Appleforce
“Health is the expression of a harmonious balance between
various components of man’s nature, the environment and ways of life…
Nature is the physician of disease…” (Hippocrates)
Naturopathic Nutritional Therapy
and Health Coaching
Listen to your body
It is no secret that our bodies reflect our state of health. The way we look is directly connected to how we feel physically and emotionally: our posture, the way we walk, state of our skin, lines on our face, even how one side of our body tends to be more developed than the other - all of it tells us something about a bigger picture of our health.
However if we learned to do something well in the 21st century it is to ignore those signals of distress our body sends us until they become so loud that we cannot pretend we don't hear them anymore. When this happens the problem usually is nearing a state of emergency and needs urgent attention and prevention is not an option, time to act quickly...However before it gets to this stage there is a lot we can do to help ourselves.
The first step is to learn to listen to your body and notice subtle but persistent messages it sends you.
Have you noticed how lifeless and sluggish you feel after eating a particular food?
Have you ever associated that irritating cough with the soft drink you regularly have?
Have you ever experienced "angry rash" after getting particularly stressed out? ...
And what about your emotions?
What feelings are you holding on to so tightly that your back muscles go into spasm every time you face or even think of a particular person or a situation?
Has it ever occurred to you that your stiff neck may have something to do with the lack of flexibility in your attitude and refusal to see the other side of an issue?
How many of us have experienced a sensation of a lump in the throat when we just can’t seem to be able to express what we really want to say - “our truth”?
These are just a few examples of how what's on our mind can manifest itself on a physical level. Human beings are complex and finely tuned mechanisms, where everything is interconnected. Nothing happens "just because” and there is usually a very good reason why there is a weakness in a particular system or organ or why problems are mainly concentrated on one side of the body etc.
Traditional ancient medicines are all built around being able to read body signs. When no other testing techniques were available ancient Chinese, Indian and European doctors and healers learned an invaluable skill of noticing these small indications of the state of our health. Techniques such as face, nails, tongue and pulse reading have been used to diagnose health conditions for centuries, and still remain a fairly accurate way of identifying many disorders.
Observing and interpreting these manifestations, is where a naturopath and nutritionist can be of help to you.
Food for Thought
Emotions and health
"The human body is an amazing machine, and as a machine it requires regular maintenance and care...Research has shown that fear and sadness, love and joy have specific effects on the body. We know that anger makes muscles clamp down and blood vessels constrict, leading to hypertension and resistance of blood flow. Cardiac machine tells us that joy and love tend to have the opposite effect. If you look at Louise's little blue book ( L.Hay) , a heart attack and other heart problems are "squeezing all the joy" out of the heart, “hardening of the heart”, “lack of joy”
And her affirmation to reverse this is : "I bring joy back to the centre of my heart, I joyously release the past. I am in peace”.
Specific thought pattern effect the body in predictable ways, releasing certain chemicals in response to each emotion"
(Dr. Mona Lisa Schulz, "All is Well")
Your Body is your Compass
When trying to make a decision, notice how your body is responding.
That guy who asked you out? How does your body feel-light or heavy?
New job offer? Does your body feel open or closed?
Your body is your compass. Pay attention...
What you believe manifests in the Body
(Dr. Lissa Rankin)
The Body Is Equipped To Heal Itself
"The medical literature is full of scientific evidence
that the body is equipped with natural self-repair
mechanisms that can be flipped on or off with the
power of our thoughts, feelings, and beliefs.
As doctors, I believe it is our responsibility to dig into
the lives of our patients so we can help them figure
out what might be activating disease-causing stress
responses in the body and what they might do to facilitate
healing relaxation responses in the body.
That doesn’t mean we shouldn’t use pharmaceuticals
or surgical interventions when appropriate.
But it does mean that medicating a symptom so the patient can
maintain the status quo of an unhealthy lifestyle is not the
solution. Consider the patient who gets severe migraines every time her boss yells at her- which is every day. Is she better off getting Imitrex? Or should she either set boundaries with her boss or find a new job?
Should the patient who is shouldering the responsibility of caring for her abusive, aging mother take Percocet for the disabling back pain she started experiencing right after her mother moved into her house? Or should she put her mother in a nursing home?
I’m not suggesting that Imitrex and Percocet won’t help the patient in the interim, as they muster up the moxy to make lifestyle modifications that will support better health. But I am saying that treating the symptom with drugs and surgeries without examining what stressor might underlie the symptom is simply practicing bad medicine."
( Dr Lissa Rankin, "Passionate prescription for living and loving fearlessly")
Symptom Relief VS Symptom Prevention
“We have a disease management system, not a health care system.” Our health care system is badly broken because we are in the business of symptom relief, not symptom prevention.
( Dr. Andrew Weil, documentary "Escape Fire"),
"Unfortunately the way modern medical system is set up, most doctors are treating patients the way doctors treat injured football players- do whatever you can to set that bone, wrap that ankle, inject that joint, and get the star player back in the game. Nobody’s really thinking about the fact that the best way to help the injured football player is to get him out of the game- for good. And look what happens to pro football players down the road. Their bodies are wrecked. Most of them are getting knee replacements by the time they’re in their fifties."
(Dr. Lissa Rankin, "Mind over Medicine")
As a naturopathic nutritional therapist I combine body and mind therapy in one. I will teach you how to read your body language, what foods contribute and trigger your condition, how your mind “re-creates” your disease and much more. If you suffer from a chronic condition that refuses to go away – you found the right place.