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Holistic Approach: What is Holistic Health?
Is there one true definition of Holistic Health? The term Holistic Health or Holistic Healing
comes from the word whole, meaning complete. There is no one universal definition for
Holistic Health, but there seems to be a common thread that runs through all of the
definitions of Holistic Health that I have researched. That is, to look at the self from a whole
(holistic) perspective and to understand the mind, body and spirit connection and the
importance of balancing all aspects of one’s life.
One definition of Holistic Health that I found interesting was that it is a non-medical
philosophy of well-being that considers the physical, mental and spiritual aspects of life as
closely interconnected and balanced. The quote by Gestalt “the whole is more than the sum
of its parts” in my opinion sums (no pun intended) it up perfectly.
The concept of a holistic approach to health care is not new. The idea of trying to create a
new definition of Holistic Health is really kind of ironic. This is not a new model. Hippocrates,
both a philosopher and a practitioner, “tried to close the gaps between the understanding of
disease and its treatment. He was quite essentially holistic when he insisted that it is
natural for the human body to heal itself, and that this process can generally take place
even without intervention from a doctor.”
The interesting thing is that there are many factors outside of the obvious physical needs of
our body that play a significant role in undermining our quality of life. For example- poverty,
unemployment, malnutrition, crime, divorce, lack of education and stress all have the
potential to impact our physical health.
By the same token, the term Holistic Health Care takes all these factors into consideration.
It is a more universal approach to regular health care. It includes all of the unlimited
resources available to each of us. It is defined as viewing one’s self from a whole
perspective and focusing our health care needs on the mind, body and spirit connection. It
also includes accepting personal responsibility, health education, using preventive care and
all modalities of care available such as surgery, western medicine, chemotherapy, nutrition,
rehabilitation, hypnosis, acupuncture, psychotherapy, bodywork, energy work, and spiritual
healing to mention a few.
One major theme of Holistic Health is that we are ultimately responsibility for our own
health and our Holistic Health Care. It is only when we take personal responsibility that we
can truly begin to be healed. Each one of us is so unique that no one treatment, medic ation
or technique is going to work for us all. Our beliefs, values and attitudes affect our health
and must be a part of the cure.
Since ultimately we cannot be completely healthy until we achieve balance in our life, with
others and in our environment, then perhaps the true definition of Holistic Health is
achieving BALANCE.
If you enjoyed reading this article you may also like designing your own Healthy Living Plan
TAGS: holistic living, health, healthy options, holistic foods, healthy choices
Article source: healthy-holistic-living.com