“Creating Healthy Change In 2013”
By Patricia Ryan, MD, CCN
Hello All! The beginning of a new year brings up the
possibilities of new beginnings, of change. Many people want to focus on
changing something about themselves that they perceive as negative. I
would like to turn it around a little bit and talk about what it is you want to
create. What does the world need to see you bring forward that only you
can do! It can be on a grand scale; such as making a big change at work,
or getting a degree. It could also be on a very small scale, so small
that no one else could see the positive change you just made such as a smile,
or letting someone in front of you in a driving lane. Each of us has a
beauty that is needed now in the world. We each need to bring it forth.
It is no longer ok to stay on the sideline and think that what you do,
think, feel, and say doesn’t matter. It does.
So what does this have to do with health? Everything
and nothing. My viewpoint of living a healthy life includes taking care
of myself on every level so I can contribute to the love unfolding on the
planet. If a father comes home every night and feels worn out, achy, and
overwhelmed, he is less likely to be present with his children and listen to
his wife about her day. If a mother doesn’t feel well and has health
issues such as PMS or headaches, she cannot be there in the way that she would
be if she felt well. I think we all want to get the most out of our lives
and be the best we can be for those around us. Having a body that
functions well allows us to live life gracefully. One can still live a
very loving life without a healthy body, but it is definitely a different
experience and usually more difficult.
So what does it look like to take care of yourself on
“every level”? I think it is obvious that on a physical level it means
eating well, exercising, getting enough sleep, and minimizing your chemical
exposure. What about your emotional health? How about mental and
spiritual health? Emotional health is actually linked to your physical
and spiritual health more than you may expect. Have you ever wondered why
you cannot stick to your New Year’s resolutions, or even a healthy eating plan?
How about why you flew off the handle about something that seemed so
little? You guessed it. On a subconscious level you are sabotaging
yourself. Of course since it is subconscious, you are NOT AWARE of it.
All of us run programs in our heads, like computer
programs, that we picked up as a child. These programs, this internal
dialogue is constantly monitoring our environment to let us know if we are safe
or not, loved or not. These programs remain silent until someone or
something pushes our buttons. It takes courage and time to look at
ourselves. We are taught to never admit our weaknesses and appear to be
in control at all times. Then we are “powerful” and we can control life.
Wrong! We all need to work on our emotional health. There is
not one person who is exempt from this category.
So guess what - if you are experiencing fatigue, sadness,
anger, lack in any way, or inability to follow through on the positive change
you want for your life, you are not alone! We are all somewhere on that
same path. We have relied culturally on our parents or our churches to
teach us how to deal with these issues, these emotions. Our parents
do/did the best they can/could, given that they learned from their parents who
did the best they could. Our world needs
all of us to learn to get in touch with our own anger, our own fear. How
to we expect to stop wars if we do not learn how to settle an argument with our
husband, brother, or friend that we love? How can we come together and
heal our world, our pollution, our social ills if we do not heal our personal
ills? We can’t. In order to allow all viewpoints, to really walk in
another’s shoes, we must first get to know our own shoe-size. The pay-off
for this work is a beautiful open heart, which is able to love ourselves and
each other more fully. The pay-off is the ability to reach our goals and
create the world we want both personally and globally.
So, what do you want to create this year? Do you know
how to make it happen? Do you have the information you need to make your
changes? How about the structure to establish these new habits? New
habits of thinking, feeling, being.... are you ready?
At Alternatives this year we are creating new programs to
help you meet your health goals. Whether you want to reverse your high
blood pressure, get off of your anti-depressants, feel less fatigue or
lose weight, we are here to help you. Each of you has important things to
bring to this world. You are needed. You are beautiful. All
you need to do is believe it.
