The Mind-Body Connection: An Incredibly Ordinary Message

I'm always motivated by people who have overcome huge obstacles in their lives and now teach others how to be happy or successful or fulfilled. Their stories touch my heart. They move me out of my own excuses. They inspire me to be more and to do more.

There are many stories like this.

You've probably heard of Nick Vujicic. Nick was born without arms and legs and now speaks around the world about hope and finding meaning in life. Kyle Maynard was born without arms and legs. He became a champion wrestler and is now a motivational speaker about living life without excuses. Sean Stephenson was born with Osteogenesis Imperfecta, which caused his bones to be extremely brittle and left him only three feet tall and unable to walk. At one point, his mother asked him, "Is this going to be a gift or a burden?" He now teaches people to get over their excuses. He teaches people how to live a happy and fulfilled life.

To me, these people exemplify one of my favorite quotes by Viktor Frankl, Holocaust survivor: "One can choose one's attitude in any given set of circumstances."

Kajohu shares another example in her well-written and inspirational lens about Matthew Sanford.

Along with his mom, dad, brother and sister, he was in a tragic car accident when he was 13. His dad and sister were killed and he was left paralyzed from the chest down. Matthew describes himself as a "floating torso" from that point forward, until he took his first yoga class at the age of 25 and rediscovered his whole body . . . something he knew from the beginning, but was discouraged from by the medical community.

"I'm actually doing all the work I'm doing because I want a health care system where it didn't take me 12 years to reconnect my mind and body. I was so shown by the doctors - by everyone involved - what might go wrong with my body, not what was still there and could go right. I'm advocating to get that message to patients."

Through yoga, Matthew was reconnected to his entire body - awakened like a blooming flower. He describes his daily yoga practice as "the time I take to feel and refine the sensation of my existence."

And this is a message for everyone, not only those with physical disabilities. Over time we all leave our bodies to some extent as we age.

He now works with others as a yoga teacher and founded a non-profit organization called Mind Body Solutions, through which he spreads his message that we can "transform trauma, loss and disability into hope and potential by awakening the connection between mind and body."

Samantha Drost, someone Matthew works with, can now say that she's defined by the person she is, rather than by her injury.

That's incredible.

Yet Matthew's message isn't really about incredible things, or about overcoming and doing something amazing. His message is ordinary, as he calls it. He just wants to be present in his body and teach others how to be present too. It's "ordinary" because it's accessible to anyone. Matthew believes that the mind-body connection is a basic reality of human existence that we can rediscover. He says, "It is the place where one’s mind and body intersect and interact. We believe a deeper mind-body connection is accessible to everyone, regardless of physical or neurological ability. It improves quality of life and opens new opportunities for healing and recovery."

Not only that, though. Matthew also says, "I have never seen anyone truly become more aware of his or her body without also becoming more compassionate. When we deepen the quality of where and how our minds interact and intersect with our bodies, our consciousness shifts. We get more connected to our lives, to each other and to the planet. This is what I am working for."

Ordinary, maybe. And also incredible.

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Image Credit: Yoga card by AdoraCreative
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Visit: Matthew Sanford - Paraplegic Yoga Teacher