What Is Holistic Health?
Holistic Health is not a new wave term or one that is only used by those who survived the 60’s. It is a form of alternative health care that is shared by many believers. Alternative health therapies are those that are practiced outside the realm of modern scientific belief therapies.
What Does It Mean?
What does holistic health mean?
The word holistic stems from the Greek work holos that means all or total. So one could say that holistic health is whole health. The general concept was derived from Aristotle when he theorized that “the whole is more than the sum of its parts”. The idea of it all is that all the properties of a given system (biological, chemical, social, economic, mental, etc) cannot be determined by its component but rather the system as a whole determines how the parts behave. The goal is a wellness that encompasses the entire person, rather then just the lack of pain or disease. The concept of health and fitness view achieving and maintaining good health more then just taking care of the physical aspect. The mental and the emotional aspects of the whole body must be met for whole wellness to be achieved.
Holistic health is more then a one-way approach to wellness; it is a lifestyle and an approach to how treatment should be applied. The holistic believer is involved in the role of complete wholeness completely, where as the person being treated by a traditional physician takes a more passive role. Traditional physicians look at the specific problem and treat it with methods such as prescription drugs or surgery. The holistic healer sits with the patient and uncovers mysteries that may have lead to the origin of the pain or discomfort.
Beyond The Realm Of The Mind
The holistic approach to life goes beyond the mind-body connection of finding and maintaining wellness. Deciding to experience the holistic lifestyle involves seeking the tools that will help a person attract their desires and finding personal power. Once that person has found and embraced this wholeness he or she also embraces the feeling of needing to tend to relationships, caring for our world and our environment, and acceptance of differences among the populations of the world.
What Does A Healer Do?
There is an important player in the holistic health world. That is the holistic healer. This person is like a physician is in the mainstream world of medicine. This person should be well trained and researched before someone trusts them, just like someone would do when researching a regular physician. Their role in this lifestyle is to analyze the patient as a whole and suggest certain aspects that the person can embrace to achieve the desired wholeness.
A holistic healer recognizes that our discomforts are merely symptoms of an imbalance. The imbalance could be a physical issue, the result of abuse to the body through poor diet or lack of sleep. However, the holistic healer does not stop there because the imbalance could be as a result of a mental or spiritual need. It may be a combination of a couple aspects in life. Holistic healers may specialize in particular areas of this practice. It is best to research all aspects and then decide which holistic healer would be best for your situation.
Retreats Too?
The holistic lifestyle has support from others who have discovered this lifestyle and want to share with others. There are vacations or retreats designed around this lifestyle. A person may join a small group on an island getaway and enjoy a time of complete relaxation. There may be yoga on top of a mountain or a hike along a babbling brook to a place that meditation will occur. There are natural foods served and enjoyed. Foods that is organically grown and prepared. Fresh water that is unspoiled by chemicals that claim to improve your well being.
A person who embraces this lifestyle often feels full beyond belief. They have quenched their thirst. They feel they have the tools to combat the everyday stresses of life. They have been able to tap into their mind and have a better understanding of the role it plays in making the body whole. They are able to tap into this newfound understanding and live a lifestyle that will help them achieve complete wholeness of mind, soul, and body.
