Why Holistic?
By: Alexis Shaw
Why Holistic?
As natural healing and medicine are rising in popularity these days, you probably have heard the word “holistic” used many times. What does it mean exactly and what makes holistic healing different from other types of healing modalities?
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia:
Holism (from ὂλος holos, a Greek word meaning all, whole, entire, total) is the idea that all the properties of a given system (physical, biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, linguistic, etc.) cannot be determined or explained by its component parts alone. Instead, the system as a whole determines in an important way how the parts behave.
Holistic healing treats the whole person. From the physical body (nutrition and exercise), to realistic thinking (the mental body), emotional processing and expression (the spiritual body); basically, a persons’ entire lifestyle can affect anything and everything within them and around them. It is the optimum in preventive AND curative care.
Typically, when a person is ill, they will visit their doctor and take whatever prescription was prescribed to them. The doctor may offer some nutritional advice as well as a suggestion to rest. What about looking at or finding the cause of the illness? Holistic medicine addresses this. How about not covering up a symptom, (telling your mind and body that it’s wrong) and releasing old “stuff” that is causing an imbalance to occur? Holistic medicine addresses this as well.
You see, when we ignore a recurring issue, it is bound to keep coming up over and over again. It could be related to diet. It may be related to how we hold our power in certain situations. Are we moving enough? Are we treating our bodies well? Resting when we are tired and exercising when we have excess energy, or need to feel a sense of balance? Do we take time each day to just be? No thought, no action, just stillness and breath. When we do think, what do those thoughts consist of? Are they repetitive and negative, or positive and flowing?
Holistic medicine takes a deep look at every aspect of our human selves. Allowing us to take control of our own health and well-being. How empowering!
If you have yet to enter into the world of holistic health and see a practitioner, I highly recommend it. It changed my life, even causing me to pursue becoming a practitioner myself. The best part about it is the awareness I’ve gained in realizing just how connected everything is in my mind, body and spirit.
Alexis Shaw is a Registered Polarity/RYSE Practioner, Polarity Yoga Instructor and Birth Doula residing in Pittsburgh, PA. Her passion for empowering people coupled with close to 800 hours of training in Polarity Therapy and RYSE allows her to assist in getting people where they want to be in mind, body and spirit. Empowering people to achieve clarity and awareness in life is her main desire. For more information visit : http://soulessential.org