Health Care Starts with Self Care
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We are what we eat, think and do. Your body is your body because of how you live your life and what you have inherited. Some of us are born with special abilities and others of us have to work at it. But it is important to remember that we are each special in some ways and limited in others. Understanding our limitations and natural abilities will help us to find our way and see where we need extra effort.
There is one quality in every species that survives. That quality is the ability to adapt to the environment. We must make sacrifices in function and resources for survival. Summer in the desert forces us to make major adaptations. To live in this environment we need energy and resources such as water to sweat and cool our body.
Stress is what brings us out of perfect balance. Some stress is good and even important for health. We need the stresses of gravity, exercise and love. But too much, too little or the wrong kind of stress can be too much for our minds and bodies to adapt to.
Stress is the cause of more than 75 percent of all illness. Stress comes as fear, worry, doubt, anger, sadness and more. Stress also comes as poor diet, poor sleep, structural imbalance, nervous system tension, toxic buildup, electromagnetic frequencies, poor circulation, qi imbalance, heat, cold and more. The mind and body are two expressions of the same thing, and as one organism your physical and mental stresses will affect you in some way. The body’s systems are communication systems. Like a phone conversation, they require a good connection and good information going both ways. Stressors can interfere with good communication, leading to stiffness, soreness, injury, illness and even death if you continue in the same direction.
Now what do you do about this? Health care is self care! Listen to your body, mind and emotions. When something isn't working the way it should, work on getting it better. Avoid numbing a problem or maintaining it in injury or illness unless you have to. Pain is the sign of a problem and not a problem itself. Educate yourself.
We have an innate intelligence that keeps us alive and healthy. Our bodies can produce any medicine ever produced. We just have to get out of our own way when it comes to health. Movement is life! “Move it or lose it” is how the body works. Mindful movement is one of the best ways to remove stress from your life. It is exercise that works with your individual abilities and involves you mentally, communicating with your body. I recommend to all of my patients that they do a regular exercise such as tai chi, qi gong, yoga or Pilates because they share the same beneficial principals. These exercises are mindful in movement, they strengthen your muscles while stretching them and require movements that enhance balance. Tai chi and qi gong are also beneficial as they are designed to move energy through the acupuncture meridians while doing the exercises.
Choose good food over bad. As Dr. James Chestnut says, there is food that makes you smart, beautiful and healthy, and then there is food that makes you dumb, ugly and unhealthy. It isn't hard to make food choices when you just have two groups.
And finally, choose to be happy. This is your life experience. Your mood is not a result of your experience and it doesn't change what is. Being upset when things are bad just adds to your stress. Simply choosing to be happy regardless of the things going on externally can often be helpful.
Move well, eat well and choose happiness. These are what I offer you as we each struggle with our own health care crisis.
Dr. Robert W. Haberkorn, D.C., M.M.Q. is the owner of Haberkorn Health Center and the founding director of The Center of Motion Inc. a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering individuals and communities through health education to maintain a proactive approach to wellness. He can be reached at (760) 346-9400.