Articles

An Alternative Road to Health

Written by Stephanie Brander, R.N.H.P., C.A.H.T., A.P.P.

Excerpts from article printed in Moxi Femme magazine, December 2004

Holistic; health; healing: All these words all related, but how? Holistic, sometimes spelled "wholistic," means to treat the whole person. Health is the state of well being. Therefore, holistic health is being well as a whole person-not just in the physical, but in the mental, emotional, and spiritual aspects as well. To have a holistic attitude when it comes to health is to have an active attitude. People with this attitude focus on wellness and preventative care, and feel responsible for their own well-being and for participating fully in their own healing. Healing, in relation to holistic health, is an internal process that requires a person to examine her attitudes, memories, and beliefs. It involves releasing all negative patterns that prevents one's full emotional and spiritual recovery, and redirecting one's energy into love, self-esteem, and health. Choosing holistic health does not imply the rejection of traditional medical care, but rather involves a blend of both traditional and alternative.

Health is about achieving balance, as balance adds an extra quality to the whole. The sum of the whole is greater than the separate parts. Health is synergy and a dynamic process. Holistic health practitioners believe this perspective of dynamic balance is more useful and comprehensive than a symptom-oriented view, which is typically the case with traditional modern medicine. For example, people who take an antacid for chronic indigestion think this is the most appropriate way of relieving it. An antacid may relieve the symptoms, but a better long-term solution would be to rebalance the system with a change in diet and possibly use stress-reduction techniques in order to eliminate a chronic problem.

As a first step to holistic health, we need to take a more active role in our health by eating sensibly, exercising, and breaking habits or abandoning activities that are harmful to us. Benefits of this type of healing include the adoption of a more positive, take-charge attitude, which can renew both body and mind.

The concepts of holistic health are not new. Hippocrates, the father of Western medicine, said that the elements that are needed to produce and maintain good health were natural, and that they include the following: good hygiene, a calm and balanced mental state, a proper diet, a sound home and work environment, and physical conditioning. Over the ages, medical wisdom evolved, which linked health to a state of harmony or balance, and dis-ease to a state of disharmony or imbalance, and took into account factors that contributed to both.

Health is not just the absence of illness. When all our bodily systems and functions are harmoniously balanced and integrated with each other, as well as in balance with our environments, we are healthy. There is a balanced and energetic interplay between the four aspects of our health-physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual. When imbalances occur within any of these aspects, or in their relationships with each other, ill health occurs.

A desire to maintain good health, prevent dis-ease, to encourage the body's healing mechanisms, and to restore strength and health following a surgery, are all reasons why a person would choose alternative medicine. Illness can be as minor as a headache, a lack of energy, or a few hours of indigestion. As we get older, we develop ailments such as PMS, migraines, constipation, chronic lower back pain, frequent colds, allergies, blood pressure abnormalities, a number of symptoms related to stress, and more. Blocked emotions are one of the main causes of most physical ailments. The root of many illnesses lies not in stress, but in our reactions to stressful situations.

One of the advantages of alternative medicine is that it offers the individual a wide variety of health therapy options. It goes after the causes and treats the individual, instead of her symptoms. Alternative practitioners take into account all aspects of your life, and they use mostly gentle therapies to build the body's natural healing defenses and healing power. It is important to recognize that symptoms are signs that an individual's body is working to heal itself. A fever, for example, is a sign that your body is working to heal itself, as the raised temperature kills germs.

Experience shows that you're likely to get the best results from a practitioner who is trained in a number of different therapies. There is no single approach that works for everyone or under all conditions.

Below is a list of some of the more common therapies with a brief description of each. All of these therapies work.

Naturopaths are trained in nutrition, vitamins and minerals, botanical medicine, homeopathy, acupuncture, diagnosis, hydrotherapy, lifestyle counseling, and naturopathic manipulation. Plus, they avoid drugs and surgery. A naturopathic doctor (N.D.) is the equivalent of a medical doctor in the alternative medicine field.

Chiropractic doctors (D.C.) are concerned with the relationship of the spinal column and the musculoskeletal structures of the body to the nervous system. When there is nerve interference caused by misalignments in the spine, called subluxations, pain can occur, and the body's defenses can be lowered. By adjusting the spinal joints to remove subluxations, normal nerve function can be restored.

Homeopathy was discovered in 1796 by Samuel Hahnemann, and is based on the law of similars, like cures like. Minute doses of remedies (pellets or liquid) are used to stimulate the body to heal itself. All the symptoms, both subjective and objective, as well as the cause of the onset of an ailment, are the sole indications for the choice of remedy. Because it has been proven effective in treating diseases, homeopathy in North America has had to endure continual attacks by the medical establishment. In France, all pharmacies are required to carry homeopathic remedies along with conventional drugs.

Only a naturopaths, chiropractors, and homeopathic doctors are allowed to diagnose patients.

Nutrition consists of a healthy diet containing as many life-giving nutrients as possible. Life-giving nutrients are found in protein, healthy fats, and complex carbohydrates-which are whole grains, vegetables, and fruits. Nutritional Symptomotology is a process of evaluating bodily symptoms to find underlying causes and nutritional imbalances and is used as a tool to rebuild health.

Herbal medicine has existed on most continents for thousands of years. An herb is a plant or parts of plants, such as a leaves, seeds, or roots, which are used to make medicine. Herbs work in much of the same way as pharmaceutical drugs via their chemical makeup. How and why they work depends on the herb's action, whether it be anti-inflammatory, anti-spasmodic, laxative, etc. They are good for disease-prevention, first aid, to alleviate pain, and to promote better health and hasten healing. They are safe, nontoxic, relatively easy to use, and economical.

Acupuncture originated in China over five thousand years ago, and is based on the belief that health is determined by a balanced flow of qi, the vital life energy present in all living organisms. Qi circulates in the body along 12 major energy pathways, called meridians, each linked to specific internal organs and organ systems. There are over one thousand acupoints within the meridian system, which can be stimulated to enhance the flow of qi. When special needles are inserted into these acupoints just under the skin, they help connect and rebalance the flow of energy and, consequently, relieve pain and/or restore health.

There are many kinds of massage, all of them are done with hands and involve being touched. Swedish massage, ironically a Western style, is the most common. It works primarily to affect the muscles, the connective tissues (including tendons and ligaments), and to improve circulation. It helps release tension and improves overall well-being. It also helps remove toxins from the body, and can improve physical and structural problems.

Aromatherapy is one of the oldest healing arts. It relaxes the body, mind, emotions, and spirit using aromatic botanical essential oils, to provide balance and help alleviate symptoms of illness. The oils each have individual properties associated with them, like analgesic, anti-inflammatory, sedative, aphrodisiac etc., and when they enter the body via the skin, automatically go to where they are needed. These oils are applied through a full-body lymphatic massage, whereby toxins are eliminated from one's lymph nodes.

Reflexology is based on the principle that there are reflex points in the head, hands, and feet, which correspond to all parts of the body, including glands, organs, and systems. Stimulation of the reflex points can help relieve stress and tension, improve circulation, balance the body, and assist the body's natural defense against illness.

In Japanese, Reiki means "universal life energy." It is a non-invasive healing technique that uses universal energy (channeled by a Reiki practitioner), which involves the laying-on of the hands to activate and promote the integration of the body-mind-spirit dynamic. It relieves pain, is used for acute ailments and chronic illness, and encourages spiritual growth.

Therapeutic Touch (TT) is an energy-based system, whereby the practitioner makes contact with the energy surrounding the body, and modulates it without touching the body. This is useful in cases where touching the skin would be painful or advised against. TT practitioners induce relaxation, reduce pain, and accelerate self-healing capacities, which, in turn, alleviate a number of symptoms.

Choosing the road to holistic health can heal you in all aspects of yourself so that you become a whole person, which is the highest level of health we can attain. Starting now will reduce the occurrence of ailments, or reverse ones you already have. Each person takes the journey in his or her own way. The journey in itself is active and exciting. You will love it!