I couldn’t turn on my old scooter the other day. So I pushed the bike to the nearest mechanic who disassembled a few parts, found the culprit, a faulty ignition device which was promptly replaced.
The comparison human body-machine is an easy one to make and very wrong. We humans are way more complex, with immune systems that can detect and rectify issues, stem-cells to rebuild tissue and organs, genetics that adapt to the environment and emotions that can remarkably change our blood and brain chemistry. If the emotion is chronic, it even changes pathways in the brain. My scooter is never emotionally bothered, thanks goodness!
I was chatting to a gentleman who had some serious weight issues a while back. It was 10.30 am and sipping a coke after coffee, while complaining of a knee injury he couldn’t fully recover from. The doctor wanted him to undertake surgery and he was weighing the pros and cons, trying to make a decision. A very friendly guy, he was telling me of his family back home, his qualified, professional job.
On and off heartburn, high blood pressure, cholesterol and triglycerides were managed with medications. He wasn’t diabetic and not a drinker. The only real problem was the meniscus in his knee, according to him and, apparently, his doctor. As if the meniscus, this tiny piece of cartilage, held the key to his life. At 11.30 am he was already anxiously thinking of lunch.
In Naturopathy we are trained to look at an individual as a complex whole. Prolonged physical symptoms are usually the result of something deeper that can carry ramifications across the body. They are affected by the psychology of the individual too. In this context, disease is a manifestation of something more substantial, the tip of the iceberg.
An unhealthy lifestyle, constant negative emotions and lack of support, personal growth or meaning, nutritional issues, not enough physical movement, and many other factors contribute to misalignment across whole body systems.
Sometimes the cause of imbalance is straight forward. An undiagnosed underactive thyroid, just to mention something very common, can lead to depression, moodiness, fatigue, weight gain and a lot more. When someone is feeling low, he or she might self medicate with coffee, food or alcohol, his performance at work might not be as it used to be. People might think he is lazy, not good enough, when actually, there is a real, serious issue there.
Chronic disease doesn’t tend to have a sudden onset, it matures over a long time and will have a multitude of triggers, often improvable lifestyle variables.
Reductionism seems to be, broadly speaking, the preferred method of conventional medical science. Breaking things down into smaller parts and then again, breaking those new small parts into even smaller components through high tech microscopes and devices, gave us lots of knowledge and associated medical treatments.
I am a big picture guy, and I value the importance of details only in the context of the whole. Once I grasped the big picture, then I can zoom in and start colouring it. Hence my love of holistic systems like Yoga, Ayurveda and Naturopathy.
I think Holism from the word “whole” is the best way to approach the complexity of individuals. This model implies that in some ways the whole is more than the sum of the parts. And Holism is very much at the opposite end of Reductionism.
Another point where holistic therapies and conventional medicine are at odds is the view of the body as terrain. If the terrain, the soil, is healthy, no pathogen will find it easy to spread and thrive. Don’t focus on killing pathogens with potent pharmaceuticals and all the side effects they carry, concentrate on having a fit body with a strong immune system first, holistic systems teach.
Like smart tactics need a strategy, one isn’t sufficient without the other. As someone who recognise the importance of grasping the big picture, I also see the value of details and I think both models of Holism and Reductionism have a role and need to be embraced in different contexts. They are complementary and an inclusive view of science will make room for both.
If conventional research tends to compartmentalise expertise, focus on the treatment instead of prevention, a pill for every ill won’t be as effective as treating what’s surfaced AND looking at the iceberg under water.
Here a short list of holistic healing modalities that mainstream media calls Alternative Therapy:
- Ayurvedic medicine
- Traditional Chinese medicine
- Herbal medicine
- Yoga & meditation
- Acupuncture
- Aromatherapy
- Hypnotherapy
- Massage
- Reiki
Western Medical Science could also be practised in a holistic fashion, particularly when combined with alternative therapies. Have you heard of Integrative Medicine?
I think the issue here isn’t just one of system or paradigm, it is one of culture and economy. It is much quicker and easier to hand out a pill or short term remedy, than trying to make sense of the person in its whole complexity. And much more profitable for the pharmaceutical industry, supplements industry and for doctors and practitioners of all sort.
I am a real hippie at heart and I believe in the rainbow: every colour is beautiful. Because I resonate with green, that doesn’t mean yellow or red are not good and I have profound respect for other people’s views of reality. Everyone has a role in this world, a role in society. In the great scheme of things, the good, the bad, the beautiful, the ugly, the day and the night blur, mix and mutate. That doesn’t mean I can’t put an argument forward.
Are we just a bundle of cells, a human machine? Do you know we live with (and thanks to) at least 2 kilos of bacteria? Hiding in the gut, over the skin, in every hole and orifice, everywhere. Yes, more bacteria than cells. What is us, in this context? Why doesn’t anyone talk about the Bacterial Body?
We are complex, multilayered beings, with different yet integrated parts and a Soul.
Traditional systems, holistic practices and Yoga attempt to answer the questions around awareness, consciousness and the mind-body-spirit connection. Conventional medical science doesn’t know or doesn’t seem to bother much.
A popular quote I like and nicely represents the values of holistic therapies: the best teachers are those who show you where to look, but don’t tell you what to see. And as Hippocrates once said: it is far more important to know what person the disease has than what disease the person has.
I am interested in self discovery, and I want to empower you to take charge of your own well-being. Learn with your brain, feel with your heart an connect with your Soul. Look at the big picture, make sense of details. If the truth is available to us, it will come in many sizes, shapes and forms.