Living in a culture with a completely different mindset is really bizarre. Sometimes I find it deeply frustrating, other times humorous, and always strange.

In my mind, health is something we cultivate, neglect or diminish with every single choice. It’s not something that gets relegated to an annual checkup or a team of experts that specialize in one small aspect of the human body.

I’ve stopped using the words “alternative” and “complementary” to describe the work that I do because they imply that conventional, western medicine is the norm. This is thinking that I’d like to challenge.

Holistic healing means looking at lifestyle, values, nutrition, movement, body mechanics, habits, patterns, belief systems and relationships and bringing them into alignment with our goal of wellness.

If I want to be free of knee pain, I need to stop the activities that cause it, provide adequate support and rest, supply the necessary nutrients for repair, meet any underlying or resulting thoughts and emotions, and manage stress. I can apply salves that promote healing as a bonus.

While I’m doing all of that, I might take a pain reliever because there’s no sense in suffering in the meantime.

But I can’t keep doing things the old way, pop some ibuprofen, slap on some kinesio tape and call it healing.

It just doesn’t work that way.

When people first come to holistic therapy because the conventional route has failed them, they’re often looking for different answers without adapting their understanding of what healing entails.

They hope for something like an herbal pill to make the pain go away without changing all the ways they are contributing to the pain.

Or a magic salve. Or pressure point. Or stretch. Or recipe.

While all of these things can be helpful, healing requires addressing the source of the problem, learning to accept that our bodies have limitations, and we need to take care of ALL aspects ourselves according to our own unique needs.

Rejecting our emotions or values or worthiness in order to go-along-to-get-along will always take a toll.

Yes, it can be uncomfortable, inconvenient, even revolutionary to choose to address the inner landscape. You might find little support or even pushback when beginning to make changes.

If it were easy you would have already done it.

If there were a pill that truly worked you would have found it.

Holistic healing can be the magical cure you hope it will be, but probably not the way you thought. Creating inner harmony does indeed have miraculous results, but you’re going to need to participate in the journey.

At the very least, there needs to be a willingness to change any destructive thought patterns and welcome all emotions as valid. I’ve never met anyone who overcame a condition while continuing to think hateful thoughts about themself or another or stuff their feelings down.

The rewards are well worth the efforts. The peace, joy, comfort and freedom on the other side of regulating the nervous system, processing emotions, compassionately caring for the body, and cultivating life-force are spectacular.

And it all begins with one step in the direction you want to go.

If Reiki is a step that appeals to you, I’m here to be of service. It will help shift patterns, soothe your nerves and discomforts, and provide the energy needed to heal.

Maybe you prefer acupuncture or Somatic Experience or yoga therapy. There are tons of options and loads of practitioners to help.

Lying on the earth, sitting by a tree, or listening to sound healing are super-easy and cost-free practices that over time can have amazing results. These things will shift your vibration, helping you to notice and accept the changes that need to happen.

Pick something and get started today. Your future self will thank you.