06/03/2026
Roger is a Great teacher
The Connection Between Your Emotions and Body Chemistry
Traditional Chinese Medicine has long recognized that our emotions directly influence the body's physical functions. Have you ever felt sadness, anger, or stress and noticed physical symptoms appear in your body? For example, anger has often been associated with increased blood pressure and tension throughout the body.
Today, Western science is increasingly exploring the powerful connection between thoughts, emotions, and physical health through Positive Psychology and Mind-Body Medicine. Mental and emotional states can either support wellness or contribute to imbalance and disease. Caring for your emotional well-being is also a way of caring for your physical health.
In his book, "The Healer Within," Dr. Roger Jahnke explains how emotional states can affect body chemistry and healing:
"It has also been clearly established that sustained joy, contentment, and security cause a shift in the body chemistry to produce healing elixirs. In a classic study, scientists at the Clinical Neuroendocrinological Laboratory at the National Institutes of Health in Washington, D.C., found that patients with depression are in a state of chronic low-grade anxiety, secreting high quantities of the body chemicals associated with stress.
In a collaborative study at Stanford and Emory Universities, researchers found that depressed individuals sustained high levels of stress hormones in their blood. They showed depleted energy reserves and suppressed immune function. The self-healing methods turn on the inner medicines that can neutralize negative emotional influences.
When support and social interaction help to trigger the positive influences of laughter, communication, and sharing, health improves. When hate is transformed by joy, the heart is healed. When worry is transformed by calm, the immune function is boosted. Notice that moving the body, deepening the breath, and doing a little self-massage can also shift your mood."
How we manage our internal state doesn't just dictate our health—it defines how we lead, communicate, and show up for others. True leadership begins from within, by mastering the energy and chemistry of our own minds and bodies.
If you are ready to move from understanding this connection to actively mastering it, we invite you to take the next step.
Join author and master Qigong teacher Dr. Roger Jahnke on June 21–26, 2026 in Kripalu Center for Yoga & Health, Massachusetts for a transformative, immersive retreat: Qigong Empowerment: The 10 Phases of Cultivating and Mastering Qi.
To learn more and register check the link in the first comment below. 👇
