Ellen J. Langer: Mindful Body – Mindfulness for Chronic Health

If we control our thoughts, can we also control our health?

How can diabetes develop if we learn that our blood sugar levels are slightly different from normal? Have hotel maids really lost weight and considered their work to be exercise? Why did patients who had their hours sped up heal faster?

We tend to believe that our deteriorating health – sore knees, stiff joints, and weakening vision – can only change in one direction: it will get worse. The research and experience of Dr. Ellen J. Langer, a Harvard psychology professor who is considered the "mother of mindfulness," both support that belief is wrong and that mindfulness may be the key to lasting health. In connection with his theory of the unity of body and mind, he shows how our well-being is affected by consciousness and attitude.

"These are some of the questions we get authentic answers to from the author's novel thoughts and research results." Erika L. Stipkovits, clinical psychologist