by Sheryl Hockey
Can you tick any of these boxes?
- Stressed?
- Exhausted?
- Poor sleep quality or insomnia?
- No time for exercise? Or a desk job?
- Possible deficiencies of vitamins or minerals?
- Busy, busy, busy with no time for yourself?
- Overuse/dependency on food, alcohol, cigarettes, drugs etc?
- Poor quality of nutrients in food?
- Pollution of air, water or food supply?
- Toxins from your workplace or home?
- Or a combination of all of the above???
What is Holistic Health?
When we talk about Holistic Health, the above list is some of the factors that need consideration. Humans are complex beings with multi-factorial conditions that are getting more challenging to understand, diagnose and treat.
Herbalists or other Natural Health Practitioners do not diagnose conditions, but we understand when imbalances are occurring within the body and what factors may be influencing these imbalances. Our bodies are so clever; you cannot heal one health condition and not have a positive impact on others. By bringing the body back into balance or homeostasis, the body can begin to find the health within itself.
The aim of a natural therapist is to reverse the disease process or prevent dis-ease in the body in the first place. In reversing these processes, the body’s healing includes detoxing the acute stage of the illness that occurred within the body previously. This is known as a ‘healing crisis’ amongst practitioners and needs to be worked through in order to heal the body. The old saying ‘it will get worse before it gets better’ is true in this case, however this is the way that the body removes toxins to improve function and increase vitality!
To achieve optimum health, we need to consider health on every level- mind, body and spirit. If the diet is fantastic, but the person does not exercise, the body will not achieve optimum health. The same is true for a person who has a fantastic diet and exercise routine but is in a difficult relationship where they are not able to speck their truth, poor health on some level can result.
My role is to guide you towards better choices for your individual situation with your health goals in mind. I take an individual approach as everyone is so different, there is not ‘a pill for every ill’. I may treat stress in 100 different people, with 100 different prescriptions as this is the best way to support each individual.
