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The term holistic can be thrown around a fair bit, but what does it actually
mean in regards to human health?
The philosophy of holism regarding human health & wellbeing is that, the entire human organism and the multitude of systems within bodymind operate as a unified whole where one part compliments the other, and the sum of its parts. No systems within the bodymind operate in isolation.
And our soul, our deeper knowing is absolutely included within this unified whole. Our physical body is the proverbial house or earthly vessel for the Soul/Spirit.
Our physical, mental, emotional & spiritual bodies are deeply interconnected. What we do to the physical body impacts the whole. And vice versa, our mental, emotional & even spiritual state impacts the physical body.
What that means is: if we are out of balance in any of our bodies ie. physical, mental, emotional and/or spiritual, the bodymind will send little messages in the way of symptoms. Those symptoms might look like anything from fatigue, inflammation, pain, headaches, gut issues, anxiety, depression, a general intuitive feeling that something isn’t aligned etc
Practical example: Perhaps we are unconsciously carrying trauma memory in the body, our nervous system has adapted to a more chronic fight or flight (stress state of the nervous system), we experience regular anxiety, emotional dysregulation, IBS, endocrine imbalances, headaches & fatigue.
Initially, we implement practices to start to address the physical body & nurture the nervous system to allow it to feel safe. We also start to improve our food choices & eat more wholefoods to nurture the gut. Through all of this, we directly impact the physical, mental & emotional bodies.
Within a relatively short period of time, we may start to notice an incremental alleviation of, or at least a shift in, the bodymind symptoms mentioned above.
Through nurturing the nervous system, we let the bodymind know that we are safe, we help to facilitate deeper states of healing, rest & sleep. This is deeply restorative & regenerative for the entire bodymind. Through conscious food choices we can help to heal the gut, which is also the enteric nervous system that is directly connected to the brain, the gut also houses approx 70% of the immune system, and we are also helping to alleviate inflammation which can often underpin anxiety, IBS, headaches, pain etc. All of this directly impacts physical, mental & emotional health.
As we continue on this path of Self care, we may notice that emotions are arising, emotions that may have been stuck/suppressed in the body, however now because you feel safe & are nurturing the physical vessel, the mental & emotional bodies start to heal. Emotions arise to be witnessed, felt & expressed/released.
In many cases, as we continue on the path of returning to Self, we tend to find there is a deeply spiritual/soul element within the process/journey (evolution) too.
That offers a brief example of how we may address the physical body, in doing so we impact the mental, emotional & spiritual bodies. An incremental, slow & gentle path back to homeostasis - holism in action.
Another practical example: if our spiritual body is out of balance, we can experience physical, mental & emotional imbalances.
Practical example: We may be working in a 9-5 city job that pays the bills effectively but deep inside we feel like it is draining us of our life force energy, like it doesn’t stoke the proverbial fire within. We actually always wanted to be an artist but our parents said to “get a real job”. When we create, we feel deeply energised, excited & in flow. If we continue to push on in our city job, against that inner knowing/calling, and continuing to feel drained & unmotivated, this can potentially show up in bodymind as anything from sadness, grief, anger, anxiety, depression, physical tension or pain, fatigue and so on. We know through the science of psychoneuroimmunology that our thoughts & emotional state directly impact our immune, endocrine & nervous systems. If we are misaligned with our deeper soul guidance, and many of us will/can be until we learn to attune to it, we may experience symptoms or gentle nudges from bodymind asking for our attention to get us back on track.
If we look at the traditional practice of Chinese Medicine, it talks about emotions being connected to particular organs, such as:
Liver - anger
Lungs - grief, sadness
Kidneys - fear
Heart - happiness & joy
Spleen - worry
All beautifully interconnected by meridians (energy channels) within the bodymind, almost like a symphony orchestra, all parts complimenting each other to create blissful flow & harmonious whole.
What if, we then considered the perspective that symptoms from the bodymind are simply messages from the WHOLE organism letting us know that something needs attention? The bodymind doesn’t speak in words, instead it will send messages via symptoms. If we are attuned, we will “hear/listen to" these, however if we are disconnected or disassociated in any way, it may take many messages (symptoms) to (finally) get our attention. I can say from my own lived experience, my body was asking for attention for many years before I finally listened & turned within.
There is so much we can do to nurture the whole, the unified bodymind, through Self care practices.
Conscious nutrition & wholefoods
Daily movement
Daily conscious & functional breathing. An incredibly powerful way to impact ALL bodies at once. Breath overrides physiology, interconnected to mental health & emotional regulation. Vitalism of breath is also vitalism of spirit.
Time in nature
Soak in natural light (sunshine) day
Connect with likeminded/hearted friends, family, community
Regular Self check ins throughout each day, brief mindful moments
Prioritise sleep & sleep hygiene
Spiritual practice
Creative practice
Meditative practice
When we look after, move & nourish the bodymind, we deepen our attunement to Self, and our entire experience of life itself. We enhance a felt sense of balance or harmony physically, mentally, emotionally and spiritually. This is holism.
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Rob Bell articulates holism beautifully:
“There are dimensions to you that transcend the actual parts and pieces that you refer to as your body – qualities and characteristics that emerge only at a larger, collective level, when all those parts are assembled to form you. Holism is the reality that emerges only when all the parts are put together but can’t be Individually located, labeled, or identified at a smaller, component, parts level.
Hierarchy is about parts, and your body is made of lots of them;
206 bones,
proteins that run into each other a billion times a second,
enzymes that do a thousand jobs a second, a brain with one hundred billion interconnected neurons,
each neuron having ten thousand connections and synapses –
and yet you are more than the sum of your parts in the same way that:
novels are more than just the words,
songs are more than just the notes,
and boats are more than just the planks.
Holism is when two plus two equals infinity.
Holism is the living, breathing truth that you-the-whole are more than the sum of your parts.
Holism is your sense that there’s more going on here, even though it can’t be located in any one person, thing. or event.
These truths about the holism that is each of us leads us to a larger holism, one that continues to unfold across and outside of time itself.”
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Holly is a holistic counsellor, holistic lifestyle coach (CHEK), an advanced functional breathing instructor and teaches the Buteyko breathing method.
If you’d like to learn more or have a chat, connect via the contact page or email.
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