UNIVERSE WITHIN by Gwen Randall-Young
• Health is a relationship between you and your body. – Terri Guillemets
In earlier times, before hospitals and doctors, people figured out how to heal themselves. From aboriginal healing practices to Chinese medicine, there was always something in nature to treat an ailment that presented itself. People had confidence in the roots, the leaves and the bounty of nature to return them to health.
Slowly, as the practice of modern medicine evolved, we began to give our power away to the doctors and pharmacists. We became disconnected from our own wisdom and intuition around healing. We took our illness to the doctor and looked to him or her for an answer. Increasingly, however, over time, our confidence in modern medicine has been eroding.
We have lost touch with our inner wisdom about our bodies and we have also lost our connection to them. And because we’re not so sure about the medical system, there is often an insecurity about what is or might be going on in our bodies. Most people are more certain about how to keep their vehicles in good running order and what is required to fix them than they are about what is actually going on with their body.
More and more, it seems pharmaceutical companies are driving treatment with products that treat symptoms rather than eliminating the cause. Often, the warnings indicate things that could “happen” that are worse than the condition being treated.
We need to take our bodies back! Our bodies are designed to be self-healing. Avoiding or removing toxins or things with toxic effects and providing the body with powerful nutrients can help us avoid illness in the first place.
If we do develop illness, it is important to transform feelings of fear and helplessness into confidence and determination. Decide to learn as much as you can about your condition from many different sources, not just what the doctor is telling you. He or she cannot possibly keep up with all the latest research, much less stay informed about all the alternative health perspectives.
Do not just focus on the illness, but rather on the conditions that must exist in the body for that illness to occur. Work to change your inner “ecosystem” so it no longer supports illness. One simple example involves the level of acidity or alkalinity in our bodies. If our pH is more acidic, many negative health effects can occur. You can buy test strips at your health food store and learn how to keep your system more alkaline.
Learn about ways to detoxify the body. Studies have found more than 200 synthetic chemicals in umbilical cord blood. There is much we can do to help purify our bodies much like we purify the air we breathe in our homes. Learn about supplements that strengthen our immune system and find out how to minimize stress and anger, which both suppress the immune system.
Much as an athlete gets in prime shape for a competition, we must keep ourselves in prime condition for health, vitality and longevity. Health is so much more than the absence of illness.
Psych yourself up to be the best coach you can have in terms of creating optimum health or healing illness. This is not a passive event or a spectator sport. Get involved and empowered. Think in terms of bodymind; the body and mind are not separate. They can support and empower each other or they can negatively affect each other. Do not default to illness: consciously choose health and wellness.
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Gwen Randall-Young is an author and psychotherapist in private practice. For articles and information about her books, Deep Powerful Change Hypnosis CDs and new “Creating Healthy Relationships” series, visit www.gwen.ca.