December 19, 2025
Your body hears everything your mind says.
Naomi Judd
Earlier this week I awoke with terrible oral pain, and very swollen gums. Tender to the touch, and so sensitive that I couldn’t eat or drink anything on that side of my mouth. I called my dentist who scheduled me for an appointment for when his office opened the next day.
In the meanwhile I started my morning like I do every day (or at least, most days): with a 30 minute yoga practice. I set two intentions as I began: the first, to clear my mind, to forgive, and to release stress (there was a particularly stressful ordeal I had been ruminating on). The second, to remind myself that this pain will not linger. It too shall pass. And by virtue of the first intention, I believed it would enable the second one to come to fruition sooner. I finished my practice and went on with the day.
Within a few hours, the pain was gone. The swelling subsided. There is almost certainly a physics explanation for this, such as the brushing away of some debris caught between my gums and teeth. It’s also possible that our minds influence our body, and by setting that first intention, I allowed myself to heal. The body keeps the score, as Bessel van der Kolk wrote in 2014. I believe this. Just as the mind can induce pain, the main can also set the body free. We carry so much with us. Here’s to becoming free, becoming lighter. Becoming ourselves, again.