What is Holistic?
We at HPC are proud that we specialize in balancing modern technology with holistic practices. However, holistic medicine is a large term that covers a vast assortment of specialties that many may not be aware of. If you asked someone “what is holistic medicine,” how do you think they would answer? How would you answer it? The buzz words like “natural”, “alternative”, “herbal” come to mind with many, but the definition of holistic explores much more.
“Holistic medicine” can defined as: treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental, social, and environmental factors rather than just symptoms of a disease.
Simply put, it means looking at the whole picture. If you or your pet has a cough; instead of trying to treat just the cough, we seek answers to: what is causing the cough? What is the environment like at home when they cough? How are the lungs of the coughing patient? How is the immune system of the coughing patient?
As when it is difficult to see the whole picture when you focus on 1 aspect of a portrait, holistic medicine aims to take a step back to see the whole picture to understand the deeper meanings to appreciate the specific, smaller details.
Holistic medicine can be broken down further into 10 ideas or principles that go beyond general medicinal practice.
1. Optimal health is the primary goal
-One must always be pursing not just regular health care, but ensuring the body is functioning at peak performance by balancing physical, mental, spiritual, emotional, social and environmental health.
2. Learning opportunities
-Life is an ongoing experience that we must learn from. Every joy, heartbreak, loss and recovery are chances to learn for patients, clients and practitioners.
3. Lead by example
-Holistic practitioners strive to live by the words they preach.
4. Healing through love
-Practitioners must have an open heart to greet their patients and clients because they are living beings, not patients. They are beings with emotions, joys and fears; and those fears must be met with compassion and love to achieve better health.
5. Unity of the person
-The body is a fusion of mind, body, spirit and various systems working together in 1 perfect unison. Every cell, muscle and electrical impulse are parts of 1 being.
6. Prevention over treatment
-Actively seek to prevent illness before it happens. Being proactive with removing stress in our lives rather than seeing them as symptoms to a disease.
7. Innate healing power
-The body has a natural, innate power to heal itself. One must be aware and support it so the body will recover on its own. Similar to how we naturally heal from a cut; the body is always working to repair and improve itself.
8. Individuality
-All patients are unique with different nuances needed for help. Help the person with the issue, instead of dealing with the issue the person has.
9. Relationship centered care
-Practitioner and patient must work together for the benefit of both. They are on the same side for the patient’s benefit, while both learning from a shared experience.
10. Integration of healing system
-Practitioners embrace a lifetime of learning and experiences; aiming to use their knowledge to find the safest, most effective treatments. They must be open to all forms of medicine, including: lifestyle changes, conventional care or surgery. One must not limit themselves to the potential knowledge around them.
http://nourishwellness.com/the-10-principles-of-integrative-holistic-medicine/
https://medicineinbalance.com/the-principles-of-holistic-medical-practice/