The mind and body conundrum

There are books that put forth a different view of life, and there are those that give you a practice session on how you can use those methodologies further. Your Body Speaks Your Mind by Deb Shapiro is of the latter echelon, and wonderfully interactive in nature.

As the title itself suggests, the writer who is trained in Buddhist meditation, Jungian psychology in both England and America has written this book to help one learn to interpret one’s body’s language of symptoms. And it’s not all mumbo jumbo, before you start going judgemental!

In essence, the book recounts how illness is attributed to the norm of physical, environmental and genetic factors, but then it stops you in your tracks as it goes further into showing you the “extraordinary intimate two-way communication between your physical state and your mental and emotional health.”

Pause. Let it sink in without any learnt behaviour. It just is true. Shapiro, though her mindfulness and years of practice with lessons from teachers like the Dalai Lama, Sri Swami Satchidananda, HE Tai Situ Rinpoche and Chögyam Trungpa Rinpoche has sieved through a large body of knowledge, sifted through stress, ill health and how our mind dictates how we move forward in a very startling and deep understanding.  

From taking each part of the body, be it the head, toes, central nervous system, immunity, respiratory, heart and digestive system, she cites examples to keep it real, and then goes forth to give you practical solutions though various exercises.

In an excerpt, Shapiro writes, “A symptom is never an isolated event... It is a gathering of disturbances, difficulties, or conflicting issues that may have been present for days, months, or even years. No matter how far down you may push the feeling, it does not go away. Your body is like an airplane’s black box, that records your every experience and response.”

Each person has something different they can take away. The one thing it brings to light is how we have, as humans, learned to suppress negatives, or what we find difficult to deal with. Shapiro and her husband Ed have authored over 20 mindful books, and this one decodes the emotional, psychological and spiritual messages that underlie illness. Read it, breathe in and let go of the angst... into a healthy future.