Natural Health Part 1

Natural health has long been a subject that has held great interest for me, my interest started when I was a young father, to a young son, who had developed severe nappy rash, nothing that my wife or myself had tried made any impact on the problem. We had tried everything from the pharmacy but nothing worked. Then one day we were talking to a neighbour of ours, an elderly woman, who lived a few houses up the road from us, the conversation came round to Paul our son and his problem with the nappy rash, the old lady, Grace was her name, invited us into her house for a cup of tea, while we were drinking, Grace produced a glass jar with some dried flower heads within, She explained to us how to make a poultice from the herb, and urged us to try it on Paul. We were a little sceptical at the time, but desperation drove us to try it, miracle, within two days the rash had started to clear, and within a week it had cleared up completely. This experience had the effect of stimulating a life long interest in natural therapies, the herb was the dried flower of the elder tree, and every spring I still collect and dry some for if, and when our grand children need it. Grace must have passed on now as it was well over thirty years ago that this event took place, she may be gone, but while we lived near we struck up a great friendship, she taught me things about herbs, and in return I did heavy chores for her, she taught me where to find herbs, what time of year to look for them, and how to dry them and prepare them for use, but I think one of the most valuable lessons she taught me was, never take more than what you need, and always return something to the land in return, she always said that “herbs are natures gift, and we should never abuse her generosity.” God bless you Grace where ever you may be.

Natural health is a massive subject, there are far too many branches of natural medicine to cover in one article, there are indeed far too many to summarise, in one article, there are therapies that heal from without, such as Massage, Hydro-therapy, and Reflexology. There are therapies that heal physical maladies from within, such as herbalism, homoeopathy, and Bach flower remedies. There are therapies that heal the mind, and sooth the soul, such as music therapy, colour therapy, and meditation, the list goes on.

The main aim of natural healing is to achieve Homoeostasis, that is the perfect balance of mind body and spirit, to this end it is my personal belief that, where disease is concerned, prevention is better than cure. In western medicine the emphasis is on cure, this ethic is in complete contrast to the views held by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine, whose ethic is to prevent us from falling ill. In the west we pay our doctors to make us well, whereas in China the doctor pays you if you fall ill, I think this is an excellent incentive to keep patients in good health don’t you?.

There are many self help methods we can employ to maintain good health, and these can cost little or nothing in financial terms, exercise is a good way of helping to maintain good health, by exercise I don’t mean things like power lifting, or other strenuous sports, where given time injuries are inevitable, but more like walking, or even better swimming, swimming is an excellent exercise, as it exercises every muscle in the body, walking is also very good exercise, I don’t count browsing the shops in the mall as walking, but rather walks in the country side, where we also get the benefit of fresh clean air Yoga is great exercise, it consists of gentle stretching exercises, these can also be combined with yoga breathing exercises, together these bring a feeling of well being over a short period of time.

Diet is obviously another important factor in maintaining good health, look at the disorders in third world countries that are caused by malnutrition, rickets,and beriberi to name but two, in contrast we in the west tend to suffer other dietary disorders, such as obesity, which can lead to a multitude of health problems, so it is very important that we try and follow a well balanced diet, with plenty of fresh fruit, vegetables, and cereals, and we can help ourselves by cutting down on fats, sugars, and salty foods. If we follow a well balanced and varied diet there should be no need for supplements, as we should all the nutrition we need in our diets.

Relaxation is another important factor in maintaining good health, by relaxation I don’t mean sitting down in front of the TV with a glass of wine, or curling up and reading a good book, for if we are watching or reading, let’s say a thriller, then at tense moments in the story, we become tense, this is counter productive to true relaxation. True deep relaxation is the absence of any tension, the only tension should be that of our vital organs working, and in a state of deep relaxation even these are slowed to a minimum. Meditation is a good way to relax, one method I find good is to be in a warm but airy room, the room should be dim, but not dark, and if you wish you can have a scented candle with you, and/or some soft music in the background. Try and pick a quiet time for meditation, when you are ready lay on the floor with your arms laying limply by your sides and just let your feet fall to the sides, once in this position, tense every muscle in your body, hold for ten seconds, then let go, repeat this two or three times, now concentrate on your breathing, try and establish a deep slow natural rhythm, without forcing yourself, once you have done this concentrate on your feet, feel them relaxing, once your feet feel relaxed, move slowly up your entire body, paying special attention to the neck, and shoulders, once you have completed this stage, return your attention to your feet, but this time tell yourself that they feel heavy, too heavy to move, once again repeat the process all the way up your body, once you have reached this stage you can relax the mind, this is attained by letting go of all thoughts, you become an impartial observer of your thoughts rather than a participant in them. When you feel ready slowly bring yourself back, and have a good long stretch.

To conclude I would like to mention that it is not the aim of natural medicine to compete with modern medicine, but rather to complement it, indeed many medical institutions employ natural or complementary therapists, and medical science is looking to plant life for new cures. Until next time good health to you all.