Connecting the Mind and Body

By Scott Anderson

       The state of the mind strongly influences the state of the body; I think we’ve all experienced how health suffers during stressful times. Generally less appreciated is the power of the body to influence the mind. Through mindful movement and breathing, the body holds promise as a vehicle to work with the mind. With an understanding of ancient Yoga texts, respiratory physiology and neurophysiology, we have the potential to merge the best of old and new into movement practices that help downshift the brain from fight/flight/freeze response, into a more context-appropriate state of relaxed, focused attention.

I’m continuing to explore ancient wisdom in pursuing a Ph.D. minor in Religious Studies, while doing a deep-dive into the anatomy and physiology of movement based practices in my work in the field of Kinesiology. In the forthcoming workshops I’ll be teaching at EY, we’ll have a chance to jointly explore the body’s potential to influence the brain, and the brain’s potential to intelligently work with the body.

June 2019