RE: Biology, Yoga, and the Philosophy of Science
Hey Gabe -- great article and I appreciate the exploration. There's quite a few findings in the field of epigenetics that are illustrating the mechanisms for mind/body interaction.
Here's a good literature review from 2017: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5339524/
And an article on
genetic expression changes related to the "relaxation response"
https://www.jwatch.org/na31178/2013/06/03/relaxation-response-changes-gene-expression
And, also Dr. Mario Martinez's work in the field of pyschoneuroimmunology may be of interest to you as well. He's done some fantastic work showing how not only one's perceptions and psychology influence the immune system, but also how one's native culture influences the socially held beliefs that go into defining that person's psychology.
Also, I think your proposed mechanism in terms of viewing the body being primarily as an electromagnetic organism is helpful here. You can't separate charge from chemistry and our typical way of defining chemicals as structural/physical is only half the picture.
The mind is a powerful thing. Throwing out and ignorning techniques that have worked for people for thousands of years because it doesn't fit our model of what's "possible" is junk science at its worst. It's the model that needs to be adjusted, not reality.
Thanks David!
This is why I love Steemit! I had never seen those article before and they are very interesting.
The epigenome is controlled by much more than we realize, and I think "alternate" medicines have realized this for a long time. Those articles really drove that point home.
In terms of pyschoneuroimmunology, that was one of the claim of Yoga I left out of the article, that it can naturally increase your immune response. One technique I have been using is called the Breath of Fire, in which you sit or stand in a relaxed position and take a series of deep breaths. You fill your lungs, through your nose, to the brim. Then, breathe out completely, giving an extra push of your diaphragm at the end. Fill your lungs quickly through the nose and repeat. After several repetitions, you can feel the oxygen in your body and your lungs feel refreshed. According to Yoga materials, practicing this daily can increase your immune system's efficiency and resistance to attack.
It seems to be working for me as I rarely, if ever, get sick. I definitely have seen evidence for how exercise and increased oxygen can affect the immune system, but I will definitely look into Dr. Martinez's work. I think there is much more to it than that.
Thanks again for the excellent comment!