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The temperature is getting cooler and the leaves are about to start changing. But the change in the seasons can sometimes cause the body’s defenses to weaken and allow you to get sick.
Most of us run to the medicine cabinet to grab our sinus or cold medication of choice.
But this fall you might want to consider holistic medicine as an alternative to conventional medicine.
Conventional medicine is usually taken once the body becomes sick, whereas holistic medicine concentrates on healing the body before symptoms begin. Traditional medicine tends to take the reactive approach to healing — take medicine once you start seeing symptoms — where holistic medicine takes a more proactive approach.
But is holistic medicine anyway?
Another difference between the two medicine practices is that conventional medicine targets the areas of the body that aren’t working correctly, where the holistic approach deals more on a “entire body” aspect.
Holistic medicine tries to keep the body in balance and build a strong immune system so that impurities and germs are not allowed in or are at least discarded immediately after entering the body.
As I said earlier holistic medicine concentrates on the health of the entire body. That does not only include the physical, but also the mental. It concentrates on putting beneficial things in our bodies via a well-rounded diet of whole foods, but also a steady stream of good thoughts.
This mental part of the holistic side to medicine is key because feeding your mind with bad or depressing thoughts can adversely affect how you feel. But if you are strengthening your mind with positive, comforting, and rejuvenating thoughts than that can translate into feeling healthier, energized, and uplifted.
Examples of holistic medicine are:
- Acupuncture
- Massage
- Yoga
- Healthy Diet
- Rolfing aka Structural Integration
- Qi gong
- Chiropractic care
The benefits of a holistic approach to medicine has even been recognized and put into practice by the US Military.
Have you ever tried a holistic form of medicine, either in addition to or instead of conventional medicine? If so, what was your experience?
[Photo: dMap Travel Guide/Flickr]
I’m an outdoorsy and recently graduated from college yogi. In the past few years I’ve learned lots of simple steps to becoming greener and have found living green to not only be rewarding, but easy. I hope to pass on some of these simple ideas to you too!
I’ve definitely taken holistic approaches to health concerns, and it’s made a big difference! When I was 25, I had extremely high cholesterol, despite riding my bike to work every day and eating relatively well. My doctor wanted to put me on drugs, which seemed insane to me – I was 25! Instead, I gave a vegan diet a whirl, and 3 months later my cholesterol was at normal levels. It has been ever since.
that’s awesome becky!