It really does sound like an infomercial, doesn't it? Emerging research suggests a relationship between the practice of meditation and genetic changes. Let's consider the evidence.

There is very much a place for the mind/body connection in understanding and treating hypertension. But it is not the cause of hypertension in the 85 percent of patients with ordinary hypertension; and the anger, anxiety and stress we experience are not at the heart of it.

Working with your breath this way can help you free your body of tension. Many of us are unaware of the tensions that are with us 24/7. Our breathing is designed to help us release any tensions that have become so much a part of us that we no longer sense their presence.

My observations and studies indicate that the mind/body link in hypertension is nearly the opposite of what most suspect. Yes, our anger and anxiety and stress can raise our blood pressure in the moment, but this does not lead to development of persisting hypertension.

If day-to-day stress and anger and anxiety are not causes of hypertension, do I believe that there is a mind/body connection in hypertension? Yes, I absolutely do. But the connection is very different from what most people think.

It's a new year, literally a new age... So let's wake up to health in a totally new way! Why not change perspective? Here are some suggestions how.

Minds are strange things. Our conscious experience of the world feels separate from the body that we inhabit. Discussions about the relationship between mind and body happen both in college dorms and in the philosophical literature. But does this discussion really matter?

I've now successfully cured the supposedly incurable disease, and live happy and healthy with a fully functioning thyroid. More important and subtle to note, probably, is the fact that the groundwork has been laid within my body for it to express a different truth.

Binges never happen in an emotional vacuum, even though we can pretend that they do. Often, someone claims that she was in perfect control of her eating until she ate that first doughnut or piece of chocolate. "It was the sugar that set off my binge," is usually the explanation.

Triggers can be an incredible ally. Triggers lead to what needs healing. Instead of being ashamed of being triggered, get excited because you have a clue for where to do your work! Triggers lead you on the path you need to go.

Yoga emphasizes the concept of "intention," or mindfulness. We all too often forget to be purposeful in our everyday actions and conversations. By utilizing the language of yoga, we create a mind-body connection.

It is important to recognize that pain is a very subjective mind-body experience, and there is often a significant psychospiritual component that is calling out for healing.

Generally speaking, we tend to think of our bodies and minds as separate systems and believe they function, for the most part, independently. Yet instinctively we know that is not the whole story.

Grounding yourself in body sensitivity serves as a circuit breaker to take you out of your chronic "fight or flight" state.  Practice becoming aware of another's experience, especially when that other is your own body.

Finding ways to practice becoming aware of our presumptions and prejudices, even the very small ones, can put us on the road to rediscovering the vitality, the "juice" of life.

Maybe the real issue with learning how to reinvent oneself is the simple fact we really don't know how we formed our identity in the first place.