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The Aspiration and Surrender of the Body Consciousness in Its Seeking for Health and Balance · Sri Aurobindo Studies

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  While the mind does not generally recognize the
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  consciousness of the body, it remains true that the body has
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  its own ability to respond to circumstances.
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  For those who have a highly developed mental or vital being,
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  these powers frequently override the natural responsiveness of
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  the body when we look at the animal Kingdom, for instance.
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  We see that if a dog or cat is ill or out of sorts, it tends to
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  find its solution in letting the body rest, or even finding the
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  right plant or herb that it needs at that moment, if such is
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  available. This is not based on some kind
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  of mental thought process, but an innate sense of the body of
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  the animal to gravitate toward whatever will bring it back into
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  balance. We can contrast this with the
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  mental approach, where we begin to consider what is causing an
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  illness or physical state of imbalance.
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  And then we either tend to overpower the body by continuing
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  to make demands on it when it really needs rest and care, or
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  else by trying to micromanage the body's response to the
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  situation by inserting treatments, dietary changes, or
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  medical operations. To try to fix whatever is out of
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  balance. In many instances there are
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  unintended consequences that occur what are frequently called
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  side effects to the treatment, and in many cases the cure is
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  worse than the disease. The internal operations of the
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  body are not directly understood or even viewed by the mental
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  consciousness. The body consciousness seems to
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  do best for the most part, when it is allowed to use its innate
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  sense to try to maintain and restore what is called in
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  medical terminology, homeostasis, which is in common
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  terms maintaining and restoring a state of balance, with the
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  body functioning according to its expected ways.
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  Thus, if the blood chemistry is getting out of balance, for
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  instance. The body automatically takes
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  steps to try to restore that balance through an offsetting
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  chemical response, either a craving for a certain food or
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  other internal change that addresses whatever is going
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  wrong. The mother adds another element,
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  which is the simple aspiration and surrender of the body cells.
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  When not interfered with by the mind or the vital demands, the
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  body aspires for health. Energy, Wellness, vibrancy and
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  automatically turns, as a sunflower does, to the sun
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  toward the source of health, the mother writes.
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  Quote In the body, for instance, when there is something like an
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  attack, an accident, an illness, trying to come in something, an
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  attack on the body, a body that is left to its natural
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  spontaneity has an urge. And aspiration.
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  A spontaneous will to call for help.
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  But as soon as the affair goes to the head, it takes the form
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  of things to which one is accustomed.
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  Everything is spoiled. But if the body is seen in
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  itself just as it is, there is something which suddenly wakes
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  up and calls for help. And with such a faith, such an
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  intensity. Just as the tiny little baby
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  calls its Mama, you know, or whoever is there, it says
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  nothing if it cannot speak. But the body left to itself
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  without this kind of constant action of the mind upon it,
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  well, it has this as soon as there is some disturbance,
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  immediately it has an aspiration, a call, an effort to
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  seek help, and this is very powerful.
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  If nothing intervenes, it is very powerful.
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  It is as though the cells themselves sprang up in an
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  aspiration, a call in the body. There are invaluable and unknown
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  treasures in all its cells. There is an intensity of life,
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  of aspiration, of the will to progress, which one does not
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  usually even realize. The body consciousness would
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  have to be completely warped by the action of the mind, and
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  vital for it not to have an immediate will to reestablish
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  the equilibrium. When this will is not there, it
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  means that the entire body consciousness has been spoiled
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  by the intervention of the mind, and vital in people who cherish
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  their malady more or less subconsciously with a sort of
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  morbidity. Under the pretext that it makes
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  them interesting, it is not their body at all, poor body.
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  It is something they have imposed upon it with a mental or
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  vital perversion. The body, if left to itself, is
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  remarkable, for not only does it aspire for equilibrium and
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  wellbeing, but it is capable of restoring the balance if one
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  leaves one's body alone without intervening with all those
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  thoughts. All the vital reactions, all the
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  depressions, and also all the socalled knowledge and mental
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  constructions and fears. If one leaves the body to itself
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  spontaneously, it will do what is necessary to set itself right
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  again. The body and its natural state
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  likes equilibrium, likes harmony, and it is the other
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  parts of the being which spoil everything.
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  End Quote. Reference Sri Aurobindo and the
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  Mother Our Many Selves, Practical Yogic Psychology,
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  Chapter 2, Plains and Parts of the Being, pages 23 to 24.