Widely known as “the mother of mindfulness,” Ellen J. Langer is regarded as one of America’s most influential psychologists. Her new book, THE MINDFUL BODY: Thinking Our Way to Chronic Health (Ballantine, on sale 9/5), is the culmination of decades of revolutionary research that makes a convincing case to see mind and body as a single unit. This gives us enormous control over our health and well-being.

When it comes to our health, too many of us think that a medical diagnosis describes a static or worsening condition. We live our lives as though our ailments—our stiff knees or frayed nerves or failing eyesight—can only change in one direction: for the worse. Langer’s life’s work proves the fault in that logic. She has spent more than forty years testing the limiting effects of our negative assumptions as well as the healing power of being mindful—actively noticing the world around us and not distracted by memories or projections into the future. In THE MINDFUL BODY she unpacks her findings and boldly demonstrates how our thoughts and perspectives have the potential to shape our well-being. Taking us into Langer’s trailblazing Harvard lab, THE MINDFUL BODY recounts many of her colorful experiments to illustrate the influence of mindfulness on how our bodies function, how we heal, and even how we age.