From both personal experience and my twelve-years of experience as a healer, I have seen the body’s incredible, yet natural, ability heal. We often ignore, misinterpret or are unaware of the messages that our bodies are trying to send us and the healing they are trying to do. We can tap into our intuition and trust our feelings and random thoughts about our health. By listening to the physical messages that our bodies send, we can identify imbalances and have faith in our bodies’ ability heal. Trusting your intuition is the first step to trusting in our bodies ability to heal.
Signals
Ever had a gut feeling that you were sick, or that a ache or pain was a sign that something was more serious? These thoughts or feelings are signals from our bodies to tell us something. It is easy to tell ourselves that everything is fine and to take aspirin to get rid of the pain. It doesn’t stop a cold or other illness from happening if you ignore your intuition. We can have more rest to fight the cold, or visit the doctor to treat it before it becomes serious. If we believe in our intuition, we might be able to trust our instincts. Trust your gut feeling.
Trusting your gut feelings about your health is important. Our bodies also try to tell you what’s going on. While pain can be a sign of illness or injury, it can also indicate that our bodies are trying to heal themselves. Everything feels better when our bodies are healthy. Things ache when our bodies are healing. My clients and I have often shared with them that healing, no matter how it is fighting an infection or repairing wounds, hurts. This is the body’s way to tell us it is doing its job and working hard to get things back in order.
Pain Factor
While aches and pains are the most obvious sign of healing, there are other signs that our bodies can tell us our health is not in good condition and we need to heal. These symptoms can include unusual tiredness, sleepiness, fatigue, mental fogginess and forgetfulness. Listening to our bodies can help us to get more sleep, to set aside time for meditation and relaxation, to ensure proper nutrition and hydration, as well as to make arrangements to see a doctor if we feel that something is more serious.
Common illnesses such as the flu or cold, as well as minor injuries and chronic conditions, can be treated with proper care. If we give our bodies rest, nutrition, and hydration, they will heal themselves. Even if you have more serious injuries or illnesses that require medical attention, your body will heal quicker and be healthier.
Natural Remedies
Natural therapies, including herbalism, are based on different assumptions and a different foundation than modern medicine. These are the assumptions or principles that underlie herbalists and others who work in natural medicine.
- ‘Do no harm’. This principle is the foundation of all natural medicine. It was first proclaimed more than 2,000 years ago by Hippocrates, a Greek philosopher and physician. This was the foundation of modern medicine. Modern medicine has diverged from its original path. It is easy to say that all medical procedures and pharmaceutical drugs cause harm, even if they are trying to improve symptoms. Natural therapy practitioners maintain the principle of ‘do no harm’. This means that herbalists use the whole plant, and are cautious about using dangerous herbs or high doses.
- Nature has healing power. The body can heal itself if given the chance and given the right encouragement (at least in most cases). The natural therapist/herbalist’s role is to help the body heal, cleanse, and restore itself. Modern medicine uses pharmaceutical drugs to alter the body’s behavior or to remove the problem areas that require surgery. The drugs are often used to suppress the body’s natural reactions – suppress the symptoms. Natural therapists see the body’s natural reactions to adverse circumstances as evidence that it is trying adjust to them. These reactions can be ‘worked through’ instead of suppressed. The natural therapist will also work to correct the adverse circumstances and eliminate the need for the body to’react’. This will correct imbalances and restore function.
- The natural approach to treating someone is to treat them as an integrated whole – their mind, body and emotions. All aspects of a person interact and there will be an effect on each other. Natural therapists work with the whole person and not just one part. This means that the herbalist uses a combination of whole herbs to achieve the desired effect for the individual. The aim is to find the root cause of the problem by examining all signs and symptoms. This holistic approach is different from modern medicine, which often only addresses the symptoms and does not address the root causes of the symptoms. The natural therapist aims to improve the overall health of the patient. Modern medicine focuses on treating illnesses, but does not promote actual health.
- The primary role of the natural therapist is to teach. The role of the natural therapist is to empower people with knowledge, skills, and attitudes that will allow them to make informed decisions about their health and well-being. This means they won’t be dependent on the therapist, but will be able manage their own health. This approach believes that prevention is better than treatment and that people are responsible for making decisions and health-oriented changes. Natural therapists have a different approach to illness and health than modern medical professionals.