Epigenetics: Can We Change Our DNA?

Epigenetics: Can We Change Our DNA?

    Epigenetics: Can We Change Our DNA?

    Our DNA is widely regarded as the instruction book for the human body. But, genes themselves need instructions for what to do, and where and when to do it. These instructions are found, not in the DNA itself, but on it, in an array of chemical markers and switches that lie along the DNA strand’s length.

    For the last few decades, scientists have been curious about certain things. For example, in a family where everyone has the gene for a certain type of cancer, why does one person stay healthy?

    Out of questions like this, the field of epigenetics was born. Epigenetics is the study of gene expression. It began with the understanding that some stressors would cause a genetic illness to be expressed, while other factors would cause different instructions to be sent to the genes, effectively turning them off, so an illness wouldn’t manifest.

    We know now that stress affects our gene expression. And, as hypnotherapists we know that how we relate to the stress of life can be changed. We can become more resilient, more self aware and self caring, and, we can become healthier and heal more quickly.

    What this all means is that you are not controlled by your genetic makeup. Instead, your genetic readout (which genes are turned ‘on’ and which are turned ‘of) is primarily determined by your thoughts, attitudes, and perceptions.

    We all know the path of trying to change deeply held perceptions through our usual waking state. Like Einstein, who said that “We can not solve our problems with the same level of thinking that created them”, we need to go deeper, to connect with our body wisdom and our creative unconscious to make lasting changes.

    Each time I read something like this, each time I’m inspired by the potential inherent in each of us, I am thankful that I know hypnotherapy. Isn’t it the perfect fit for making changes in our gene expression, enabling us to attune to our deeper knowing, and to communicate with our DNA, sending messages of peace and well-being, of vibrance and ease?

    Genetic research with mice shows that, when they change deeply, even their children are different, and have the new information. We aren’t just changing on the level of behavior or superficial attitudes, though those are valuable, too. We’re changing on the deep, enduring levels that create lasting change.

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