It’s pretty obvious that I am an advocate for natural health care. Not because it sounds good, but because at a low time in my life, that’s all that worked for me. Our physical health is a direct result of our emotional, mental and spiritual state of health. When you start to understand how to improve the health of those, your physical health starts getting better. For some reason though, we are wired to do it backwards. To fix the physical health and then life is rosy and well. In holistic health, in the yoga lifestyle, in First Nations culture, in times well before us, this was obvious. Common knowledge. What happened? How did we forget these important components? Society has told us that we are weak if we talk about our emotions. Society has told us that you must belong to a religion to be spiritual. Who is society? Do they reflect who you are and where you want to be? Do they reflect your goals and purpose in life? Does society pay your bills and are there for you in times of need? Chances are, no! So why give them the power to have over you? You are intelligent, and capable of determining who it is you want to be. You don’t need society to compare yourself too. Society doesn’t hold a candle to who you are.
The people I see always come to me with a physical complaint. By the end of our time together we have some kind of grasp on how certain situations, trauma or stress has led them to their physical health condition and they didn’t even recognize it. It doesn’t take a doctor or anyone with any training, really, to understand that stress kills. Your sleep habits, your diet, your relationships, will to live, it’s all associated with your current mental and emotional health, and perhaps your lack of spiritual awareness. If you keep neglecting these essential pillars of your well being, your physical health becomes ill. You have chronic pain, inflammation, disease and then what? This is why I don’t work with people with a simple interest in weight loss, for instance. You losing weight is not my interest. I want to teach you to understand the reasons you became overweight in the first place. Looking deep inside you, asking yourself the questions you don’t want to answer, and start getting rid of the emotional baggage that you might have been carrying around for years. When you figure out those issues and start getting a little self-realization, you will see the weight come off. You will see the vitality in your face again. Trust me, I’ve lived it, and that’s why I advocate it. I’ve fought a hard battle to get to where I am, an internal battle that had nothing to do with picking up weights and calorie-counting. Self-realization and awareness are the secrets to your health. As health leaders we can throw plans and programs and supplements at you, but you hold the key.
Look at your life, practise minimalism in all ways. Get rid of excess baggage from your home, work, relationships and thoughts. How can you enjoy your life when you’re being weighed down by things that don’t serve you any positive purpose?
It doesn’t have to be overwhelming. Start small. Let’s focus on nourishing our whole body, mind and soul, and not just counting calories and scale hopping.