John Sarno – The fact that the mind can make the body sick is not a new idea; what is new is that the mind can make the body well

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Welcome to The Daily Quote—a podcast designed to kickstart your day in a positive way. I'm your host, Andrew McGivern, for January 3rd. Now, today we celebrate International Mind-Body Wellness Day. It’s the perfect time to acknowledge the intricate dance between your thoughts, feelings, and physical health.

It’s also smack in the middle of New Year’s Resolutions Week, when our resolutions are still fresh, hope is still alive, and gym parking lots are overrun. Let’s start by anchoring this wellness day with a quote from Dr. John Sarno, a pioneer in understanding how the mind and body work together:

Dr. John Sarno once said...

"The fact that the mind can make the body sick is not a new idea; what is new is that the mind can make the body well."

Think about that for a moment. Sarno’s words are both empowering and slightly terrifying. On one hand, it means that stress, anxiety, or unprocessed emotions can lead to actual physical symptoms. On the other hand, it’s a reminder that your thoughts are not just passengers—they’re driving the car. Or, in the case of New Year’s resolution week, they’re the ones deciding if you hit the treadmill or hit the snooze button.

Here’s the thing: if you’re chasing big goals for the year ahead, it’s easy to let anxiety creep in. Maybe you’ve already started worrying about whether you’ll stick to your resolutions or whether this year will be “your year.” But let me ask you this: is worrying about being calm ever actually calming? Exactly. Dr. Sarno’s wisdom is an invitation to flip the script. Instead of letting stress take the wheel, consider what it means to truly align your mind and body. Maybe it’s a deep breath before tackling your to-do list. Maybe it’s replacing “I have to exercise” with “I get to move my body.” Or maybe it’s realizing that your mind, body, and goals are all on the same team. If they’re fighting, you’re not winning.

So today, embrace International Mind-Body Wellness Day by giving yourself permission to slow down and tune in. Start small—five minutes of journaling, a quiet moment of gratitude, or even just acknowledging how you feel. No judgment, no stress—just awareness. Remember, wellness isn’t a sprint; it’s more like a slow dance. And yes, you can sit out a song or two if you need to.

I have a personal story about the mind body connection from Dr. Sarno. I was suffering from chronic back pain for years. It was bad enough that it prevented me from doing a lot of what I loved to do. I'd wake up with pain every morning and nothing I tried worked. I went to chiropractors, massage therapists and medical doctors who sent me for xrays, ct scans and to specialists like neurologists. They all said the same thing. There is some minor things going on but nothing that should be causing this level of pain and discomfort.

Then one day I was at my parents house and started reading book my Mom had, called Spontaneous Healing by Dr. Andrew Weil. In the book he talked about how common it is for people to spontaneously heal. He mentioned a doctor that was able to heal people of chronic back pain with only a few sessions. And many people cured there back pain just by reading his book... I was intrigued even though my bs radar was going off a little bit.

I bought the book the next day.

I found the book very interesting but thought it didn't apply to me. The idea was that at some point you get a back injury that goes through the usual healing process. However around the same time you have some emotional trauma or event that your mind is distracted from as result of the pain from the injury. Your subconscious mind holds onto these symptoms despite no physical cause as the injury had healed.

He called this mechanism tensiomyoitis syndrome or TMS for short. He later changed it to the mind body syndrom because it can effect any area of the body.

By the time I got to the last page of the book I closed the book and thought to myself very fascinating. It was a great read. I thought oh well... too bad it doesn't apply to me as I never had any emotional trauma.. but then I remembered something. By now it wasn't a big deal but back then it was stressful. I put the book away and went to bed, thinking I wonder if that was it...

The next day I woke up, jumped out of bed, had a shower, made breakfast and went to work. I didn't notice until half way through the day that I had zero pain.

NO WAY! And it never came back.... This was over Thanks for joining me today on The Daily Quote. If this episode resonated with you—or if you’re thinking about how to bring more mind-body harmony into your life—consider sharing it with someone who might need a reminder to take it easy. I’ll see you tomorrow with another quote and another chance to start the day with intention. Until then, breathe deep, be kind to yourself, and remember: your mind and body are in this together.