Wellness is not merely the absence of illness, it is a state of complete physical, mental, emotional & spiritual well-being
Lauren Vaknine
I believe in my body’s ability to heal; I believe in the wisdom of nature, that Mother Nature already has everything we need to prevent disease and to heal; and I believe that healthcare begins with us.
Through healing my body of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis (which you can read about here) I learnt that no one modality or healing method works in isolation; it is the culmination of healing all the aspects of self – physical, mental, emotional and spiritual – that creates space for true healing.
Practitioners who specialise in one modality often believe this modality to be the answer to all your health woes – sometimes they are. But generally, long-lasting, root-cause wellness requires an integrative approach.
Physical
What I put in and on my body is paramount. Eating organic (IE not produced using toxic chemicals), real foods and nothing processed is one of the most important changes you can make. By noting that with each thing we eat that uses something man-made and potentially harmful to be produced we are ingesting toxic chemicals that the body cannot effectively detoxify, we can more easily understand that by doing that we are increasing our toxic load and making it more and more difficult for the body’s natural processes to work efficiently. When the liver can no longer cope with the load, illness is triggered. Eat real. That’s the only diet you need to follow.
What we put on our bodies is equally important, as what goes on our skin filters through to the bloodstream and can impact health. Personal hygiene and cosmetic products, as well as perfumes, household cleaning products and anything else you may be ingesting or putting on or in you, should be natural. For ladies, check out my article on menstrual cups.
Recent research into epigenetics has been revolutionary. It has taught us that our genes are not our destiny. We may be genetically predisposed to myriad diseases, but it’s up to us, and the way we choose to live our lives, as to whether or not the gene expression is switched on, thereby triggering onset of illness. For a more in-depth look at this, please read this article I wrote.
Movement, sunlight, clean water and good food. There’s your first prescription.
Mental
I’m a devoted follower of the works of revolutionary neuroscientists and thought-leaders such as Dr Joe Dispenza, Bruce Lipton, Tony Robbins, Dr John Sarno and more recently, Dr Tara Swart. They all have one thing in common: a deep understanding of neuroplasticity. Recent developments in neuro-research has shown us that the brain has an incredible ability to reprogram itself, based on how we choose to use it.
Repetition builds neural pathways in the brain. So the longer something has been going on, the stronger the neural pathway is. We have to change the thought pattern to create a new, positive neural pathway to replace it with.
Each of the 4 aspects of self are just as integral as the next. “Brain training” is something I do every day. If you are suffering with a chronic illness, I implore you to look to this method and rewire your brain to believe in its ability to heal your body. Apps like Curable are brilliant for this, too, and the work of Dr John Sarno was revolutionary for this method.
Your personality creates your personal reality
Dr Joe Dispenza
Emotional
Repressed emotions can be as dangerous for our health as drinking alcohol every day or taking drugs every day. They lurk beneath the surface, itching to get out, and in our attempts to thwart them, our body tries to “protect” us by initiating disease or pain. The only way to be free of this is to unearth all those psychological and psychosomatic barriers that are holding us back. Journalling and, if you feel the pain goes deep enough, seeing a therapist, are excellent ways of managing this. A daily journal practice will ensure you always keep your emotions safely above the surface, encouraging psychological wellbeing and thereby stimulating wellness.
The pain isn’t in your head, but the answers aren’t in your body
Nicole Sachs
Spiritual
If there was time to do or focus on nothing else, my daily meditation practice is my non-negotiable.
Meditation and breathwork offer myriad, life-altering benefits that far exceed the idea that it simply ‘chills us out’.
Stress initiates a truck-load of health concerns, by releasing adrenaline and cortisol, overstimulating the endocrine system and lowering immunity. Stress and fear cause illness. This is fact. We have to mitigate the effects that micro-stresses in modern life cause by finding a way around it. Meditation is that way.
Meditation and breathwork improve oxygen capacity in the blood, which directly impacts energy levels and brain function and helps calm and regulate the autonomic nervous system. They increase our alpha brainwaves, and stimulate the parasympathetic nervous system, which is what alleviates stress and makes us feel calmer. Breathing deeply also helps reduce pain as it increases endorphins and lowers cortisol, helping the body’s healing processes. So it not only makes us calmer, but it also ensures strong immune health, better concentration, increased focus and productivity and gives us more energy.
On a more spiritual level, it’s through our five senses that we wake up our sixth sense. Practicing mindfulness using the senses helps us to be more present, and the more present we are in the right now the higher quality seeds we plant for the future, and the more we can connect with an entity outside of ourselves, the more grateful we become. Gratitude creates happiness. So you can see, it’s a cycle that leads to increased wellness in so many ways.
I advise meditating twice a day, and if you can break up your day by doing a meditation at lunchtime – like many large companies are now doing with their staff in the knowledge it helps performance – you’ll notice huge changes. As well as setting you up for a more positive and energy-filled day, it also sets you up for better sleep if you do it right before bed. If 20 minutes twice a day feels daunting, begin with 10 minutes. Once you initiate this practice for at least a month, I can pretty much guarantee you’ll want to increase it!
Meditate for 20 minutes, twice a day, unless you’re busy, then meditate more.
HH Radhanath Swami
Take Away Message
Putting effort into our wellbeing is not part of the convenience culture we’ve become accustomed to. It takes time and dedication, but I can promise you one thing: it’s a lot more convenient than getting or remaining in a state of illness.
I have a heap of Articles that go into more depth about much of what I speak about above. Feel free to scroll through these.
I’m currently working on a model for my health coaching that incorporates all these aspects, because I know that using this model in the right way will see wellness skyrocket. Bear with me as I try to do all this alongside raising babies! In the meantime, please remember to follow me on Instagram and Facebook!
Love & health,
Lauren <3