Episode 002 What is your Health Philosophy?

Episode 002

Have you ever had to make a life or death decision for yourself or a family member during a health crisis?  It sucks, doesn't it.  Worse yet, have you had to make a decision for a parent and you and our siblings can't agree.  Ugh.  What if spending a little time now to define your Health Philosophy, could save you from the stress of making tough decisions later?  Would it be worth it?

I came across this concept of Health Philosophy from a mini book by Chiropractor Dr. Patrick Gentempo.  He opened my eyes to what was behind the struggles that I have had when talking to friends and family about health.

Is there anything more important than health?  Do you know anyone who worked really hard to earn money, only to have a heart attack or be diagnosed with cancer?  There's no wealth without health.  There's no happiness without health. If you don't have your health, if your loved ones don't have their health - does anything else really matter?

Every medical and health practitioner, each of us, operates and makes health decisions based on our assumptions, beliefs and premises.  Dr. Gentempo defines a premise as a foundational belief element that drives your choices and actions.  Most premises are subconscious, established by our parents, teachers and society.  Because they are in our subconscious, most of us aren't even aware of these beliefs, which drive our choices and actions.

I invite you to take a few moments to explore your health beliefs and premises.  Becoming conscious of them will allow you to make more deliberate choices and actions and bring health "assurance", instead of relying on health insurance.  If you don't establish your Health Philosophy and stand for it, you will be subject to the whim of the different practitioners you see, the whim of ads, commercials, magazines, the whim of articles and news stories.  By being subject to the whim of others, you give up your responsibility for your health.  Giving up responsibility of their health to others, has cost many people their health and even their life.

In the acupuncture clinic, it often felt like a place of last resorts.  People had tried to resolve health issues such as chronic pain, menstrual cramps, headaches for years, unsuccessfully.  Or they got a life-threatening diagnosis and were looking for any possibility to beat it.  

Do you go to see different health and medical practitioners?  Most people have a Primary Care Physician.  A lot of people see a chiropractor, acupuncturist, naturopath, or homeopath.  Have you ever stopped and asked, what are the differences behind each of these practices?  Have you noticed that when you see different practitioners, their assessment of you (intake) is different?

Let's take a general look at the fundamental differences between a handful of common health modalities.

Primary Care Physician - mechanistic, symptoms = cause; if we have a rash - it must be due to a skin irritation (vice gut health), often treated topically.  Assessment = mechanistic tests (blood pressure, temperature, blood tests, xrays)

Chiropractor - the body is self-healing, self-regulating, controlled by the nervous system and the alignment of the spine.  Bring the spine back into alignment, the nervous system will follow and the body will be able to heal itself. Assessment = alignment of the spine

Naturopath - find and remove obstacles to healing, support the self-healing process.  considers all factors of life.  generally focus on clinical nutrition, herbal medicine, hydrotherapy.  Assessment = detailed consultation, laboratory testing, and physical exam

Homeopathy - like cures like, remedies are made from substances whose pattern of illness best matches that of the person,  prescribes one remedy at a time. Assessment = elaborate interview to precisely understand the single inner state of the patient

Acupuncture - health = flow.  Dis-ease happens when the qi, life energy, is not flowing smoothly, when yin and yang are out of balance. What causes the yin and yang to be out of balance - a myriad of things.  My acupuncture studies were based on Taoist philosophy, which looks to nature for the answers because we are part of nature.  Everything is connected, our body, mind and spirit, our environment.  Treat the symptom and treat the cause.  The needles and herbs unblock and redirect the qi to balance yin and yang.  Assessment = feeling pulses, looking at the tongue, asking lots of questions.

I'd like to invite you to take a moment and reflect on what your Health Philosophy is.  Quiet your mind so you can hear your inner wisdom.  Do you connect with any of the above?  

• Is health and well-being about preventing illness and dis-ease?
• Is health and well-being about feeling ALIVE and thriving? 
• Are focused on avoiding, moving away from illness? 
• Or moving towards well-being?
• What rings true for you?

Ask your health practitioners what their Health Philosophy is.  What beliefs and premises do they operate on?  It's important to find health practitioners that align with your Health Philosophy. 

We started seeing a new doctor a couple of years ago and asked a few questions on her health philosophy.  It seemed to match ours.  However, as we started working through a couple of issues, we realized that we were on different pages.  So, we're searching again.  This time, with a much clearer health philosophy, I'm confident that we'll find the right doctor for us!

Are you curious what my health philosophy is?  The other day, I realized that I've been actively seeking my truth about health and well-being for more than 30 years.  Starting with the fat free trend during college - which I now understand may have been the catalyst for becoming THE MOST UNHEALTHY first world nation!  Fortunately, I found yoga soon after college, which helped me connect with my body, mind and spirit.  This with my innate curiousity as an engineer to really understand how things work, set me on an intriguing path of discovery.

Check out Episode 005 My Health Philosophy.

"A person in good health has a thousand dreams.  A person in poor health has one." ~ Indian Proverb

Take charge of your health!

Live in possibility!

Lisa Malia

"Live pono with your heart at peace."