The body listens to our emotions. Not as a metaphor, but as measurable biochemistry. When we find peace, something happens in the cells. A new and comprehensive systematic review with meta-analysis of 89 randomized control trials shows that mind-body interventions such as meditation, yoga, tai chi and compassion training have measurable effects on both the immune system and the neuroendocrine system (1).
Mind-body training can reduce pro-inflammatory cytokines, balance the stress system, and enhance the body’s recovery signals. When the nervous system settles into a state of calm, immunology changes. When the body experiences safety, biology responds with healing, balance, and regulation.
The same theme emerges in another study looking at gratitude. Here, healthy women were asked to write about things they were grateful for for six weeks, while a control group wrote neutrally. The gratitude group spontaneously began to provide more support to others, and those who increased their supportive behavior the most also showed decreases in inflammatory markers (2). The body rewards caring with biochemical harmony.
The results
Love, care and presence thus function as an anti-inflammatory medicine. We are a web of emotions, nerve signals, relationships, hormones, memories, breathing, meaning and biology. When we practice presence, when we open up to gratitude, when we soften towards ourselves and others, then stress decreases, inflammation subsides, immune cells listen, the body is given peace to repair.
References
- Shih-Ching Lee et al. Effects of Mind-Body Interventions on Immune and Neuroendocrine Functions: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Randomized Controlled Trials. Healthcare 2025, 13 (8), 952; https://doi.org/10.3390/healthcare13080952
- Mona Moieni et al. Exploring the role of gratitude and support-giving on inflammatory outcomes. Emotion 2019 https://doi.org/10.1037/emo0000472
