My fascination with the concept of epigenetics came about with my introduction to cellular biologist, Dr. Bruce Lipton who began his epigenetic quest in the 60's and who synthesized his many years of research in 2007 in the intriguing book, The Biology of Belief-unleashing the power of consciousness, matter & miracles. I attended a couple of his wonderfully animated talks and power point presentations and have read his other works including his 2013 travail, The Honeymoon Effect, the science of creating heaven on earth. Now, that peaks my interest! Heaven on earth? Yes, please! So what is epigenetics, you ask? "Epigenetics is the science of how environmental signals select, modify, and regulate gene activity." Biology of Belief It is the study of genes "epi" (above) the genes. It suggests that the expression of your cells is in direct relationship to the environment in which they live. So, basically, epigenetics is the study of what turns your genes "on" and "off". Since becoming a teacher in 1985, then a Biodanza healing movement facilitator in 2007 and now a Life Coach, I have always been guiding people to connect to their right lives...that space where all is good and flowing for them. The more I study life, the more I am convinced that wrapping the mind around the implications of epigenetic studies can be supremely beneficial to human beings. Taking the time to understand epigenetics offers us the possibility to get out from under the media machine that wants us to believe that we have no control over our health and wellness. How many times have you heard someone say, "Well, my father had such and such, so I guess I'll get it, too." We are trained to think like this. The doctors tell us this. Our families act as if it's a given that we, too, will inherit it all..the good and the bad. I hope that you won't let doctors, friends, the countless articles in magazines lead you to believe that you are anything less than POWERFUL and can play a major influence on your JOY FACTOR in life. And please, don't let medicine, which has it's proper place in the medical world, be your go-to solution. Remember, Big Pharma stands to loose billions if we all start questioning the exorbitant use of pharmaceuticals among Americans (70% of Americans take prescription drugs!). Please, spare me more commercials with the happy people touting amazing drugs to remedy problems where more of the commercial is spent on the dire and sometimes deadly side effects!!! So, in honor of love for self and healing the body... ....here are my 5 top take-aways from the science of Epigenetics and other stuff I love that shape the way I live and the way I work. 1. LOVE, CONTACT & CARESS! The best growth promoter for health and wellness is LOVE. When in the love state, the brain releases chemicals (dopamine, oxytocin, vasopressin) that go to the cells that control gene activity. It's the pleasure principle and it has a ripple effect. Lipton says that given we humans are made of atoms and that atoms are vortexes of energy that send out ripples and waves, we can become "nano-tornados of energy...force fields of love" if we so choose. If in a good vibe, our atom filled body becomes entangled with others and voila....we can either grow a positive energy or reek havoc with negativity. If you mix in some affectionate contact and caress with others, this also activates hormones in your body. The touch acts positively on your skin (the body's largest organ) transmitting signals to your body to produce even more feel good hormones. These hormones circulate in your body and affect your cells positively on a biological level. Think of a mother breastfeeding and how warm and fuzzy and lovely that feels. The body is being flooded with oxytocin and both are feeling extreme love...unless the baby is biting, but that's another story! The late, great molecular biologist Dr. Candace Pert in her work, The Molecules of Emotion, why you feel the way you do tells us that "from my research with endorphins, I know the power of touch to stimulate and regulate our natural chemicals, the ones that are tailored to act at precisely the right times in exactly the appropriate dosages to maximize our feelings of health and well-being." Hmmm....this is all sounding so good! More hugs and love = more healthy cells= LIFE being supported in a positive way 2. IT'S THE ENVIRONMENT! The environment we choose to place ourselves in on a daily basis is KEY to our overall health and wellness. If you live in a high stress world where your relationships, fear, job and life style create constant mind•body•spirit stress, your body will react accordingly. Your immune system function will break down due to the increased cortisol levels surging through your body along with other things like norepinephrine, cytokines and histamines which in abundance will create chronic inflammation and illness. These kinds of environments don't support LIFE. Conversely, if you tend to your garden of life and strive to create a positive environment you can live a mostly happy and healthy life. This means putting your attention on creating an environment where the body is well fed with good foods, lots of love and good sex, leisure activities that get your body moving, a job you are passionate about and a spiritual connection to something greater...to name a few. Cells in your body are shaped by where they live. Make it a happy place! Cells always move forward towards signals that give LIFE! 3. YOUR DNA IS NOT YOUR DRIVER! According to Dr. Lipton the vast majority of people are born with genes "that should enable them to live a happy and healthy life." He says that there around around 10% +- of inherited DNA illnesses that, yes, may get passed on. But that's it. 10%. He explains through science, so read the book! The vast majority of illness, as you can see, is related to environmental aspects and..... Belief. If you hand your belief system over to the 21st century thoughts on health and wellness and you truly believe you are going to get the dis-ease, like Angelina Joli did with her preventative radical mastectomy, then you probably will fall ill. Her decision to react with surgery was the right one for her in her case. She believed that her future entailed breast cancer and if it's true that our thoughts resonate with us and the world, then you will bring on what you are believing. What are your belief values about YOUR health and wellness? In her well researched book, Mind Over Medicine, Scientific Proof that you Can Heal Yourself, Dr. Lissa Rankin writes about dozens and dozens of cases showing us that our genes are "fluid, flexible, and highly influenced by our environment." Her conclusion also shows that emotional support and owning your own power of thought to heal creates positive outcomes in health and wellness. I really recommend this book for those who want to read more about other people's experiences with self healing. Remember! You are NOT a prisoner of your DNA...no matter who tells you that you are. You have the POWER to control your genes. Do not "think" yourself sick! 4. THE SUBCONSCIOUS IS MORE IMPORTANT THAN YOU THINK! Your subconscious mind controls 90% of your life...what you do and what you think. The other 10% comes from the cortex which is your identity source and is the seat of your creativity sparking your wishes, aspirations and dreams. But the subconscious 90% makes you do what you do. The subconscious is like a record/playback system that is firmly embedded into most of us. It allows us to do habitual things, like drive a car on the correct side of the road while talking to a passenger next to us and listening to music changing the channel a few times, without even thinking about it. It also makes us believe certain things about ourselves that might not be true because they've been programmed into us at an early age....you can't dance, math is not your subject, you aren't pretty enough, etc... That's the subconscious at work. We are PROGRAMMED with acquired and habitual experiences from childhood that drive us to do what we do and think what we think. How we deprogram from the guilt, victimization, shame and blame we tend to harbor and guide our lives by is actually easy and doable. We must re-habituate the body and mind with practice. Here are a few ways that have worked for me. a. Chinese Medicine. Take the art of medical healing called QiGong, for example. By repeating the movements of this ancient Chinese art of healing, we are opening the blockages in the body along which energy flows. These are pathways that the Chinese refer to as meridians. A QiGong practice allows the blood to flow better and our bodies to release blockages and receive new energy. Our body is being invited to reprogram itself with movement when we practice QiGong. I've experience the healing energy in my own body and highly recommend this practice. b. Movement. When we practice Biodanza weekly, another healing modality of movement, we also repeat the movements from class to class in different configurations. We are relearning the functions of the body and in the process opening to flow and adaptation. My personal journey of transformation is due, in large part, to the weekly practice of Biodanza. c. Hypnosis. In a deeply relaxed hypnotic state, the skilled practitioner can help you actually reprogram your negative learned experiences through suggestion. These programs are like tapes playing in your head....fear of flying due to an incident, anxiety of public speaking, desire to stop smoking, etc... The hypnotherapist can basically help you rewire these negative experiences. d. Life coaching. We are human beings. We think a lot. We talk a lot. We analyze. We try to let logic guide us all of the time. There is constant chatter going on in our heads...and a lot of it is negative thought bashing. We can learn to use our own thought POWER by being present with our negative beliefs that keep us from health and wellness and questioning them, turning that belief around. We can learn to habituate our brains to thinking this way! My style of life coaching enables the client to come out from under the weight of what is holding them down and let the magic in. e. Meditation. Mother, Father, Creator of All.... connecting to source by focusing the wandering mind and opening up to listening to the Divine is a guaranteed way to increase health and wellness in your life. It doesn't have to be for hours, either. 15 minutes morning and evening will set you on your way to wanting more! 5. IT'S A BIOLOGICAL NECESSITY TO BE PART OF A COMMUNITY Just as your body is a giant community of internal cells that feed off each other, so does your outward physical self feed off of other people. Dr. Lipton says we are "skin covered petri dishes" and what we put inside and outside the "petri dish" has the power to make or break our wellness. Lonely? Single? A couch potato? Drink lots of coke product with aspertame? Drink too much wine and beer? Eat too much fast food? Smoke? Yell a lot? Sleep poorly? Might not be so good for the quality functioning of your cells. The body doesn't react well to negative eco-factors. Try to eliminate some! Eating super healthy? Engaged in a movement activity that energizes your body? In love with a great person who honors and cherishes you and shows you lots of affection? Have great family and friends? Connected to a community that feeds your soul and nourishes your biological need for connection? Have compassion for yourself? Well now, that's nourishing for your "petri dish"! The body thrives on positive eco-factors! Get more of them! Connect yourself to a community that feeds LIFE into you! Get some epigenetic LOVE in to your life and enrich it with POSITIVE ECOFACTORS that rock your world and pump up your health and wellness!
2 Comments
Kris
4/3/2014 03:03:10 pm
I love this, Michelle. Wonderful insights!
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Michelle
4/4/2014 02:16:20 am
thanks Kris!
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