I've been working in Alternative Health since 1993. The deeper I fall down the rabbit hole into this wonderland of incredible ancient knowledge the more I have come to believe that health has to be all encompassing. Previously the phrase "holistic health" has been used but, whilst that is grammatically correct it sadly now has connotations of generally medically ineffective but very pleasant complimentary therapies. So I have decided that I am a "whole health" practitioner.
My learning is that to obtain full health its not enough to eat Paleo and drink our green juices. Its also not enough doing yoga or going to the gym.
To be fully consciously healthy we need to look at every aspect of our lives.
That means working on our self development and increasing our emotional intelligence, It means reducing our exposure to toxic chemicals such as parabens, phthalates and petro chemicals found in air fresheners, toiletries, cosmetics ,and cleaning products.
Choosing to eat organic food where we can and making sure that most days we are eating the right fuel for our bodies. Protein, fats and carbohydrates need to feature in every meal without fail to ensure our blood sugars and hormones are really stable. Removing glutens and sugars are really important for optimum health
Learning to be really authentic and honest with ourselves and others is vital. This way we create conscious relationships that are so much more fulfilling than relationships that offer a veneer of happiness.
But, making these changes is difficult and we can't do it all overnight. It has taken me twelve years to make the changes to live this consciously. I used to be a standard, overweight junk food eating, chemical wearing, negative minded, medication taking twenty seven year old and I only started on this journey because I was ill and I had no other option, but just over a decade later and the results are so worth it.
My recommendations are always to start slowly, choose one thing at a time to change and then another, then another. Don't try and change everything at once or it becomes too overwhelming, but please do take the baby steps. When we do we become less reliant on doctors, medication and those adverts that try and sell us food that we instinctively know isn't good for us. We reconnect back into our innate wisdom, our inner compass that desperately wants us to get back to wellness and joy.
Actually most parts of modern day living are taking us away from that connection and that joy, this is why we have conditions such as IBS, depression, obesity and diabetes becoming literally epidemics. The only way to tackle these is to get back to basics which means stripping away all the stressors on our bodies.
I call this The Spectrum Of Health. At one end is for example where I was - overweight, on medication eating a bad diet and too stressed. At the other end is where I am, healthy, toxic chemical free, constantly working on my emotional intelligence and surrounded by authentic relationships. My first step was to give up wheat, then toxic chemicals, then I was able to start working on my emotions and before I knew it I was working my way through the spectrum of health. Now I may be really extreme and I don't believe everyone needs to take it as far as me, but if we want to be well, really well and experience abundance and joy we need to keep taking those steps.
Where are you going to start?