I'm really happy that my film screening of Just One Drop - a documentary film about homeopathy; falls on World Health Day! What a great way to celebrate.

It got me thinking about health and what it is to be healthy today (which clearly I give a lot of thought to regularly working with clients and also experimenting with things myself).

Health. So, the World Health Organization (WHO) defined health in its broader sense in its 1948 constitution as "a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity."

For me, health, freedom, the ability to adapt, to be flexible and to flow within the situation you're in is important to take into account. It's possible we may not achieve complete physical, mental and social well-being, but we may be able to enhance what is present for us. To be able to adapt better in situations, whether that be on a physical or an emotional level. We all know many of the things we can do to help enhance that - adequate but not too much sunshine, ditto food, exercise and fluid for a good start.

I feel this is our personal responsibility, for each and every one of us to focus on doing. Doug Graham, author of The 80/10/10 diet, much based around a Natural Hygiene lifestyle, says:

“Since doctors generally have nothing to offer us once we shift our focus from treating disease to causing wellness, it is important to familiarize yourself with the elements of health.”**

My experience is that frequently we manage bad health, visiting people to help us out then, but may forget to do anything about creating good health. We forget to exercise, drink too much, eat what we know aren't great foods for us, then suddenly are surprised when we're flagging a little. I believe we've come to this world to really learn about the human experience, which certainly includes having fun, getting it 'wrong' (I'm assuming that's not just in my case) plenty of times, and experiencing many things.

So I'm not here as a lecture, more as a gentle reminder to look after yourself as well as using a team of people to support you where needed.

Excited about the film on Friday, then I'll be away after that getting some sunshine and rest and enjoying the holidays. Back to work from the 22nd April.

Here's to staying well, and do get in touch if I can do anything to help support that aim for you.

With best wishes,

Em x

** Clearly not every doctor, and I'm happy to say that I know many who are holistically minded. One of the huge challenges with our health service is the time allowed - however I think our approach to healthcare as individuals is a way we can start to change this. Let's all do one positive thing for our health daily for one way to make a start.

I was thinking over things after working with a student last night, reading cases later last night and seeing clients today. There's a chance it could be one of the most used phrases in homeopathy, and is so helpful, but also sums up what we do a little more.

So tell me more... We do have a real luxury I believe. A 10 minute appointment to see a medical practitioner for a chronic a(s in long lasting, from the latinised greek, chronos meaning time) complaint is such a tiny amount of time, and yet the GP is supposed to be able to fix things from that short appointment. And often they do a great job, so this is by no way a dig at the conventional medical profession. But the luxury of time in terms of working as a private homeopathic practitioner means we have the time to be told a little more. Ideally then we can start to see the patterns. Like when a patient has IBS, and then they talk about their anger or resentment, and tell me that it's 'eating them up inside'. Or their headaches that started after a certain event. Or breathing issues that have been ever since grief. We then start to see the body and mind as a whole. That holistic look at health means that we can prescribe for the whole person, not just a collection of parts. 

I want to be told more... about how it is to be you, living with that complaint. How it is to feel that, fear this, or be in nature. To one person living the way they do, it's a prison, to another they just do it. Others crave the sun whilst some hide from it. Some seek solitude, others to be surrounded by people. Heat helps, cold worsens. Or the opposite. We are all so unique and I've no idea about what anxiety means to one person (albeit I've a general awareness) compared to what it means for another. For one, the inability to function, and another, a bit concerned here and there.

Tell me more... about living the way nature intended for this amazing body of ours. Homeopaths often work with clients on something called 'Obstacles to Cure' which I've mentioned in passing on a recent blog post. Things like keeping smoking when you've a chronic cough, or living in damp environments, never doing exercise, or eating unsuitable foods... that sort of thing. So the more we can do to live well, the better we can help ourselves. For me that's meant studying Natural Hygiene, Nutrition and Mindfulness work so that I can ideally help support clients through their path towards better health, whatever that may mean to them. 

Tell me more... about homeopathy. My quest for deepening my understanding, and my fascination about people continues, as I'm aware it does for many colleagues. So many of us are engaged on refining our art, sharing the potential and I'm so grateful for the teachers, clients and students out there who teach me more all the time. There is learning to be done on all levels. Revisiting the theory of homeopathy, re-reading The Organon of Medicine, one of Hahnemann (the founder of homeopathy)'s major works  teaches me much, researching for giving a recent lecture got me on a whole path of discovery, and whilst there's around 4000 medicines in homeopathy, there's going to be plenty to learn about for a long time.

Here's to learning, living and loving well,

With love,
​
Em x