The Connection is a film about how frontier research is proving that there is a direct connection between your mind and your health. The film features scientists, researchers, writers and doctors, as well as remarkable true stories of people adding mind body medicine to their healing toolkit to recover from severe back pain, heart disease, infertility, cancer and multiple sclerosis. While the science is complex, the solutions for people suffering with illness are astonishingly simple. The film shows that we can counter the harmful effects of stress with an equally powerful relaxation response triggered through specific techniques such as meditation. It shows that emotions can impact the course of an illness for better or for worse and could even be the difference between life and death. The film explains the mechanisms behind belief, which scientists now know contributes 30 to 50 percent of the effect of any known biological cure and explores how scientists at the cutting edge are now learning that the mind can even influence the expression of genes and the rate at which we age.

After the film screening the Integrative Medicine Alliance of Coastal Virginia (IMAVC), an Alliance of Wellness Professionals bridging Health, Healing, and Happiness for Coastal Virginians, will host a panel of wellness professionals to discuss the ideas and concepts presented in the film.