Holistic healing dates back 5,000 years to ancient India and China. Healers used their natural resources to create remedies that cured ailments of all kinds. In the method of holistic healing, it is believed that the human mind, body, and spirit are all interdependent systems, and failure of any one of them will result in subsequent failure of the others. You may have heard the saying “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”, and in this particular circumstance, it is 100 percent correct. In order to achieve maximum health, you must focus on healing yourself as a whole, instead of focusing on one trouble and neglecting the others.
Ancient healers encouraged patients to become one with their surroundings to reach the highest level of health possible. The environment’s external factors play a large role in human health and can unknowingly result in illness. For example, meeting deadlines can be extremely stressful, especially when there are other obligations in your life you must also take care of. The thought of all of these responsibilities can overcrowd your mind and lead to migraines or body aches. This is your body responding to the imbalance of your mind and spirit—it is responding to emotion caused by your surroundings.
Holistic healing isn’t the simple burning of incense or crushing of herbs to make “magical” healing teas, it is about understanding your body and its response to your life choices. If you are interested in learning more about holistic healing, you must first be willing to do some research on yourself.
Buy a small journal, one you can carry with you throughout the day to record thoughts and changes. Start by writing down your current daily routine, and how you usually feel during the course of the day. Are you still sluggish even after you’ve gotten dressed for work? Did you skip breakfast and notice a negative attitude that has no real identifiable cause? Or are you always anxious about the next assignment you have to get done and can correlate that to your frequent stomach aches or migraines? Jotting down all of these observations will make you more conscious about your daily life decisions and encourage you to identify problem areas you can improve on.
Changes like waking up earlier to do 15 minutes of stretching can prevent aches and pains throughout the day, and it will also circulate more blood to your brain. Eating a well-balanced breakfast will prepare you for the day and help avoid a hangry episode until lunch. Thinking positively and planning out your day to give yourself the proper amount of time to get all of your work done will lead to less stress and fewer migraines you choose to alleviate yourself using synthesized medication.
With all of the advances in medicine made in the 20th century, the picture of health in the western world completely changed. People were no longer interested in using methods that encouraged simultaneous healing of the mind, body, and spirit when modern medicine gave them temporary relief from specific problems.
Instant gratification was the new way of “healing” the body; using manmade drugs to target a diagnosed illness, whether it be mental or physical. However, with the temporary relief of your targeted ailment, comes the quickly read through side effects you can never really understand in the commercials. Commercial sequences are meant to attract you to the drug, to reassure any worry you may have had in regard to taking medicine to cure you.
The person with the ailment always speaks with a sad tone, telling you all of their problems and how they impact their everyday lives. Next, they’ll tell you about the drug their doctor prescribed, and the purpose of the drug. Following the change of scenery when they’re riding bikes with their hair in the wind or laughing with their friends while dining at a restaurant come the ghastly side effects: kidney failure, collapsing lungs, rashes, impaired vision, and the list goes on.
Modern medicine has given people the opportunity to opt for making poor life decisions because they have medicine at their fingertips to rely on.
With the advances in medicine, have also come advances in technology. Social media platforms have transformed from social hubs to reconnect with longtime friends, they have become sources of information. Experts from all kinds of niches are able to build followings and share their knowledge on specific topics, with the result of people closely following that same way of life. The same can be said for health. Physical trainers, spiritual guides, and even nutritionists are now taking advantage of what being an influencer means. They promote health and wellbeing and generate thousands of followers who are looking to consciously improve their lives through consistency and dedication.
An article from the Huffington Post reveals that those from younger generations are privier to their health than those from previous generations. Not only are they more aware of their health, they are also more proactive about maintaining it and preventing any possible issues in the future. Working out, eating right, getting a full night’s rest are only some of the ways millennials have taken their wellbeing into their own hands, and it’s actually encouraging other generations to do the same to increase longevity and independence. And although the Western medicine model is still an appropriate and necessary approach to illness, people are becoming more informed of natural ways to heal themselves and create a balanced and healthy lifestyle.
Holistic healing isn’t a method you should refer back to whenever you feel yourself slipping into the same place you started from, it’s a lifestyle—a constant hunger for maintaining overall health and learning to work with the Earth to your advantage. Being an advocate for your own health will allow you to make better decisions and see changes that you didn’t think were possible with just a change in your diet, thoughts, or even your morning routine. Don’t be mistaken, you should still see your physician regularly to work through any urgent physical issues lurking about, but always make sure that using all of what nature has to offer is your first step to recovery. Happy healing!
