Part 4 – Holistic vs. Isolated

In the last two articles, we looked at principles lived by the minority of our society that are truly healthy. The first was that they focus on building health as opposed to fighting symptoms and disease. The second was that they seek to enhance awareness instead of sedating.

This article delves into the third principle of healthy people, which is that they see things in a holistic way as opposed to an isolated way.

Holistic is defined as, ‘characterized by comprehension of the parts of something as intimately interconnected and explicable only by reference to the whole.’

What this means from the perspective of health, is that something happening in one part of our bodies is impacting, and being impacted by other parts of our bodies, and even lives.

I learned this very early in my chiropractic practice, almost 18 years ago. At the time I was practicing a very mechanical technique that understood that the spine was an integrated whole. So, I took full spine x-rays on almost all my patients. What I noticed was that very often, when someone would come in with low back trouble, their low back would look good on the x-ray, but their neck was messed up. The opposite was also true.

What this means is that where we have a problem (secondary condition or symptom) is not necessarily where the problem is. This also means that it is important to assess and address the entire system HOLISTICALLY in order to create a solution.

If you have light bulbs burning out too quickly in your house and appliances shorting out, you could go around replacing the parts, OR you could have an electrician go down to the electrical box and address what is more likely to be the main problem.

Unfortunately, many common health care approaches spend too much time replacing light bulbs and not enough time seeing the big picture. In this case changing light bulbs just delays the inevitable.

A holistic approach to health also involves a lot more than just the physical/mechanical. Healthy people look to their lifestyle and observe how it affects their physical health and perhaps plays a role in their symptoms and diseases.

In my chiropractic practice, it is my observation that as people become healthier, they can see the connection between their symptoms and their diet, emotional state, mental state and even how they are doing spiritually. With this awareness comes the ability to change much more effortlessly.

Research shows us that one of the most accurate predictors of back pain is how satisfied people are in their jobs, financial situation, and relationships. There is a neurological explanation for this beyond the scope of this article but when was the last time you considered how what you were feeling inside may be impacting your physical health?

Healthy people understand this and look to all aspects of their lives when faced with a health problem. When someone with back pain not only addresses what is happening with their spine and nervous system but also assesses what they are eating, how they are moving, their emotional state, their interactions with others, and even assess if they are on the correct path in life, not only does it drastically improve their chances of recovery, it also improves the overall quality of their lives. Isn’t that what we truly want, anyway?

The care at Nexus is set up and delivered in a holistic way. We assess the entire spine and nervous system because we know that a symptom in one part of the body is usually not solely caused by that spot, but by stress on the entire system. We teach our patients specific exercises that increases their somatic – or body – awareness. We give presentations that teach patients how to care for their spine and nervous system at home.

While I am no psychotherapist, I often point out how what is showing up in a person’s spine may be connected to what is happening mentally and emotionally in their lives. The state of the spine and nervous system also leave clues about how a person can best go about making the necessary changes in their lives.

So, where in your health and life have you been too caught up in the isolated parts? Where have you been running around the house changing light bulbs, when the electrical system really needed to be updated?

Now, how can you assess and address this in a more holistic manner?

Keep it up! See you next article.

Thorin Gault, D.C.

Let’s say you wake up one morning, stagger into the bathroom, look in the mirror, and are shocked by what you see. You wonder how you got so fat (whatever that means to you), tired, old and unhealthy looking! This is completely unacceptable to you and you make a decision in that very moment that you are going to do something about it.

Now, what happened on that particular morning? Was there some event that occurred that suddenly made you fat and unhealthy? Of course not – there was a process of behaviours, perceptions and structures over a period of time that led to the current situation. THAT morning a threshold was reached that brought it to your conscious mind. The same thing could be said for a crisis in your finances, relationship or really, any other area of your life.

So, if it was a process that created your undesirable reality, what is the solution? Is there a magic pill that you can take or a magic procedure you can have that will make it all better? Obviously that is ridiculous – you must reverse the process!

When it comes to many health problems people have learned to see them as events instead of processes and therefore search for events to fix their problems.

Take back pain for example. Most people search so hard for the event that ‘caused’ their pain. “I must have slept wrong last night.” “I bent over to tie my shoe and that caused my back to go out.””I gardened yesterday, that’s my problem.” You get the idea. The fact of the matter is that in most cases of injury (with the exception of something like being hit by a truck), there has been a process going on for some time that ultimately led to the straw that broke the camel’s back and led to the end secondary condition of pain or some other symptom.

The ultimate solution, therefore is not some event (and adjustment, pill, massage, surgery) to get rid of the secondary condition (misalignment, inflammation, muscle spasm, scar tissue) but to actually address and remedy the underlying process.

Granted, there are many effective ways of treating muscle spasm, pain and inflammation yet those treatments are not designed to correct the underlying process and thus do not truly correct the problem. The unhealthy and overweight individual in the first paragraph could put on some make-up and wear body enhancing underclothes – but to truly take care of the problem they will have to undergo a process of changing their lifestyle.

At Nexus Chiropractic, we focus on addressing Neural Resistance which is like your car revving it’s engine at 25,000 rpm even when driving casually. Eventually, this will lead to a poor fuel efficiency, parts wearing out quickly, and ultimately – breakdown.

Neural Resistance may lead to a variety of secondary conditions down the line such as back pain, neck pain, headaches, poor posture and because the nervous system coordinates our organ systems even digestive troubles, a weak immune system, and anxiety.

Because we know that the development of NR is a process, addressing it is a process as well which is why we recommend an initial intensive period of care. While nobody is perfect, once the NR is significantly reduced some people choose a reduced plan of protection to make sure that their investment is well taken care of into the future.

Start seeing your current circumstances as the end result of processes in your life. If you see something you would like to change, come up with a process to get it handled.

They say that the joy is in the journey. I agree – and the journey IS the process.

In the previous article, I introduced the traps that keep us from winning in our lives. It is these traps that prevent us from succeeding in the 6 keys required for a healthy life.  These traps are insidious because they are merely stories we tell ourselves that become justifications, excuses, and even reasons we defend while we go about living a less than optimal life.

Let’s look a little closer at these traps so we can be sure we recognize them immediately if they arise and choose a more successful path.

1. “I’m healthy…for my age.” This statement in and of itself is what I call a BS story! Many people think that at a certain age (40, 60, 65) they can expect their health to decline. This is simply NOT true and I can provide countless examples of people who actually get healthier as they age. Regardless of age, you are either vibrantly healthy or not. If your health is not ideal or you find your health declining, it means that something MUST change and it is your job to find out what it is and do it!

2. “No one has any time for leisure these days.” Guess what? More BS stories! I have 4 jobs, 2 small kids, an extremely busy professional wife, own my own business, travel around the world attending seminars and I MAKE plenty of time for exercise, leisure, vacations, and renewal. I understand that many people (especially moms) feel guilty or overindulgent if they take time for themselves. This way of thinking will only lead to one end…burnout…sooner or later. The reality is that taking time out to enjoy life will make you MORE productive in the long run. Please do not learn the importance of this the hard way.

3. “It’s normal to feel tired and unmotivated.” BS! It is true however that many of us have lost our passion for life. Do you even remember the passion you had as a child? If you are tired and unmotivated it means you are already burned out and something must change…NOW.

4. “Everyone fights with their families sometimes.” This one is absolutely true – but here is your gut-check. How connected are you really with your partner, kids, and closest friends? How open are your children and most trusted confidantes with you?

5. “All kids get sick – school is just a Petri dish of germs.” Sorry, more BS. Both of my kids have been in daycare and school for years and while they are a little sick from time to time – usually for a day or two – they have never taken an antibiotic or medication of any kind. Why? Because they are healthy. I do know that many kids are sick all the time. This is a sign that these children are not healthy and thriving – something is wrong. Kids are healthy and resilient by nature. If they are constantly sick it means damaging stress of some kind is accumulating.

6. “I don’t have time to worry about others.” Do I even need to say it? BS! Most of us think that we alone cannot make a difference – it is too hard and takes too much time. In reality, the quickest way to win the game of life is to help others more. All of the greatest rewards (of all types) in life go to those who help others the most. That is certainly true in my business. Make it a habit to contribute to others and watch all areas of your life start to improve immediately.

We all fall into these traps from time to time. The key is to be aware of them and get out as quickly as possible when you do. You definitely do not want to be “average,” or “normal,” when it comes to these traps.

The average Canadian starts to get sick before the age of 65 and takes a handful of pills each morning. They begin to reduce the activities they love before they even retire. They divorce once in their lives and their children no longer speak in a meaningful way to them anymore. At 84 they lay on their deathbed and wonder what happened.

Is this what you really want? Forget ordinary! Choose extraordinary – you deserve it and so do your loved ones.

Next article we move on to the Secrets of Winning the Game of Life.