Goodbye Health Trends

On the surface it seems I knew more ten years ago then I know today. I prided myself on what I knew about health, healing, and even dying (I was a hospice nurse for many years). But what I knew then about health and healing is different than what I know now. The further I travel through life, the more I realize I really don’t know all I thought I did back then.

What I knew then is what was poured into my brain and regurgitated back. Everything I learned was accepted as truth in the medical community. Since then, everything has changed. I’ve been unlearning a lot of what I was taught in nursing school about health and healing.

I’ve been studying and practicing healing from the ancient sages; they were right all along. Interestingly, science is able to back up many of the ancient systems of healing. I trust the ancient healing systems because from experience, they work, and they make sense. Where I once believed strictly in science, I now believe what I can see, taste, hear, smell and experience for myself. I still read some of the studies and am pleased when I find they support the ancient healing modalities. But the science is secondary, experience is primary. I’m here only to discuss what has worked for my own healing and those of others who follow this path.

I quit listening to what the ‘experts’ say because the ‘experts’ are constantly changing their minds. The constant shifting of the health fads gets confusing. For example, we were told years ago that eggs are bad for our health. Then ‘new research’ came out and we were told eggs are now good for us. We were told red meat is bad, and then other ‘experts’ say we should be on a carnivore diet. We traded butter for margarine and now are back to butter. One expert with credentials tells us we need to eat vegan, another expert with credentials says that is unhealthy. Which expert is correct? There are studies that scientifically prove the validity of the fad diets, medicines, foods, etc. But fads come and go, new research emerges to nullify old research. But the ancient wisdom, it doesn’t change. Truth doesn’t change with time and trends.

How does a lay person know which experts to follow and which to avoid? Should we trust the advice of mainstream media experts that promote pharmaceuticals? Or alternative functional experts that promote nutraceuticals? At times it all feels upside down, chaotic, and confusing. But when I silence the external noise, I know I’m learning about real health and healing. Not what is taught in textbooks, or the latest trend, but true health and healing. It’s fascinating and exciting and the best part, it hasn’t changed in thousands of years. It’s as relevant today as it was then.

The construct in my mind of all I was taught about western medicine, and healing has changed. Yet not really when I dive below the surface. What they knew thousands of years ago works! And it makes sense. And the real kicker is there are scientific studies to back up what the ancient sages knew.

Being a holistic nurse, I wanted to heal holistically when my own health reached a crisis status brought on by emotional and physical stress. I became confused on what to eat, drink, and do to heal. I had a lot of knowledge about nutrition and healing but was lost in the weeds of the correct diet and correct modalities to use. Nutrition definitely played a part in my own healing, but what made the most difference to healing my physical body was healing on the mental and soul body as well.

There wasn’t a magic pill, or secret diet. It was all tied into connecting back to my mind, body and soul. It turns out I didn’t need any fancy equipment, or expensive vitamins, or medicine. I just had to learn and USE the tools of healing that the wise sages gave us.

It is cheap and it works, that’s why it’s not trendy. There’s no money in it. It does take some work though. When I say ‘work’ that turns me off. But when I call it healing, that lights up my soul.

We heal by connecting back to our physical, mental, and spiritual body. At first, I tried to follow a strict diet of eliminating as much toxic food as possible. This helped a lot, but I did have a sense of deprivation, so I had to change my outlook. What worked was following a 90/10 principle. 90% of what I ate 90% of the time was nourishing and healing foods. 10% indulgences. I eliminated as many seed oils as possible, didn’t eat fast food, tried to eat clean meat in moderation, and cut out processed foods. When I was at my worst, I did try to avoid dairy. I drank nourishing teas and a lot of lemon water.

As for movement, I started practicing yoga. But not in the case of wearing cute yoga clothes and join a trendy yoga studio that focuses only on the physical postures. No, I practiced at home, and I met my body where it was at. I focused on connecting my body and mind. I relaxed into poses rather than fighting them. I played with the pose, going as deep as I could while honoring any resistance and respecting it. I focused on calming and balancing poses. I wasn’t out to reach lofty goals in yoga. My goal was simply to connect with my body. I listened to my body and practiced forward folds if I needs to release anxiety. If I needed some strength, I would practice warrior series poses. If I needed calmness, I would tucker down into child’s pose and rest. I also walked. Not run, I walked. My nervous system couldn’t handle a lot of cardio at the time, so I walked.

For my spiritual body, I meditated, prayed, and focused on energy healing. Meditating wasn’t sitting on the mat for 20-30 minutes; it was 5-10 minutes. At first it was hard, but then it got easy. I didn’t judge myself when my thoughts went all over the place. I allowed the tears to fall, the anger to express, and the judgement to soften. I read spiritual texts such as the Bible, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, and the writing of Thich Nhat Hahn. I learned to slow down. And what I really learned was how to be kind to myself.

Am I healed completely? No, that’s a lifelong process. Healing and health are on a spectrum. But compared to where I was a year ago, I am in a much better state of health physically, mentally, and spiritually. I’m grateful for the wisdom and path our ancestors left for us.