Many of us view our health in a vary polarized way. We view ourselves as either sick or healthy, happy or sad, stressed or relaxed. However, our lives and our health are rarely that cut and dry… and that is a good thing.
Chiropractic philosophy recognises that our health is a spectrum or a scale with ranges and extremes. The health spectrum can be summed up by the following levels:
- Healthy
- Well
- Asymptomatic
- Dis-Ease
- Diseased
- Disabled
- Dead
BJ Palmer, the developer of chiropractic, said “health is not the absence of disease, but the balance of mind, body and spirit.” Many of us spend much of our lives bouncing back and fourth between disease and wellness. Which means that we probably spend a large portion of our lives in a state of dis- ease, but what is “dis-ease?” Dis-ease is most simply defined as a state of susceptibility. It is that point where you aren’t necessarily sick, but you aren’t necessarily well either. The dis-eased person is the person who is always tired, always catches the “bug” that is going around or just doesn’t feel quite right. As the term implies, the dis-eased person is NOT in a state of ease and is therefore susceptible to be pushed over the edge toward full blown disease. The decisions we make will send us either up or down the scale, towards balance or away. Knowledge of the tipping point will help us to reconize and decide which way we are going.
Chiropractic philosophy also defines 3 major causes of dis-ease. These are Traumas, Toxins and Thoughts… the 3 T’s of disease. Traumas are the physical injuries we endure or can even be the daily rigors of life in an out of shape or unconditioned body. Toxins are chemical stressors such as alcohol, poor diet, polution or dehydration. Actually, the side effects that some experience when taking medications are prime examples of symptoms of Toxic dis-ease, because the body is having difficulty coping with their chemical presence. The final, and perhaps most difficult to control, is thoughts. These are the emotional stressors that we or others put on us. It has actually been demonstrated that happy people get sick less often than sad or depressed people do because of the relationship of mood to immune system. Finding mental and emotional balance in our lives through relaxation, prayer, meditation, laughter, and counseling is invaluable to a persons health and the health of those around us.
Regular chiropractic care, a proper diet and exercise are vital to a person’s quest for health. Many of us give up on these things when we don’t have symptoms or “feel fine”, but the point to hygiene is to KEEP yourself “feeling fine” or even pushing through “fine” to feeling GREAT! Each morning we spend 30-60 minutes practicing personal and dental hygiene, what is another 15-20 minutes to stretch or exercise, pray or meditate or make a healthy breakfast. Also, what would be wrong with taking 15-30 minutes once a month to ensure that your spine and nervous system are healthy and functioning properly, thereby coordinating every cell in your body to function properly? The difference between a healthy, balanced lifestyle may be small but the decision to do so can be life changing. Please start today!
PS. If you need help, please ask someone. We are always available if you need us.
It is refreshing to me to finally have an avenue where it is not only acceptable, but appropriate to discuss the impact that our mental attitudes have on our physical health. People seem so resistant to accept it, but why? Every single day events are shaped by whether or not we “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” or even how our interpersonal relations throughout the day can make or break our attitudes once we get home. Is it so unusual to assume the same goes for our physical health?
Stressors are stressors, no matter how you cut it. Emotional tension can weigh on us just like the physical stress of say, an accident or other physical injury. Feeling tense during the day can cause aches and pains every bit as “real” as whiplash can. And that is only the beginning.
True wellness can be achieved by respecting both our body and our minds equally. It does not stop with regular checkups, diet and excercise – but mental exercise, too. Allowing ourselves permission to have fun. Allowing ourselves to play, and to be happy. These small permissions can have every bit as much to do with maintaining true wellness as getting three squares a day and cardio.
It is refreshing to me to finally have an avenue where it is not only acceptable, but appropriate to discuss the impact that our mental attitudes have on our physical health. People seem so resistant to accept it, but why? Every single day events are shaped by whether or not we “woke up on the wrong side of the bed” or even how our interpersonal relations throughout the day can make or break our attitudes once we get home. Is it so unusual to assume the same goes for our physical health?
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