscles,

Close your eyes if it feels right for you,

And the final deep breath in.

Alright,

Well I hope that this helped a little bit to become a little bit more playful,

Relaxed.

And yes,

For now I would first of all like to thank Insight Timer,

This great platform which I have been using as a meditator for the past seven years,

And I'm sure that many of you guys have positive experience with the application too.

So also I would like to thank you in advance for all your donations,

So we can have these free live sessions,

So the teachers can contribute more of their content,

And the team of Insight Timer can continue supporting all of us.

Well,

Let's start our session with a short explanation of what actually mind-body connection is.

And please guys,

Let me know in the chat box whether you're familiar with the topic,

Whether maybe you just saw the title of this event for the first time,

And you have no clear idea what we are going to talk about,

Or whether you are experienced in that.

I'm really curious to know your background in this topic.

Well,

Basically,

If to speak in a simple language,

Mind-body connection suggests that all of our thoughts and emotions,

Our beliefs and psychological experiences have profound impact on our physical health,

And vice versa.

So whether our physical body can definitely influence our emotional state,

Our thoughts,

Our perception of the world,

And so on.

And for me,

As I see that,

It is quite impossible to say which is primary,

Body or the mind.

That is why I am an adept of the holistic approach,

If so to say,

That we cannot see one without the other.

So this whole concept acknowledges that our mental and emotional states can influence various body functions,

Such as our immune system,

Our hormones,

And even the healing processes.

For example,

I'm sure that we are all aware of the negative impact of stress on our bodies,

Or maybe chronic negative emotions that can lower the abilities of our immune system,

Our physical ailments.

And positive mindset,

Positive experiences and emotions,

Emotional well-being will promote better physical health as well.

So here I would like to illustrate it with an example of my recent sessions with a client.

So her request,

It was a session specifically dedicated to psychosomatic,

So we were deeply working with the body,

But her request was that she started having her sweat odor changed because of COVID,

As she was thinking,

And this bothered her a lot.

So she didn't understand what was wrong with her body,

None of the doctors could give her a clear answer,

And she decided to explore it from within during our session.

And while I was guiding her deeper and deeper into her body and subconscious mind,

We discovered that there was a lot of actual danger and huge amount of stress in her body and in her life,

Which she already perceived as normal.

So she got used to that and she didn't actually think that it could anyhow bother her.

So there were some specific events in her life and financial burdens that threatened the life of her and her husband.

So with the help of some psychosomatic tools and the deep guidance,

We could find at the first level that there was a specific event in her recent years that turned on her fight-or-flight mode.

So she was constantly living,

Fighting for her life.

And when we came deeper to discover why it happened to her or why she feels this way,

How can she deal with the situation,

We could explore,

We could find that in her adolescent years,

She was sexually assaulted.

And this is where this fight-or-flight mode turned on in her body.

And she was living in this mode for 41 years.

Now,

Today,

She is 53.

So we can imagine how her body wanted to survive and was surviving during all of this,

All of these years.

So we could gently work through that first moment that was a switch.

We could safely come out of that situation.

Safely,

I mean emotionally.

So we could rewire the brain and give the body another,

The opposite feeling of safety.

So we could carry this safety into the present moment and teach the body how to live in safety from now on.

Of course,

It requires a lot of daily or even hourly practice to come back to the safe mode.

But the most important is that we worked with that first situation,

Which will not be bothering her that much in her body.

And of course,

Here is another moment that it is much more beneficial to work continuously with a therapist,

With a specialist or a coach.

So you guys will be together in this.

So you will have the support and you will be coming back to your safe mode.

You will teach your body more regularly what it means to live freely and later to start enjoying life.

So this is just a very bright and a very profound example that I found in my practice recently,

Which I think greatly illustrates the connection between our mind and body.

And this session was about six weeks ago and this client,

This lady said after about three weeks from our first session that she's not bothered by her sweat odor anymore.

So that changed,

Almost changed back to the previous state.

So that is incredible.

That is how our body can signal us that,

All right,

I'm healing and I'm feeling better.

And that is a great illustration that all of the tools that we apply to the mind-body connection,

To building this connection,

They really work.

Our bodies speak to us and we have to hear them.

So that is why the holistic health and holistic approach are so important in the mind-body connection.

And of course,

For our well-being,

For our health,

It is important to address to both our mental and physical bodies.

Well,

This was the story of my client.

I hope it was not only illustrative,

But motivational for you guys and probably inspiring.

And I would like to share your thoughts on the examples,

Maybe from your life.

How do you notice that your bodies and your minds are connected?

How do they talk to each other?

Or how do you listen to them?

And what do they say to you?

If you don't mind sharing that,

Please,

I would really want to hear a bit from you back.

All right.

Well,

If anyone would like to contribute to the comments,

Please do so.

And from my personal experience,

Also one of the recent illustrations,

Let's say,

A couple of months ago,

There was a very challenging period of my life when I lost a family member.

And I wasn't with my family at that moment.

And my family is on another continent.

And naturally,

I decided just to connect with my emotions,

With all the feelings,

With all the grief.

And I honestly couldn't do that before.

And for some reason,

I was guided to do so now.

Because I guess there was nothing else I could do.

Of course,

I got support of my friends here,

Where I am now.

But still,

I guess guys can understand that it's not the same as being with your family in such moments.

And I started to notice that I was physically digesting my negative emotions,

All of that heaviness and darkness inside of me.

I felt how it was digested in my stomach.

And all my belly area went just crazy.

And of course,

I started feeling not well at some moments.

I was nauseous.

But I knew that it was alright.

Because this was how my body was physically living through all of that emotions and releasing them.

Not only through the tears or any thoughts,

Any mental support that I could give myself as well.

But through my body.

And with the time,

Well they say time heals.

And partly,

I can definitely say that is so.

But with the time,

My body could let go,

Could process it all.

And I also noticed that if previously I would help myself,

Let's say,

It was helping actually,

With some comforting food,

Right?

Or sweets,

Which I was at some point addicted to,

You know.

Also the topic of food and the body is very sensitive,

So I will not go deep during the session there.

But I just couldn't eat because my body was digesting something.

So there was no food needed at all.

And for some,

There could be physical benefits such as,

I don't know,

Losing weight or better body shape.

Which are,

Of course,

Just the consequences of you working through your emotions.

But what surprised me,

That my body helped me so much to let go of this threatening experience that I could go through that.

Not only just saying by myself,

Being with myself,

But also thanks to my body.

And after that experience,

I can definitely see a deeper connection within me.

I can hear my body,

Its responses,

Some body parts or organs much more clearly,

Of course.

And I'm so much more grateful just to have the body to live in.

So this is a natural feeling that arose after that.

And why,

First of all,

I'm sharing this with you guys.

Because if I could feel it in my body,

In my experience,

If I could go this way myself,

I know where to guide my clients.

I know how to help and how to support them.

How it felt before and how it feels now.

And to see this dramatic change.

And I am a million percent sure that it is all possible,

That it is all super beneficial.

And I guess this also gives me the power to be a better coach for my clients.

Now I am sure that I not only have the tools to guide,

But I have myself,

My intuition and my body to be the guide for you guys.

So that was very tragic,

But very powerful life experience.

And I can see that you guys also shared a lot in the comment section.

Let me read them out loud and I'll probably give some feedback to you.

So Chelsea,

I'm coming out of a chronic fatigue relapse and notice my nervous system is haywire.

Right.

Well,

Speaking about chronic fatigue,

Definitely that's also a big topic.

But speaking of the nervous system regulation,

Definitely this is what our bodies need first of all.

This is the basis of any healing process.

And I'm so glad that you are coming out of that state and that you're taking care of yourself and your nervous system.

I'm sure that you will see the benefits,

The results of it undoubtedly.

Well,

Thank you for sharing that.

And Erica,

You're saying,

I struggled with intrusive thoughts after giving birth,

But I've been on a new spiritual journey and remembering to be kind to myself.

My nervous system is overloaded and I've been working through that.

Well,

Definitely given birth,

Having baby,

Your life changes.

Well,

I can't even imagine how immense,

How immensely it can feel.

And definitely that's so important to support yourself as much as possible.

And that is completely understandable that your nervous system is overloaded,

As you're saying.

But I'm sure you will help yourself to regulate,

To go through the challenging moments,

Find more joy in being a mom.

Yes,

That is so important,

Not only to give everything to your baby,

But also to yourself.

Right.

Well,

Great.

Congratulations on your baby's birth.

Well,

And I wish you both to be in strong health.

Chelsea,

You're saying that I notice I have body symptoms and my mind reacts with fear to my body symptoms.

The fear is part of my mind trying to protect me because it feels threatening by my body.

Yes.

Well,

The fear definitely lives in the mind.

How I see it within the psychosomatic lens is that fear is nothing else but lack of information for our mind.

So that is why I totally understand your point here.

And here I would definitely recommend you to trust your body,

Your processes,

Because our bodies are so wise.

They have been living on the planet for thousands and millions of years developing.

And our brain is just amazing.

So I would definitely say that we cannot comprehend fully with our mind.

We can't comprehend our physical body and our brain.

We don't know everything about them,

But we have to place our trust there.

And fear.

Yes,

Definitely.

That's great that you acknowledge that.

And it means that you can work with that.

Let the fear be somewhere by your side as a little,

Little fear.

Do not let it grow over you because you are much bigger than this fear.

And here I would also like to mention that in my profile,

You guys can find the practice how to live through your emotions.

So this is a short practice for about 10 minutes where you will work with your emotions in the mind,

In your heart and in your body.

And this is very related to the aspect of fear.

So you are much bigger than anything that is in your mind or body.

So you got the power.

You got the power.

All right.

And Erica,

Also one more comment from you.

I have Crohn's disease and got out of my medicine.

Do you see how my body is actually reacting to my emotional state and diet?

Well,

That's so interesting.

Right.

And I hope that this journey will be as gentle as possible for you.

But you're so courageous that you are that you're that brave to look how your body naturally responds to your emotions,

To what you eat.

It means that you can regulate that,

That you can probably give yourself more support or change something in your environment or your diet and heal from within,

Not only with the medicine,

But naturally.

But please be careful here.

Try to find the balance.

And I am definitely not against medicine.

It can definitely support us.

And sometimes it is essential to live.

So yes,

Thank you for sharing your experience and your journeys,

All of you.

And well,

Let's probably continue to the practices that I would like to mention during the session.

Practices that could help you establish a better communication between your mind and body.

Various techniques such as probably mindful breathing that we can access without preparation,

Without doing anything at almost any moment of our life.

Just mindful breathing.

Or you can also try to listen to your heartbeat and that's it.

Do not try to analyze anything in your head.

Just be here with yourself,

With your body and be an observer and listener.

Another one of my favorite tools and practices is a body scan meditation,

Which not only for me helps to relax before falling asleep,

But also establishes a smooth communication between all the body parts.

Probably not only the body parts,

But organs or vessels in the body.

That's really powerful.

So you can each time go deeper and enhance your self-practice with body scan.

Another one is mindful eating.

Every time that we get a food or a drink,

Even just a glass of water,

Try to see how your body takes that,

How your body leads your response to that.

So Erica,

I'm sure that you're also applying that to yourself as you're working with your emotional state and your diet,

Right?

Trying to minimize medicine at this moment.

Definitely.

And for example,

In my case,

As I mentioned previously,

I was addicted to sweets,

Sweet food,

To some desserts.

I could control myself,

But it was an addiction.

But when I started noticing and seeing clearly how negatively sugar affects my body,

But first of all,

My emotional state,

I was shocked at what it took me just to listen and to observe myself during the day.

A few hours later,

I got a dessert,

For example,

What was happening with me,

Inside of me and around me because of that.

And I didn't like that.

And this is where I decided to change the direction to get a healthier diet,

To balance that.

Nowadays,

I definitely eat desserts,

But very,

I cannot even say carefully because I don't have to take that much care of that anymore.

I just listen first to my body and my body tells me whether,

All right,

That wouldn't hurt in this moment or no,

I don't really want that.

It's just your brain wanting a sugar spike or something to get some easy dopamine and so on.

Right,

So I guess mindful eating might be one of the most challenging practices for most of us.

Well,

But it is something that we can develop on our own,

Just by ourselves,

And it's really powerful.

All right,

If you guys have something to add to what helps you to listen to your bodies,

Your minds,

Your emotions better,

We will all be grateful to see the tools,

The techniques that work best for you.

And yeah,

Let's take a little pause here and wait for someone.

Yeah,

Also I would like to remind that I will be hosting these live events weekly on Saturdays 12 p.

M.

And I would be really happy to see all of you guys again in seven days.

And one more time,

I would like to thank you for your presence,

For building this community together.

Please make sure to subscribe to my profile so you can get an access to all of the meditations which are available for free and in the plus version also get to know my course and to follow up the updates from the Mind Body Connection live events and to join us all the time.

And of course,

Thank you so much for your donations.

All right,

Well also when we were speaking about building Mind Body Connection,

All of the techniques that can help us do that,

First we should approach that from the place of self-compassion and self-love.

Not because you want your body to talk to you louder or you want your intuition to work better.

No,

Just because you love yourself and you want the best for yourself,

Which you,

Each of you guys,

Each of us and everyone deserve the best.

So this should be the ground,

Self-compassion and self-love of building the Mind Body Connection without any rush,

Without any strong desire to achieve something,

Without being attached to the result.

Just being here for yourself,

Discovering yourself,

Human nature,

Getting to know yourself better and inevitably it will improve the quality of your life.

And of course,

You can gently integrate Mind Body Connection practices in your daily routines.

Again,

See how it works for you,

Whether some of the techniques or tools might resonate with you,

Maybe some will not.

And it's totally fine,

It's all personal here and it's all the personal journeys that we take.

Well,

Also I would like to make a remark that if you feel that you need support in this journey of knowing yourself or you want to go deeper and you need some guidance,

Please also consider working with a coach,

With a specialist,

Maybe in a psychological group,

Which are also getting more popular nowadays.

So you can get the support and you will not be alone in this.

And trust me that if you're working as a team with somebody to achieve your goals,

To deepen your experiences,

You will get there much faster,

With much more fun and much easier.

So if you need any support or any help,

You can also contact me for that.

There is a direct message button in my profile,

I believe so.

And you can follow me on Instagram as well.

There I'm sharing more tools,

Practices,

Personal experiences,

My everyday life.

So I would be really happy to connect with all of you there.

And I would really be happy to hear your stories,

Your journeys with Mind Body Connection anytime on any platform.

And I'm saying this sincerely from my heart,

Because I love getting to know mindful people,

The ones who strive for better lives,

Not only for themselves,

But for the whole community.

So thank you so much for being here.

And I would like to ask you guys what you would take with you from our today's session,

Whether some information was new for you,

Or whether you've learned something,

Whether you could hear some support from participants,

Or perhaps from me.

I would really like your feedback about our session.

You can get some time to put it down.

And at the end,

Let's have a little mindful meditation.

So as I mentioned,

That is perfect for the beginners.

And of course,

Will be very beneficial for advanced practitioners too.

So I will be guiding you guys through this whole meditation.

And let's first of all sit comfortably.

Make sure that no notifications will disturb you.

Straighten your back,

Your spine.

You can practice it sitting or lying down.

Press your hands on your lap or beside your body.

Gently close your eyes with your next exhale.

Or soften your gaze in front of you.

And then send your breath into your belly.

Try to take a slightly deeper breath,

Which feels comfortable through your nose.

And exhale gently through your nose as well.

Let all of the tension,

All of the physical or emotional spikes leave your body just for a few minutes.

And shift your focus from your head to your body.

Try to feel all the body parts at once.

And just make a mental note for yourself of how you feel at this moment.

Focus on your feet,

Your left foot and right foot.

And let your attention shower your lower legs,

Knees and thighs,

Hips and pelvic area,

Lower back and belly,

Middle back and stomach and ribcage,

Your chest and upper back.

Feel your heartbeat,

Movement of your lungs,

Your shoulders and arms,

Middle of your palms and all the fingers.

Go up your neck,

Your face,

Front,

Scalp,

Your brain and whole head.

Next,

Bring your attention to your breath,

To the spot where you feel it most evidently.

It might be your chest area,

Under your nose or your belly.

And start noticing all the sensations in your whole body that the breath causes.

Which body parts react to the breath and how do they react?

Expand your awareness to your surroundings where your body is.

And listen to all the sounds around you in your room and outside the building.

Try to identify each sound but do not label them as positive or negative.

Just acknowledge each one of them.

Find yourself in your surroundings,

Being surrounded by all the sounds,

Probably smells,

Voices or breath of the air.

And feel the support of the surface beneath you.

Feel the weight of your body,

The position of your body and take a deeper breath to gently come out of this practice.

You can slowly open your eyes and of course express gratitude to yourself for showing up for this meditation practice,

For this life event.

Gratitude to all this community and gratitude to the whole platform that allows us to connect to each other.

I wish you to carry this sense of presence and mindfulness throughout your day today.

And I want to thank you all guys for joining our session,

For being here with me during all this time,

No matter the technical problems.

I'm really happy to see each of you here.

You guys are very welcome.

If there are any questions at the end,

Please let me know.

Once again you can contact me on the set timer.

I will be happy to see you in my Instagram page.

And one more time thank you all for your donations.

Please check my library of the guided meditation and courses.

And next time,

Next week we will see each other for another aspect of the mind-body connection that we will discover a bit deeper.

And please prepare your questions,

Your comments and enjoy the rest of the weekend and the next week.

Thank you all guys and bye!