Natural Health is alternative health care medicine for our bodies, our planet, and our relationships.

The term “natural health” seems to be thrown around with abandon at everything, describing a mixture of philosophies, products, ideas, and opinions. It can be as varied as “taking walks in fresh unpolluted air, to eating organic foods, and countless other definitions in between. A slippery eel that slithers out between our grasping fingers, the concept of natural health does not give us anything firm to hold on to, no framework that is useful for guiding life choices.

This is unfortunate for a concept this important.

After years of researching and experimenting with lifestyle choices and activities that would keep me healthy and off of the surgeon’s table, I have come to understand that natural health goes beyond mushy meanings and has some very practical uses in our society.

First, as a society, we do not take personal responsibility for our own health. We depend on doctors, who depend on the prescription pad, or surgery to “heal” us. While I am certain that advances in medicine have leapt forward over the last century – particularly for accidents and trauma – we can do personal work that can keep us healthy, minimize synthetic drug use, and save ourselves time and money. We just need to decide to do it.

Secondly we need to understand that our bodies are small biochemical factories that run on subtle energies and electromagnetic fields. It is this energy flow through the body that keeps us alive and healthy. Eastern cultures have understood this relationship of energy and health for centuries. The Chinese word for life energy is “Chi”, in Japan, it is “Ki”, in India it is “Prana”. There is also a nice tie-in with spirituality in these ideas, if you choose to pursue that. Read the rest of this entry »