Mind over matter How Mindfulness builds immunity

In an era where health and well-being are increasingly becoming the focus of our lives, the spotlight has turned to mindfulness meditation as a potential catalyst for enhancing human health and resilience. The surge of interest in mindfulness and its impact on our overall well-being has given rise to intriguing studies and remarkable anecdotes that spotlight the profound influence of this ancient practice on our immunity and vitality. Let’s delve deeper into it.

If you ask Wim Hof, (popularly known as the ‘The Iceman’, holder of over 25 Guinness World Records and renowned for pushing his body’s immune system to superhuman limits,) about his secret immunity booster you would be surprised to know that the answer is mindful meditation.

The 60-year-old Dutchman has many frozen feats under his belt including climbing Mt. Everest braving hurricane-force wind chills (-53°C, -63°F) in just a pair of shorts, and completing a marathon above the arctic circle barefoot. Hof credits his ability to influence his Autonomous Nervous System (ANS) through concentration and meditation for achieving these superhuman feats.

ANS is a system that largely acts ‘involuntarily’ and regulates functions such as heart rate, digestion, pupil dilation, respiration, and so on. For years, science has believed that it is impossible to influence our ANS as the activities are unconscious in nature.

However, Wim Hof has squashed these beliefs and even took on a challenge where he suppressed his immune system after being injected with endotoxin (bacteria) which in most cases should lead to high levels of inflammation and flu-like symptoms. The researchers were surprised to find that the pathogen has zero impact on Wim’s body. Just to prove that he was not an anomaly or exception to the rule, he taught his meditative breathing technique to 12 students who displayed the same resistance to the bacteria.

Our immune system is one of the most critical, and fascinating, aspects of the mind-body connection. It is one of the most critical indicators of our physical fitness. It is our body's defense system, often referred to as our ‘armed forces’ that safeguard us against foreign bodies such as viruses and bacteria. It is highly intelligent and called our ‘floating brain’ due to its ability to communicate with the brain through chemical messages that float inside our body. This means that your thoughts, moods, sensations, and expectations are transmitted to your immune cells.

As mindful meditation improves self-awareness and creates a positive mental environment for the immune system to flourish, it is safe to say that mindfulness helps our immune system.

The ANS is divided into two intertwined and complementary branches called the Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) and the Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS). The former is responsible for your day-to-day activities that happen when your body is at rest or in other words, rest and digest activities such as digesting, pupil dilation, heartbeat, respiration and so on. The latter is focused on getting you out of trouble. When you anticipate that you will be in a dangerous situation or detect that you are already in one, your fight, fight or freeze response kicks in. Your heart races, your palms sweat, and it’s harder to think about anything more complex than the next move you’re about to make until you make it and return to safety. Unless you are in a stressful situation where you need this reaction, you continue to be in rest and digest mode.

One of the first things that your body does when you are in reaction mode is to hold back your immune system. After all, it hardly matters if you catch an infection later, what matters is if you escape the lion who might eat you.

Though we don’t live under the threat of wild animals anymore, we are often under persistent stress or pressure from work, relationships, finances, news, and so on. As the body perceives these threats to be at the same level as the lion, we never give the body a chance to rejuvenate and repair itself completely.

Consistent practice of mindful meditation disrupts the cycle of stress and gives it a well-deserved break. No wonder that meditating for merely 10 minutes feels as refreshing as taking a nap.

In conclusion, the intersection of mindfulness meditation and immunity is a captivating realm where ancient wisdom meets modern science. The journey through the anecdotes of individuals like Wim Hof and the exploration of how mindfulness influences the intricate dynamics of our immune system reveal the potential of this practice to shape our well-being.

Our immune system, a sentinel of our physical health, thrives in an environment of self-awareness and positivity fostered by mindfulness. Mindful meditation not only allows us to navigate the intricacies of our body's response systems but also offers respite from the constant onslaught of modern stressors.

So, as you dedicate a mere fraction of your day to mindfulness, remember that you're engaging in a profound journey—one that, much like a refreshing nap, reinvigorates your mind, body, and spirit.