When Christine Northrup, MD, a women’s health expert, says, ” There is no disease that isn’t mental and emotional as well as physical,” we know that there is profound truth in her statement that all Latinos can embrace. 

You hear it all the time: People with heart problems need to change their diets, as they are also advised to decrease and eliminate stress in their lives. What may not be so openly apparent is the understanding that our belief systems, in other words the thoughts that we carry about ourselves, also play a significant role in creating and contributing to our health. And if the research shows how positive thoughts and emotions help us, just how do negative beliefs about ourselves lead to bad health? It starts—and ends—with your thoughts.

Your mind can convince you that you are incapable of achieving a goal, or convince you that you are not good enough, or convince you that you do not deserve something as perfect health. These negative thoughts become limiting beliefs that you unconsciously integrate into your daily life. And they impact the choices you make, while preventing you from moving towards the more empowered and healthier ways you want to live.

As Latinas, often straddled with the weight of numerous responsibilities and obligations, we are frequently guilty of making poor choices with regards to our health. In this admirable quest to take care of everyone around us, many of us fail to understand the compounding effect that daily choices have on our overall well-being.

Putting everything and everyone ahead of ourselves often means we make dis-empowering emotional choices that include poor nutritional decisions. So during this important month, a time when women and nutrition are being celebrated, it seems that a discussion about the connection between our minds and our bodies should be a top priority, along with some strategies to ensure that this mind and body connection works towards our physical and emotional well-being.

Practitioners of ancient traditions have long espoused the ideology that poor emotional and mental health inevitably leads to deteriorating physical health and well-being. And while the relationship between our minds and bodies is not a new concept, the Western research and science that supports this direct correlation has been steadily growing in recent decades. They show that positive thoughts and beliefs are associated with healthier behaviors.

When we love ourselves and when we believe we are capable, we make daily choices and decisions that support those beliefs and, therefore, lead to desired positive outcomes. In practical terms, it means that you are more likely to choose a healthy food choice over other food because you love yourself enough to take better care of yourself. It’s that simple! What is not so simple is getting to this place of self-care and self-love, this place of empowerment that makes it easier to choose positive behaviors over negative ones.

The first step in this challenge is to change our internal dialogue of negative thoughts. Daily affirmations and mantras have become popular because they help us to begin the process of training our minds to new beliefs, ones that support positive moods and strong emotional states. When you begin to change your thinking, you can improve the quality of your life. When you are feeling good about yourself, you are more likely to make choices that support your general health and well-being.

So today, let’s start with this affirmation as we celebrate women’s history and national nutrition month: 

I am a divine creation that has the right to a fulfilling and happy life. 

I open myself to self-love, and I am on a journey to be my best self. 

I love and approve of myself, and I support the women in my community to do the same. 

I trust my Higher Self, and I deserve a great life.

I deserve to be healthy.

I am whole from within.

¡Pa’lante Siempre! ¡Con Luz y Paz! Cynthia

(Forward Always! With Light and Peace!)

Cynthia Santiago is the founder and editor of Latinawellness.com.

Follow her @latinawellness.com

Tags: healthy living, inspiration, meditation, mental health

This entry was posted on Monday, March 4th, 2013 at 11:29 am and is filed under Mind & Mood. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.