30 Mar The Nature in Living Naturally
Each day spent with patients in the clinic, I’m always bemused by people’s reactions when I encourage them on what makes a healthy, natural lifestyle. There is often a look of surprise or confusion, and at times, disbelief or resistance to my suggestion that the human body is not a machine, and that just because you can get it to do something…. doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for you, or harmless.
We’re not talking here about some granola eating, tree hugging, ways of connecting with “mother nature.” We’re talking about simple, natural (and therefore healthy), ways of living and eating: going to bed before midnight, being moderate with stimulants, such as nicotine, caffeine, or alcohol; and eating a moderate, seasonally based (and therefore local) old fashioned diet of the least modified foods found along your grocery store’s outside perimeter (your produce, dairy and meats).
These are the basics. And yet, there seems to be a collective assumption, that it is natural only if your body CAN handle the amounts of stress deemed “normal” in today’s fast paced workforce – not to mention our culture.
In a time when information has never been more accessible, nor social intelligence as advanced, in some ways we’ve become lazier in our thinking and use of common sense. The overwhelming amount of health information out there often leaves us feeling defeated, and looking for others to tell us what to do to regain our lost health and vitality, instead of thinking what makes natural sense for ourselves. And so we get carried away with misguiding details such as the most recent study done on coffee… and whether it’s been finally proven, to be good or bad for you.
Instead, our time might be better spent emulating those in our lives who really know a thing or two about the art of living well – our pets. Although I’ve seen a miserable cat or two in my life, I know for certain that if it weren’t for the regular cat naps and persistent stretching, they’d have a lot more “bad hair days”. Bailey, my yellow lab, assures me each and every day, that nothing beats a good W-A-L-K. And when it comes to indigestion, cats and dogs alike know that sometimes you just need a little bit of greenery to get things moving again. These are just some simple examples of the wealth of natural health knowledge that is waiting to be discovered all around you.
So remember…. slow down, and don’t forget your common sense. It’s natural! And if you’re feeling the pressure and stress, that’s a good thing – it means there might still be some hope for you yet!
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