Day 36 of 100--Believe

Its one of those trite sayings BELIEVE.  But really it is the truth.  You can do anything you believe that you can do.  Dr John Day in his blog talked of studies with the placebo effect.  They took two groups of people with parkinsons and injected salt water into their veins.   The first group was told it was a regular priced medication that would cure the symptoms.   The second group was told they were receiving a very expensive medication.   All the participants had relief of symptoms with the most marked relief among the group told they were receiving the expensive version.  Amazing.   Another study I had heard before about housekeepers in the hotel who were told that the work they did everyday was actual exercise and that they burned a significant amount of calories in the work they did.  
These housekeepers began to drop weight and their health improved just from knowing that information. 

So how can we use this information in our lives...in our quest for health?   I submit that if we believe we are capable of running a mile in 10 minutes we will be able to get there.   If we believe that our health can be improved it will be.  The vision board plays a huge part here.   Have you made one yet?   The key is to look at it and imagine yourself accomplishing those things.  Imagine crossing the finish line of the race you want to accomplish.  The crowd cheering, your hands up in the air that exhilaration of realizing you just did it.  Such joy!  Feel how you imagine it would feel to be 30 lbs lighter, can you move easier, do you feel lighter?   Take a moment and feel/see/hear what it would be like in your mind.   That is visualization.   Jon Gabriel the author of the Gabriel method, offers free visualizations that can help you with this.  Check out his facebook page here.  He just came out with an app for the iphone as well. 

If you don't feel up to visualization try meditating, just clearing your mind for a few minutes.  Even just listing 5 things you are grateful for each day will be a big start to get you on the right track.  Dr day lists some other ideas on his blog post.  

Of course there are things that we can not control through... I do not expect to drop my blood sugar by believing it will be low, even though I ate a loaf of bread the night before.   Be realistic and communicate with your doctor about what is going on.  :)