Heal Yourself From The Inside Out
Let’s set the stage: Pretend that you have chronic low back pain. How would you treat it?
Conventionally, you may take painkillers or an epidural to numb the pain. However, this method will only mask the symptoms.
Now, pretend you have a headache. How would you treat that? Commonly, you can pop an Advil and hope it goes away, right?
Unfortunately, all too often, lower back pain or headache will come back full swing once the epidural and painkillers wear off.
With that said, there must be a more effective way to heal the body…
…But, HOW?
Answer: Look Past The Surface
When it comes down to your health, you have to think outside the box. How do we do this?
We need to look past the surface symptoms and realize that healing comes from within. I know, it sounds tacky, but true.
No matter what symptom someone may have, there must be a more comprehensive approach to healing. Treating the symptom ONLY without addressing the underlying issue is not the way – it’s similar to trimming weeds in the garden – the weeds will grow back – maybe not right away, but with time.
However, to get rid of the weeds for good, you must pull them out by the root.
Find The Root Cause
Whether it’s low back pain, chronic headaches, anxiety or whatever the case may be, symptoms are often misleading. Look for the solution, not the symptom.
Further, understand one concept – the body heals itself. If you treat the root, the body will take care of itself, naturally.
With all of those mentioned, I will now reveal a few effective ways to boost your body’s natural ability to heal itself from the inside out…
Balance Your Nervous System
In our world today, it’s safe to say that most people are sympathetic dominant. What is this? Well, in the body, there is an intricate network called the central nervous system (comprised of the brain and spinal cord). There are two moving parts: the sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system.
Basically, they are opposites. When you are in a relaxed state, you’re engaging the parasympathetic nervous system. In regards to healing, this is exactly what you want. When you’re in this state, the body dilates the blood vessels and releases pain killing endorphins to aid, promote and speed up the healing process.
On the flip side, if you’re constantly stressed, the sympathetic nervous system will trigger a cascade of stress responses in the body – not good for healing.
So, when the body and mind are calm, it’s similar to stepping on the brake – you are creating space and time to heal.
Climb To The Peak Of Your Health
From clinical experience, most patients stop medical intervention once the pain is gone. However, to be honest, this is not the path to recovering fully (only partially).
By understanding, patient progress graphs, symptoms begin to subside when the patient reaches a 70% improvement on their chart. But, what about the other 30%? Just because one is in an asymptomatic state (no pain), does not mean the underlying cause is still not scratching the surface.
The truth is, if you want to climb to the peak of your health (100%), you need to push yourself to reach the summit. I promise, the view is amazing!
Boost Adrenal Function
The adrenal glands (part of the endocrine system) are located above the Kidneys. These thumb sized organs secrete over fifty different hormones throughout the whole entire matrix of the body. They are truly vital for dealing with life’s day-to-day stressors.
In our world, many people have adrenal fatigue and don’t even know it. According to the book, Adrenal Fatigue: 21st Century Stress Syndrome, it has been estimated that about 80% of the total population on Earth has adrenal insufficiency.
So, to boost healing, you need to heal these two tiny glands. As long as one is under constant stress, the adrenal glands won’t stand a chance. Overtaxing the adrenals will secrete excess regulatory hormones and cause havoc on other body systems.
For this reason, stay away from anything that overstimulates the adrenals, such as, too much caffeine, sugars, hydrogenated oils, chronic stress, etc.
Harmonize Your Internal Organs
From the perspective of Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), an imbalance of one or more organs may cause disharmony of the whole body.
In TCM, the five main organs are also known as the five friends (Heart, Spleen, Lung, Kidney, and the Liver). In many ways, these organs are not only vital for healing, but they also share an intrinsic relationship with each other.
Think of it like this. Imagine that you have four annoying college roommates. At times, you will all bump heads and argue – this is unavoidable. But, to stay friends, all five of you need to learn to get along and share.
Comparably so, if one organ is off, the others will follow suit. Therefore, maintaining a healthy friendship between the five internal organs is a must when promoting balance. When the organs are all in harmony, healing is cranked up a notch.
Promote Circulation
Let’s put our thinking caps on for this one. Imagine that our internal vascular system is nothing but a flowing river. What do rivers do? … They are constantly on the move.
Similar to our blood supply, it’s always on the go. When we promote systemic circulation, the body has a greater chance at healing itself.
This principle holds true in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Increasing circulation will send nutrient rich blood to heal the injured area in the body.
Here are some easy tips to promote circulation at home: Light to moderate exercise, eat cooked foods, hot tea’s, and avoid too much ice usage for injuries (shunts blood flow). Use heat to heal injuries (promotes blood flow locally to heal the injured site)
The Bottom Line
All roads lead to Rome – by focusing on one or two of these essential tips, you may improve the whole entire health of the body, in one shot.
Rome wasn’t built in a day – be patient with healing.
Further, don’t take symptoms, so seriously. Remember that the body heals itself – all you need to do is to bring the body back into balance. Thus, once homeostasis returns, the body will naturally heal itself, from the inside out.
-Dr. Chris, L.Ac.
References
-Kaptchuk, Ted. The Web That Has No Weaver. New York: Congton and Weed,
1983.
-Porth Mattson Carol. Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States. 8th Edition.
Lippincott Williams & Wilkins, 2009.
-Wilson, James. Adrenal Fatigue: 21st Century Stress Syndrome. Petaluma, Calif., Smart
Publications, 2001.