07|2025
As an epigenetics coach, I continue to witness how (resilient and) powerful our bodies are — and the innate capacity for self-healing we carry within us. Our brain, in particular, plays a vital role in this. We can exert tremendous influence over our inner state, our behaviour, and our overall well-being. A key concept in this is neuroplasticity: the brain’s ability to adapt, change, and form new connections.
The fact that our brain is flexible and evolves with us means you’re never “finished”: what you think, feel, and do is continuously shaping your brain, biochemistry, and well-being. This offers you room and possibility — for healing, for creating new pathways, and for growth. You can always change — nothing is fixed. Life — and you — are in constant motion!
Your brain is made up of billions of nerve cells (neurons) that are constantly communicating with one another. Every time you learn, think, or experience something new, new connections form between these neurons.
Learning = forming new neural connections
Experiencing = strengthening those connections
For example: when you focus on something new for just an hour, the number of synaptic connections in certain brain regions doubles. Your brain is literally reshaped by your attention. But knowledge alone doesn’t change the brain — only applying it does. When you make new behavioural or emotional choices, you create experiences. These are stored in you — both mentally and physically.
Your senses perceive — your brain processes — and your body responds with feelings. Neurotransmitters (chemical messengers in your brain that enable communication between brain cells), such as dopamine (reward), serotonin (well-being), and adrenaline (action), play a vital role in this. All of these elements contribute to creating and strengthening new pathways in your brain.
It is often said: Thoughts are the language of the mind — Feelings are the language of the body. These two are deeply and inseparably connected. What you think influences what you feel — emotionally and physically. And vice versa: your feelings affect your thoughts. This ongoing communication cycle often runs unconsciously.
By becoming aware of this, you gain profound self-knowledge and can begin to steer this dynamic — through inner dialogue, conscious choices, and new behaviours — in a way that empowers you.
When you repeat new experiences and consciously feel them (as a kind of internal feedback loop), your body and mind align more closely. Your brain starts to automate new behaviours. What once felt effortful becomes increasingly natural. You grow — through repetition — out of old patterns and toward the person you want to be.
In doing so, you create a new sense of balance and coherence between body, heart, and mind.
That is neuroplasticity: you literally create new networks in your brain. And with enough repetition and experience, even new brain cells can emerge.
Important to know: This process takes time, attention, and repetition. Your brain needs space to strengthen new pathways and release old patterns. Your body and mind also need time to adjust. Be gentle with yourself — deeply ingrained patterns don’t dissolve overnight. But change is possible! Neuroplasticity supports you — one step at a time. 🙏
Your brain and body are constantly influencing each other. If you’ve been thinking the same (often unconscious) thoughts for years, your system gets stuck in a fixed state. For instance: the belief “I’m not good enough” affects your behaviours, emotions, experiences, hormones — and even your physical health.
Chronic stress, illness, or imbalance can often have roots in old emotional patterns or repressed feelings. This is not about judgment or making you fearful — but an invitation to deeper awareness.
Be curious about yourself & inquire within.
Ask yourself:
When you bring more attention to your inner world, you activate new brain connections. Your brain responds with a new inner chemistry — different substances are released, such as dopamine, serotonin, or adrenaline. These act as neurotransmitters in your brain and hormones in your body. They influence organs, muscles, your mood, even your immune system.
Shifting how you think, feel or act creates a new internal experience — which changes your biochemistry and, with it, your sense of (well-)being.
Epigenetics literally means “above the genes.”
Your DNA is fixed — it’s the code where your genetic information is stored. But how your genes function is influenced by the environment you live in — your lifestyle choices and how you live, think, and feel.
Genes are like blueprints for biological and chemical processes.
Chronic stress or negative beliefs can activate genes that contribute to illness.
But positive experiences, peace, and conscious lifestyle choices can activate genes that support health and balance. Amazing, isn’t it?
In short:
Together, they offer powerful knowledge and tools — a foundation for healing, resilience, and lasting transformation — from within.
Neuroplasticity also plays a key role in how we age. By continuing to learn, move, connect, and reflect, you keep your brain flexible. This boosts your resilience, memory, creativity, and positivity.
An active, learning brain can slow cognitive decline — and even reduce the risk of dementia.
Those who nourish their brains not only tend to live longer, but also with more vitality, resilience and quality of life.
Here are some practical ways to keep your brain healthy and adaptable — with a brief explanation of what happens in your brain:
During deep sleep (especially in non-REM stages — phase without rapid eye movements, during which deep, restorative sleep occurs), your brain gets a chance to clean up, heal, and rebuild. Your heart rate drops, your breathing slows, and your brain shifts into repair mode — essential for both mental and physical health.
So sleep is anything but a pause — it’s a highly active biological process that restores, cleanses, re-energizes, and builds resilience, health, and emotional balance. Without good sleep, your entire system falls out of sync — physically, mentally, and emotionally.
BDNF — Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor — is a protein essential for the growth, survival, and connectivity of brain cells. Think of it as “brain fertilizer” that helps keep your mind flexible, resilient, and sharp.
It’s at the core of neuroplasticity. But modern lifestyle habits often suppress BDNF production. Low levels of BDNF are linked to depression, anxiety disorders, Alzheimer’s, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and accelerated aging — both mental and physical.
The good news? BDNF responds quickly to the right signals — research shows that you can stimulate it naturally 👉 through simple lifestyle choices.
BDNF is a key player in the body-mind connection. Lower levels are found in nearly all mental health conditions — especially depression and anxiety. The power of this knowledge? You can directly influence your brain balance — through nutrition, movement, and conscious living. Small choices, big effects — not only for your brain cells, but for your whole life 🤩!
In today’s world, we often live “from the head”: planning, thinking, analysing, judging. But our body — and our heart — are also speaking, all the time! We just haven’t always learned how to truly listen (or our thoughts keep getting in the way). Yet deep wisdom lies in that inner sensing — it’s our inner compass: our intuition and gut feeling.
Your body isn’t a separate system. It’s a living compass that continuously communicates with your brain, your emotions — even your heart. Think of your gut feeling warning you, your heart racing under pressure, or the relief after catching a train just in time.
Via nerve pathways, hormones, the heart-brain axis and the autonomic nervous system — a constant flow of information is exchanged.
Everything works together: body, mind and heart form one intelligent whole.
It’s not just “self-care now and then”, but a fundamental shift:
Your brain is in motion. Your body, your mind, your emotions — your whole life is a continuous stream of renewal, experience, and energy. Integrating this — and seeing yourself as a vibrant, living being in motion — brings you closer to the natural flow of life.
It helps you release old patterns, find a new balance, and move with more lightness and trust through whatever life brings.
Those who experience life as a flow, find greater peace in the moment — free from yesterday’s weight or tomorrow’s worries.
In this way, you don’t just transform your brain — you transform your entire way of living: resilient, connected, and full of radiant energy for all that life is. ✨
If you have any questions — or want to know how to apply this in your own life — feel free to send me a message. I’d be happy to think with you. 💛
🌟 And please keep in mind what this fantastic quotes illustrates:
“ We are who we practice to be.” Dr. Joe Dispenza
{photo credit: Thank you to Gabriele Lancione / Unsplash.com}
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