by Dr. Tina Marcantel
What is holistic healing? It means looking beyond the physical signs and symptoms and considering the whole person—the emotional, mental, energetic, and physical aspects of our being. Why is this important? Because if we truly want to improve our health and well-being, we need to look for the root cause of the problem rather than simply treating the symptoms.
There is a big question we need to ask ourselves: Do we want to continue putting band-aids on our health problems by adding more medications and supplements, or do we want to discover what is really going on? In my practice, I choose to look for the root cause. Medications may have their place in helping us manage symptoms, but we can’t keep adding more and more without asking why the problem is there in the first place. Otherwise, we’re going nowhere fast.
One important place to begin looking is stress. So many people today are experiencing tremendous stress, and it can affect us in ways we may not fully understand. Our adrenal glands help us handle the stresses of life, and the relationship between stress, adrenal function, and the thyroid is worth considering when looking at a person’s overall health.
I often see people who describe feeling “tired and wired.” They’re anxious, exhausted, and yet they can’t sleep. Others experience insomnia, inflammation, and aches and pains throughout their bodies. These physical complaints deserve attention, but we also need to look at the stressors behind them. What’s really going on here? What is happening beneath the physical signs and symptoms?
This is why I encourage people to be proactive and empower themselves. Become your own best patient advocate. Find a physician you can communicate with, someone who will actually listen to you. This is so important because you have wisdom about your own body. You know your body better than anybody else. Never underestimate that. Always remember to be your best patient advocate.
Now, while there are many things we cannot control in life, there is one thing we can do something about: showing up for ourselves.
It sounds simple, and it is. But there is tremendous power in commitment, consistency, and repetition. Every morning, if you can, take a little time to sit quietly and just be with yourself. You don’t have to make it complicated. Simply sit down, take a deep breath, and remind yourself: “I’m here for me.”
That deep breath brings you back into the present moment, into the heart, into that place of wisdom within you that is connected to a higher source, to God.
Don’t strive or stress to try to get into a place of peace. Just trust the process. Show up, take a deep breath, and relax. When we allow ourselves to settle into the peacefulness of the present moment, we begin to find clarity and understanding. We become more aware of what we need to do for ourselves and what we need to do for the day ahead.
Keep it really simple. During your quiet time, observe those fast-moving thoughts. Don’t get attached to them. Don’t identify with them. Just observe them as they come and go.
The same is true with our emotions. When anger, sadness, or other feelings arise, allow them. Don’t resist them or try to push them away. Feel them. Observe them. Allow them to pass through.
There is something powerful that happens when we make this a daily practice. I have found that it is almost like an alchemy—a sacred transformation that takes place when we consistently show up for ourselves.
Something begins to shift. We decrease the effort of constantly trying to feel better or trying to find peace. Instead of continually looking for peace, we begin to experience what it means to simply be peace.
So remember, holistic healing is about looking at the whole person, discovering the root causes of our physical symptoms, empowering ourselves, and making time to reconnect with the wisdom within.
You don’t have to make it complicated. Just show up for yourself. Take a deep breath. Observe. Allow. And trust that something beautiful can happen when you give yourself that time.
Try it for yourself!
