The Rhythms of Healing

            The wellness approach true purpose is to find any underlying causes of disturbance or disruption and then make interventions and lifestyle adjustments to optimize the condition for normal rhythm and function. The main difference between wellness care and standard medical care is that wellness care seeks to turn on the natural healing ability. Wellness care does not add something to the system; instead it removes anything that might interfere with normal function. Wellness care trusts that the body would know what to do if nothing were interfering with it. Standard medical care, on the other hand, seeks to treat a symptom by adding something from the outside - a medication, a surgery or procedure.

Inside Out vs. Outside In

If a patient has high blood pressure, a standard medical approach would be to choose a prescription that lowers blood pressure, and ask the patient to take that drug on a regular basis. This approach may serve to lower the blood pressure, but ignores the underlying cause that is making the blood pressure high. In addition it can run the risk of side effects that could complicate the person's recovery. Whether it's a nutritional issue, faulty control by the nerve system, or a manifestation of stress the medication could decrease the blood pressure but will leave the problem that is causing the high blood pressure unaddressed. Do you want to patch the problem or FIX the problem? What does that mean for your longterm health?

The Wellness Approach

             A wellness environment encourages natural healing, and minimizes the need for invasive treatment; treatment that I feel should be administered only when absolutely necessary. When the body is working properly, it tends to heal effectively, no matter what the condition. When the body heals well and maintains itself well, then there is another level of health that goes beyond "asymptomatic" or "pain-free.” This can reveal an open-ended opportunity for vitality, vibrant health, and an enhanced experience of life. It is true for mental and emotional health as well as physical health. Wellness truly is a state of optimal conditions that create normal rhythm and function (and so much more of course). As stated above the wellness approach is to truly find underlying causes of any disturbance or disruption (which may or may not be causing symptoms at the time) and then make interventions and lifestyle adjustments to optimize the conditions for normal function. When your body is not working at its optimal state what will the result to your life be? What approach will you choose? Think about it!