It Takes A Village

Probably one of the most common things I hear from my clients is, "Well, I want to only do one thing at a time, so I know what actually works..."  Does this sound familiar?  It makes me wonder if this is a side-effect of a monogamous society, or the weird way I have of eating all of one thing on my plate before beginning on another.  It certainly makes waitresses roll their eyes when they come to ask me how I like the salmon, when I'm just beginning the potato after the asparagas, and have yet to touch the salmon.  I suppose I could begin with the salmon, but somehow the main course seems to be last for me.... But in the world of holistic health, you can't forget the word "holistic".  

Holistic means essentially “in contemplation of the whole”.  So when I'm putting together a plan for someone to address their symptoms, conditions or diseases, I have to consider their emotional health, their physical health, their nutritional health, their lifestyle, their stress level, what has happened to them in their life, and myriad other little things many of which have become rather intuitive over the 30 years I've done this.  In other words, it takes a village... it takes therapies, food, nutrients, herbs, homeopathics, talk, rest, exercise and above all, change.

The mistake we make is focusing solely on the symptom and forgetting that the symptom is not the result of a disease, it is the result of a combination of factors over time that has led our body to weaken to the point of not being able to shoulder all the functions we ask of it.  You can't simply eat healthy and expect everything to come out all right, although sometimes that is all it takes.  Instead you have to be honest with yourself about all the ways in which you have put yourself last and face the fact that you have to change that pattern.  Probably the most difficult thing my patients experience is the realization that they have made choices that have landed them in a no-win situation in relation to their job, their relationship, other people's expectations, their children, their schedule and sometimes even their pet.

So you can't just say that you are tired of the traditional medical route because all they give you are pills to take, and then expect to see a natural practitioner simply to have to get pills to take.  You see the irony?  Instead you have to invest in your health the same amount of time, money, effort and change that you should have been doing all along.  So you can't give up the liver detoxifier in lieu of the mineral support, nor opt for the added vegetables instead of the acupuncture session.  You have to treat all of your body's aspects at the same time because that's what it took for you to get to this place....

That's how the success of my practice has developed... through the realization that it takes a village to truly heal the entire person.  Not just for today but in a way that teaches you what you need to do every day to stay healthy.  I'm lucky that I work in a great village... I just need to take advantage of what it has to offer one of these days!