Coronavirus and lockdown has served to highlight what I believe is a real problem – how we are taught to look after our health.
Holistic practitioners have always known that health requires a whole body approach.
Holisitic health recognises that all parts of the body and mind are interconnected.
To treat one problem you treat the whole person.
A symptom in one part of your mind or body does not happen in isolation
Conventional medicine tends to focus on individual symptoms.
Those symptoms are then associated with a particular part of the body.
You may see a specialist who will have an in-depth knowledge of that part or system of your body. The potential problem is that they may only see that symptom in isolation. Not as one interconnected part of the whole of you.
My clients frequently tell me they are passed from one specialist to another. Often without a positive outcome.
This way of breaking down the body into separate parts does not promote an understanding of the whole-body (i.e. holistic) approach to health.
Boris’s message during the current coronavirus pandemic ignores the holistic approach
The current message from the government is all about social distancing, face masks and washing hands.
Let me be clear that I agree that all of these things are important measures.
It’s just that there would be a huge impact if we were all encouraged to boost our immunity naturally. We can do this alongside these other practical measures.
Making better choices everyday means you could improve your health during lockdown and beyond.
You’d probably have more energy and feel happier too.
What’s not to like?
And the best bit is that it’s not difficult.
It might be different, but it’s not difficult
Eat real unprocessed food.
Learn how to get better sleep.
Manage stress.
Keep active.
That’s it.
You need to work on all these areas to get the most benefit. That’s because, like I said earlier, everything is connected.
The 4 Pillar Plan
Before I started this blog I revisited the book ‘The 4 Pillar Plan’ by Dr Rangan Chatterjee. I got it earlier in the year but had only flicked through it until now.
I was so happy to find that his book is about exactly what I’m trying to say! He probably explains it a bit more clearly than me.
His four pillars match up with the four areas I’ve mentioned above:
- Relax (manage stress)
- Eat (eat real unprocessed food)
- Move (keep active)
- Sleep (learn how to get better sleep)
Chatterjee argues that doctors should be healing people by treating the root cause of their symptoms, not just suppressing their symptoms.
He recognises that current medical training doesn’t teach this approach. He states:
. . . the future of medicine will be about more doctors being super-generalists, rather than super-specialists. Just as our understanding of the human body is evolving, so the practice of medicine will also need to evolve.
Hearing a medical doctor say what holistic practitioners have been saying for years is a wonderful thing!
Chatterjee explains how it’s possible to reverse chronic illness by treating the reason for the disease and not just the symptoms. [Check out his TEDx Talk, it’s inspiring!]
He gives examples from his own practice where he is just as likely to give a ‘lifestyle prescription’ as a drug – it’s all down to what the person in front of him needs.
In this way he has helped countless people reverse chronic illnesses such as diabetes, high-blood pressure or irritable bowel syndrome.
But this isn’t just for people with a chronic health problem. It’s for you and me and everyone else. This quote sums it up:
Good health occurs outside the doctor’s surgery – not inside. Our lifestyles themselves are often the best medicine.
Over to you
If you would like to take charge of your health then these four areas are what you need to work on.
Eat real food.
Improve your sleep.
Manage your stress levels.
Get moving.
Addressing these four areas of your life will do so much more for your health and immunity than just relying on a face mask.
The benefits to you will last a lifetime. If more of us take this approach it could save the NHS a lot of money.
Interested in finding out more?
You might like to read this related blog post.
If you like the idea of what I’m talking about or you have specific concerns you would like to address, why not book a free 30 minute Discovery Call with me? You can tell me what’s going on for you and I’ll let you know if I think I can help.
Take care,
Sarah x