Taking A Holistic, Integrative Path to Wellness & Health

“We are not physical beings having a spiritual experience; we are spiritual beings having a physical experience.” Pierre Teilhard de Chardin

Canadians have started to note that our present healthcare system is not quite meeting all of their needs, and there is a growing concern about how we can move to a more healing approach to being all we can be. Too often, the focus is on the physical, which is important when we talk about health, though we are more than our bodies when it comes to healing. A holistic approach that considers the person as a whole is important in changing behaviours and creating healthy lifestyles.

We are physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual beings. There is a mind-body-spirit connection, and we need to recognize that together they make us the whole beings we are. Even Florence Nightingale stated, “We are a reflection of the divine, with physical, metaphysical, and intellectual attributes.” The relationship between these aspects has a direct effect on our state of health or on our ability to heal. Optimal wellness involves every aspect of ourselves. So see and feel yourself in a new light; recognize your wholeness and recapture all of the parts of yourself that you may have overlooked. See yourself as more than your body and start to know your energy self.

Complementary therapies can help with this. Just be aware most healthcare professionals may lack the information or skills, and may harbour misinformation about these healing practices. Many of these methods have been practiced for centuries throughout the world. There are a wide variety of therapies, modalities and practices that can assist you that are not included in conventional (Western) medicine.

Interest in and use of complementary therapies is one of the ways you can meet your physical, mental, emotional and spiritual needs. Mind-body-spirit techniques are useful as they are cost-effective, have a positive effect on your health, can reduce tension and pain, improve coping skills, encourage relaxation, and may lessen the need for medication. Until recently most physicians did not openly accept therapies like massage, chiropractic and acupuncture as an option of care. In the last decade Health Canada has recognized them as a Regulated Health Professional group. Now they are being used regularly with wonderful results.

So take the next step, choose a complementary therapy, and begin your holistic path to wellness!