Why you are NOT your thoughts.
We are all more bacteria than we are human:
Research says that only 10% of the cells in the human body are human cells.
The rest are just um… bacteria, viruses, fungi, etc.
So technically, around 90% of the cells that our body holds (inside and on it), are just microbes that use our body as a host and feed off of us (Eww!??)
Humans are Holobionts:
Holobiont is a system where the fitness of the host depends on and cannot be seen separate from its microbiota. In short, the microbes feed off of our body; but we are also dependent on these tiny organisms for essential functions that our body has to carry on (Not Eww at all!)
The majority of these microbes are concentrated in our gut (almost 3 pounds — a jungle of diverse bacteria!)
Our mental health/wellness depends majorly on the diversity of bacteria our gut gives home to.
There are 2 kinds of gut bacteria: The good and the bad. The good bacteria are the ones capable of producing chemicals that activate our Vagus nerve.
What is the Vagus nerve? It is a cranial nerve that connects our limbic brain to major organs in our body, especially the gut. The gut and brain communicate through this nerve.
We think that it is the brain that sends signals to other organs all the time right?
The gut is the silent star. It is even called The Second Brain for a good reason.
Out of all the nerves connecting the brain and the gut, only 10% of them help the brain send signals to the gut. Remaining 90% of the messages are from the gut to the brain.
Every time you get a GUT FEELING? It is a signal from gut through these vagal nerves to the brain.
In particular, the vagal nerves connect the gut to the parts of our brain that process emotions, fear, feeling of well-being.
This is why activating the Vagus nerve also means inducing a feeling of well-being and alleviating stress. Yoga is great for activating the vagus nerve. This is why yoga means well-being in many ways.
You are what you eat:
Remember those good bacteria in your gut? Those are the unsung heroes. They produce chemicals in the gut that activate your vagus nerve. If your gut is more of bad bacteria, your brain seldom gets the “I am fine” message from the gut. We end up feeling dull/depressed for no reason.
Ofcourse, there are a lot of other factors that contribute to our mental health — gene, trauma, disability, etc. In such cases just eating right will not be the cure and professional/medical help would be necessary.
But for overall well-being? The key is our gut health.
How do we increase the good bacteria in our gut? By simply eating a variety of healthy food rich in fiber. Because good bacteria feeds off fibre in our gut. Fermented foods are full of these good bacteria and they always come under the super food category for this reason. Fermented foods are even known to calm kids with neuroticism!
In short, You are what You eat.
You are not your thoughts:
In research : There is an active mouse and there is a depressed mouse. When scientists placed the fecal microbiota (or just feces) from the healthy mouse into the sick mouse, the depressed mouse started showing signs of improvements in a controlled environment. The depressed mouse was able to be happy, just because a different set of healthy/good bacteria was introduced into its gut.
This is a treatment done in humans as well. It is called FMT (Fecal Microbiota Transplantation). To treat auto-immune diseases or excessive diarrhea, a healthy person’s fecal matter (after proper screening ) was placed in the sick person’s gut. And it worked. More research is being done in this area now.
If we could feel “good emotions” just because we host “good” bacteria, and feel “bad” because we have more bad bacteria in our gut, are our thoughts really OURS?
It is our thoughts that give us a feeling of “I”. Now think about these bacteria. Scientists say that the first set of bacteria we come across after being in the sterile womb, are those in our mother’s birth canal and our behavior is being shaped by these microbes right from the time we are born!
If these thoughts are not completely in my control,
What is the “I” that I imagine to be because of these thoughts that occur in my mind?
Most of our cells in our body are not really ours.
We are what we eat- to feed the bacteria in our gut- that control our emotions and well-being and in turn our mental health.
We are the set of Bacteria that our body gives home to.
In this story, where is the “I” really?
Yoga philosophy talks a lot about disowning our thoughts. Because they are mere activities of our brain. While they are necessary to think and survive in the world, some emotions and feelings can be very misleading. We identify with all those. “I” becomes a lot of these confusing things that are not under our control. We end up feeling miserable and helpless.
“To realize that you are not your thoughts is when you begin to awaken spiritually” — Eckhart Tolle
Learning about my gut was mind-blowing and mind-bending for me. I experienced an epiphany : How much our microbiota affects our emotions! How less of a control we have on our thoughts! If we are willing to look within our gut, it could teach us some legit truth about life… About us.
Maybe this gut knowledge could help you/me decouple our sense of “I” from the thoughts our brains go through. And may help us remember to cut ourselves some slack when we feel bad. Because, just being more aware means half the misery gone. Yoga is all about self-awareness too. And knowing our gut, is the key to know ourselves better.
“Yoga is the artwork of awareness on the canvas of body, mind, and soul”
Next time you feel overwhelmed, remember the gut philosophy. Oh! and also remember to eat a lot of Curd and Kombucha 😉
Namaste!
