A new study on women in mid-life finds that women who have an inner sense of “Life Force” have lower levels of cell-damaging stress hormones and cytokines, such as IL-6.
“Life Force” may sound like something out of the annals of Star Wars’ Jedi training, but it’s up-to-the-minute neuroscience (in this case, from the journal Brain, Behavior and Immunity). Researchers define “Life Force” as “a sense of innate vigor or active engagement with life.” They aren’t referring, they say, to how physically active we are or how much exercise we get. Investigators report that “beyond physical activity, some people seem to have this innate energy that makes them intrinsically involved in life.”
“Life force” has to do with our inner ability to find and experience more joy in life than stress.
The idea that our ability to withstand stress-related, inflammatory disease is associated with inner “Life Force” really matters for women because, in general, women have higher levels of inflammatory IL-6 than do men, and due to hormonal differences, we’re also more vulnerable to the physical ravages of stress. We know that chronic stress causes our brain to release hormones that take a toll on our organs and cells. Like any injury, that brings a reaction from the body’s immune system, including the release of immune chemicals that trigger inflammation in an attempt to begin the healing process.
That same process goes too far, as we know, in diseases including rheumatoid arthritis, Alzheimer’s disease and atherosclerosis — and many other chronic conditions.
In today’s world, most of us face some sort of chronic stress. Who among us can say we have very little stress in our lives? I know I can’t. It’s how that stress affects us — and how much we counter that stress by finding ways to enter a different mindset, one of joy and well-being — that seems to matter most.
Bottom line: your inner sense of “Life Force” is directly linked to your cellular health. If your inner “Life Force” is low, how do you get it back?
That is the question I asked when I set out to research and write The Last Best Cure. I didn’t know what to call it, but I knew, I just knew, that I needed to work on finding ways to increase my innate sense of energy, my intrinsic involvement in the world around me, my inner ability to find and experience more joy in life — and I knew I needed to decrease the negative, worried patter going on in my own brain. If I hoped to feel better physically, I had to also find a greater sense of inner well-being. A better sense of inner “Life Force.”
How about you? Do you need to work on your inner “Life Force” too? If so, what do you think is holding you back?
In yoga we call this life force ojas. As we are under external stress the ojas get depleted. It’s a tricky question for me. Some days I feel fully vital and am positively focused and other days… Not so much. So though I’m on the road to recovery, I’m not fully there yet. Great question!!
Thanks for this, Julie. Ojas. I like that. And I think you’re exactly right. As you are finding your way back to your “Life Force,” everyday can be different. Lots of vitality or not so much. How do we keep moving in the right direction? Not surprisingly, there is a LOT about the benefits of yoga on our immune system — and as a path to innate joy (and how this transformation happens in the brain) — in The Last Best Cure. Can’t wait for you to have your copy!
I have an extremely low life force and need to know what to do to reverse it. I’ve heard of Chi but not at all familiar with it, as well as something called reiki, any helpful advice would be appreciated.