Mind–body practices including meditation, pain-reframing strategies, and healing rituals, aim to use the interplay between thoughts, emotions, and physiology to support health. Many people describe meaningful benefits, yet the biological mechanisms behind these effects remain only partially understood⁽¹⁾.

Emerging research underlines how potent these approaches can be.

One clinical trial, for instance, showed that simply reconceiving pain as a product of brain activity rather than ongoing tissue damage reduced pain three times more than placebo and six times more than standard care⁽²⁾. 

Placebo responses alone can influence virtually every major organ system and, in some cases perform as well as routine surgical procedure⁽³⁾.

Even when people knowingly take a placebo (an “open-label placebo”), symptoms can still improve. Meditation, for its part, has been shown to reshape brain activity, improve mental health, and influence immune function and gene expression⁽¹⁾.

Despite this growing evidence, no research has examined what happens when several of these practices are combined in one intensive experience.

What This Study Examined

Researchers followed 20 adults who attended a week-long mind–body retreat built around three core elements⁽¹⁾:

1. Reconceptualization. Participants learned to reinterpret how the mind influences sensations like pain and how it shapes daily experience. This is akin to updating an operating system, so it handles incoming signals differently and with fewer errors.
2. Meditation. Guided sessions involved breathwork, focused attention, and shifting awareness inward. This provided a temporary pause in the brain’s nonstop internal commentary, allowing mental processes to reset.
3. Open-Label Healing Rituals. Participants took part in group practices framed as compassion-based healing, with full transparency that any effects might arise through attention and emotional connection rather than hidden mechanisms. This provided a shared ritual that primes the nervous system for calm and recovery.

Before and after the retreat, the research team assessed:

• Brain activity using MRI
• Blood chemistry using advanced molecular profiling (proteins, metabolites, microRNAs, and more)
• Cellular responses to participants’ plasma in lab assays

Because this was an observational study without a control group, the findings reveal what changed over the course of a week, but can’t explain exactly why.

Key Findings

1) The Brain Shifted into a More Flexible, Less Self-Focused Mode

Meditation lowered activity within the default mode network (DMN), the system active during self-reflection, rumination, and mind-wandering. Essentially, this was like the brain’s internal narrator lowered its volume, thus creating more mental quiet.

This came with:

• Greater integration across brain networks
• Weaker connections within circuits involved in self-evaluation and prediction

Together, these patterns reflect a state of heightened presence and reduced automatic, self-referential thinking.

2) The Body Showed Markers of Increased Neuroplasticity

Post-retreat blood samples contained higher levels of molecules linked to:

• Neuronal growth and remodeling
• Strengthening of neural connections
• BDNF-related pathways (central drivers of neuroplasticity)

This was the biological equivalent of supplying the brain’s 'construction crew' with more raw materials and better instructions.

3) Metabolism Tilted Toward Faster, More Responsive Energy Use

Proteins involved in glycolysis (an energy pathway that delivers fuel quickly) were elevated after the retreat.

This pattern has also been observed in experienced meditators such as Tibetan monks and may support the sustained attention and deep physiological engagement seen in meditation.

4) The Body Activated Its Own Opioid System Without Medication or Deception

Levels of beta-endorphin and dynorphin increased, suggesting engagement of the body’s natural pain-relief chemistry. This may be tied to reconceptualization, changing beliefs about how the mind influences the body can alter the brain’s predictive system, which in turn shapes physiological responses.

5) Immune and Stress-Response Pathways Became More Dynamic

Both inflammatory and anti-inflammatory proteins rose. This may reflect a temporary, adaptive tuning of immune activity. This is a pattern seen in other mind–body practices known to enhance resilience.

6) Participants Reported Mystical or Transformative Experiences

These subjective states appeared in the brain as:

• Stronger connections between regions involved in emotional awareness and self-related processing
• Reduced separation between major brain networks, allowing more cross-communication

This pattern is consistent with deep meditative states that feel expansive or beyond ordinary self-perception.

How the Researchers Interpret These Changes

The authors frame their findings using the Bayesian brain model, which proposes that the brain constantly predicts what is happening and adjusts the body based on those predictions.

Within this model:

• Reconceptualization updates the brain’s belief system (its internal 'files' about how sensations should be interpreted.)
• Healing rituals introduce unexpected, meaningful actions that make the prediction system more flexible.
• Meditation quiets prediction itself, creating space for new interpretations to take root.

When combined, these techniques may temporarily loosen rigid mental habits and allow the body’s regulatory systems to recalibrate.

However, the study has clear constraints.

Important Study Limitations To Note

• No control group
• Small sample size
• Many participants were experienced meditators
• Diet, fasting, and schedule varied among participants
• MRI and blood draws occurred at different times
• Observational design prevents conclusions about cause and effect

These results are therefore informative but not definitive.

What Are The Significance of These Findings?

This is the first study to examine the combined biological effects of meditation, pain-reframing techniques, and open-label healing rituals.

The results indicate that intensive mind–body practices can influence:

• Brain connectivity
• Neuroplasticity pathways
• Energy metabolism
• Immune signaling
• Natural pain-modulating systems

Summary

A seven-day retreat focused on meditation and mind–body healing led to measurable changes in both brain function and blood-based biology, highlighting the ability of consciousness-centered practices to influence physical health.

Participants exhibited decreased activity in the default mode network, stronger neural connectivity, increases in natural opioid levels, heightened immune responses, and notable metabolic changes indicating that the effects were systemic, not limited to the brain alone. 

These findings support the idea that the mind does not merely influence mood or stress levels, but can tune multiple interconnected systems across the body, including those involved in healing, energy use, and neural adaptation.

To learn about another simple, free, and very powerful way to influence your body's ability to deal with daily stress, click here.

References: 
    1.    Jinich-Diamant A, Simpson S, Zuniga-Hertz JP, et al: Neural and molecular changes during a mind-body reconceptualization, meditation, and open label placebo healing intervention. Communications Biology 8:1525, 2025
    2.    Ashar YK, Gordon A, Schubiner H, et al: Effect of Pain Reprocessing Therapy vs Placebo and Usual Care for Patients With Chronic Back Pain: A Randomized Clinical Trial. JAMA Psychiatry 79:13-23, 2022
    3.    Jonas WB, Crawford C, Colloca L, et al: To what extent are surgery and invasive procedures effective beyond a placebo response? A systematic review with meta-analysis of randomised, sham controlled trials. BMJ Open 5:e009655, 2015