We’re an Impatient Species – Especially When It Comes to Our Health

I used to run to the doctor for the least little thing. I faithfully went for all of the diagnostic tests that would  tell me if my body was healthy or not. Bloodwork, mammograms, x-rays, ultrasounds – you name it, I had it done.

Until one morning fourteen years ago I woke up with pain all over, and when Western medicine and a boatload of tests couldn’t explain the pain or make it go away, my exploration of alternative/holistic health began.

I use the term alternative/holistic health for lack of a better one. Maybe I should start saying “original healing”, because the type of healing practices I lean towards now have been around for thousands and thousands of years, not just a couple of hundred, like Western medicine.

I didn’t grow up learning about home remedies and healing herbs. We went to the doctor for antibiotics or the pharmacy for Tylenol, Benadryl, or Pepto Bismol. They seem so harmless because they're sold over-the-counter, right? Check out this article about the possible link between Tylenol use and childhood asthma.

I’d never heard of Ayurveda, nor had I tried acupuncture.

My diet was pretty typically American. Those were the days of burgers, fries, and a Coke. Lasagna, hot dogs and pizza. I like to remind myself of that when I sense some judgment about to surface regarding someone else’s food choices.

But a door opened for me back then when the strange pain showed up and guess what really started to kick in?

My intuition.

What does intuition have to do with our health? A great deal, in my opinion. Intuition and awareness are both key to self-healing. They’re both connected, of course, and one is pretty useless without the other.

As a species, we’ve become pretty out of touch with our intuition, especially when it comes to our health.

Rather than deeply “listening to our body” and letting our intuition guide us, we often run to the doctor with the hope that a magic pill will cure us – immediately.

I know I did.

I used to panic at the least little symptom I felt. I mean PANIC. And even when there wasn’t a symptom, I could dream it up like any other hypochondriac.

But, thankfully this all started to shift when I had fibromyalgia. I began to ask my body what it needed. And it began to tell me.

Sometimes it was a herb, sometimes it told me I needed quiet, or Nature, or a major change in my life.

Sometimes it guided me to seek help from other healers.

Our intuition doesn’t always tell us what we want to hear.

As the years went by and I developed a daily meditation practice and began living a more Ayurvedic lifestyle (in harmony with Nature), the messages received via my intuition grew stronger and clearer.

Of course, I’ve studied holistic health methods extensively and continue to educate myself. This works perfectly in tandem with my intuition. Especially when an intuitive hit involves a herb, I always refer to reliable sources. Time and time again, I am amazed at how accurate my intuition has been.

A couple of months ago, I kept hearing “Yarrow” – both for things going on in my own body, as well as various health issues that clients were complaining about. No wonder, this miraculous plant runs the gamut from fighting bacteria to stopping bleeding to helping clear up urinary tract infections to aiding digestion. The list goes on and on.

Our bodies are comprised of the elements air, space, fire, water, and earth. It makes perfect sense to me to look to Nature for healing.

“We’re not connected to Nature. We ARE Nature.” Sandra Ingerman

But Nature doesn’t like to rush and we’re an impatient species – especially when it comes to our health.

Someone once said to me at some point along my healing journey

“It takes the body a long time to get out of balance and a long time to restore that balance.”

I try to remember that whenever I start to revert to my old ways of wanting a quick fix.

I believe, like in the case of me waking up one day with “pain all over” that there’s a tipping point in the body and mine had reached it.

So here are a few suggestions for letting your intuition guide you when your body or mind needs healing

• Don’t panic. Breathe, meditate or go for a walk in Nature to calm your mind so you can think clearly
• Use quiet awareness to take stock of what’s going on. Bedtime is a good time to do this. Is there pain, digestive distress, mental fatigue, depression? Breathe into it and send energy where needed. Let your intuition guide you. Ask your body what it needs in the way of different foods, lifestyle choices, etc.
• When getting to know herbs, always reference reliable sources to back up your intuition. One of my favorites is learningherbs.com. Educate yourself
• And when you ingest herbs, consciously feel the healing taking place – even when sipping simple herbal teas 

Please know that I’m not advising anyone here to stop going to their doctor, Western or otherwise.

Or other healers, for that matter. Often we need guidance from someone else to help us pinpoint what's going on and the best course of action to resolve it. Especially during a health crisis.

Hopefully, you have a doctor who believes in the self-healing power of the body and in holistic health. That would be the best possible scenario.

Unfortunately, many medical doctors know very little about the healing power of food, herbs, energy healing, etc. They’re good at fixing things that are broken, and handing out prescriptions, but not usually getting to the core issue.

In the past two years, I’ve been to a Western medicine doctor twice. Once for general blood work and once for a strange allergic reaction I was having. Her only advice regarding the allergic reaction was to carry an EpiPen with me at all times. But, having a very Vata constitution, my body is extremely sensitive to stimulants and the thought of using an EpiPen slightly terrified me.

Instead, I opted to visit my Ayurvedic doctor who helped me get to the root of the problem and treat it with herbs for several months. Knock on wood, the problem slowly resolved itself with the use of the herbs and some gentle detoxing.

I can’t remember the last time I took a prescription drug or even an over-the-counter drug. It's possible for this to be the norm, not something out of the ordinary.

I dream of the time when Western Medicine joins hands with all alternative and holistic healing modalities. And I thank the many doctors and practitioners out there who are already doing this.

But I believe we need to have a more active role in our own healing.

Learn to trust your intuition, your gut, and see what a difference it can make.

Much love,
Barbara

About the Author

Barbara Sinclair is a weekly Writer for CLN. She is an artist and holistic health practitioner with a passion for Ayurveda, the ancient mind/body system of health and longevity. Barbara was able to heal herself from years of fibromyalgia, a chronic pain condition, by adopting an Ayurvedic lifestyle. You can learn more about her by visiting her website barbarasinclair.com. Barbara posts a new article every Wednesday morning on CLN. To read her former articles, click here.

This article (We're an Impatient Species – Especially When It Comes to Our Health) was originally created and published by Conscious Life News and is published here under a Creative Commons license with attribution to Barbara Sinclair and ConsciousLifeNews.com. It may be re-posted freely with proper attribution, author bio, and this Copyright/Creative Commons statement.

Please note: Any content written by Barbara Sinclair for Conscious Life News is provided for informational purposes only. It should not be used as a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. Always consult your professional healthcare providers before beginning any new treatment.