Melissa Rosenkranz – Mind, Body, World

In this episode, Wendy speaks with contemplative scientist Melissa Rosenkranz. Melissa's work examines the mind-body connection with a focus on how inflammation interacts with our brains and emotions, and how meditation might help. This conversation covers many topics, including: her interest in the mind-body connection; pros and cons of inflammation in the body; bidirectional links between inflammation in the body and our emotions; how inflammation can lead to hypersensitivity in the brain; inflammation and dementia; misperceptions around stress causing asthma; meditation's effect on inflammation and our immune response; meditation in asthma management (emotional and physical); studying whether mindfulness can protect against inflammatory damage to the brain; integrating meditation with medication; polarization in society and the power of building weak ties; increasing the safety signal to our bodies; seeing the fuller humanity of the people in our world; lovingkindness practice in action; links between inflammation in society and in our bodies; and a reminder that there's always a place to start when making change. Full show notes and resources