Wholistic & Natural Health for a Healthy Lifestyle

January 2nd, 2009

Now we are going to take a deeper look at wholistic alternatives for your total health. Wholistic is more commonly spelled “holistic,” but I’ve always have preferred ” wholistic ” as it evokes images of wholeness and wholesomeness. An online dictonary defines wholistic as “relating to or concerned with wholes or with complete systems rather than with the analysis of, treatment of, or dissection into parts <wholistic medicine attempts to treat both the mind and the body>” and I would add…” and the spirit as one.” Aristotle, in Metaphysica, stated “The whole is more than the sum of its parts.” The whole body-mind-spirit works together as a single unit, a synergistic combination of all of its “apparently” separate functions and physiology. In truth, body functions and physiology are delicately inter-related in a sensitive state of balance.  This is the working philosophy of wholistic total health.

Wholistic health also infers natural health. We bring elements of the environment into our bodies that either maintain, improve, or deplete our health; elements such as the air, water, food, natural remedies, medications, skin products, kitchen and laundry and garden products. We need to be careful of chemicals in the environment affecting our health, such as air and water quality. We also need to be careful of chemicals that  manufacturers put in our food products,  on our foods or soil as they grow, and in the natural remedies or medications we take to revive our health when we are taken ill. The use of chemicals in and around our homes also affect our health.  In the practice of wholistic and natural health, I believe an easy simple whole foods diet, vegetarian nutrition,  and plant-based natural remedies and household cleaning products are the most natural and safe for the whole body.  So we see that nutrition from whole foods and remedies, and skincare, and household products from natural sources are important elements in wholistic total health in our everyday lives.

In a wholistic total health lifestyle, therapeutic massage, therapeutic exercise, and detox cleansing  are vital components.  Our bodies continuously deal with the elimination of wastes from digestion, the chemistry in our home and outdoor environment.  Stress and tension leave their mark in our minds but certainly affect the body. Overuse, overwork, or injury of the body from work, play and exercise not only affect the comfort level and energy flow of the body but also may add to the reserve of wastes we carry in the body systems.  These wastes transit and may even remain in various body systems, not only in the digestive-elimination system, lungs, liver, kidneys, lymphatic system, hair and skin, but also in the muscles and connective tissues. The physical working of the body by way of therapeutic massage, therapeutic exercise and detox cleansing affects our comfort, energy, flexibility, and total health.

In our long experience of working with clients, I have seen that what is most wanted is a “magic pill” as a one-stop does it all remedy.  If life were only that easy.  What truly does work is a singular wholistic healthy lifestyle as your total health program.  This would consist of:

> eating  and drinking  foods and beverages from a easy simple whole foods diet,
> using plant-derived natural supplements for basic maintenance augmented with customized natural supplements and detox cleansing for your particular needs

> keeping a cautious watch over the chemicals in your life with:

natural cleansers for body and home,
organic gardening and landscaping,
always drink purified water and natural beverages and juices,
air purifiers if you’re not in the countryside.

> Get regularly-scheduled therapeutic massage weekly or at least monthly and learn self-pressure points and therapeutic exercise to do regularly to get the pain and sludge out of your body.

The best prevention of illness or feeling less than optimal is actively living a healthy lifestyle and natural remedy program of the above elements.  As you can combine these natural health remedies in your lifestyle will  create a synergistic effect of greater healthfulness and longevity for you.

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