Holistic Healing Defined & Explained By Therapist Rebecca

Your body has its own internal natural healing system which is often overlooked. Here, Rebecca explains what 'healing' means within the world of holistic health and well-being and how it is closely related to a spiritual path. She also gives some useful advice and tips on how you can encourage your own inner healing system to come into force (quite easily!), which is something a lot of people neglect if they lead busy lives or are unaware of the importance of this aspect of health and wellness.

Transcript

��Music�� Hello and welcome to series 3 of the Ultimate Holistic Escapes podcast.

I'm Rebecca your host and founder of Ultimate Holistic Escapes.

I'm a fully qualified holistic therapist and meditation teacher and I'm here to share some wisdom,

Guidance,

Inspiration and honesty about holistic healing and living life on a spiritual path.

So stay with me and see where this journey takes you.

What do we really mean by healing in complementary and alternative medicine?

Healing in the Oxford dictionary means to make healthy,

Whole or sound,

Restore to health,

Free from ailment.

And the origin of the word is restoration to health.

So we can liken the word healing to anything really that means making us whole again making us healthy,

Whole or back to sound health.

And how many of us can actually say that we are 100% whole,

Healthy and you know in in optimal health free from any type of ailment.

This is why I love this industry holistic healing it's always in progress we're always healing our body is a magnificent healing machine.

So I'm going to go into more detail on what this all means in this industry complementary and alternative medicine or holistic therapies.

Holistic healing is to become healthy in mind body and spirit which is whole that that's the whole of us mind body and spirit.

And it's a process it's a journey it takes time you've probably heard me say this so many times it's a journey it takes time it takes effort and consistency and it can also hurt.

So sometimes with healing we can feel like we're taking two or three steps forwards and then we might take one step back because it can sometimes open something up within us that can make that hurtful thing resurface.

It's personal to you and only you can choose to heal yourself nobody else can do this for you.

Healing holistically is healing the wounds of the mind body and spirit which collectively will lead to us becoming whole again.

A lot of people have deep mental and emotional wounds that have not healed even as far back as birth and childhood.

You may have heard of the term inner child healing or inner child therapies which is a form of therapy or self-help that takes your mind back to yourself as a child.

So you can reopen those wounds and heal them so you're you're healing those wounds in the adult self which are there from childhood.

This may also take some form of therapy as well such as CBT.

I went through a process a few years ago of healing many wounds from as far back as my sixth seven-year-old self.

I began this at a time when I was going through a huge heartbreak and grief and many things contributed to facilitating and guiding this process of healing.

I like to use the analogy of a jigsaw when we heal our life we are simply putting all the pieces of our jigsaw back together in the right place.

So it makes us whole and complete the way we're supposed to be not in that that messy way.

Very often healing comes at a time when you do shatter into pieces whether that is following a breakdown of some kind or a wake-up call maybe an epiphany moment.

Each person that has healed their life will have a different story and it will be something personal to them that triggered this process of healing.

Once you've healed the whole self it's then much easier to heal as you go along so it is an ongoing thing.

You will usually become more resilient and less resistant to hope you know holding on to things or resisting things that you may perceive as negative or hurtful.

You will get a sense of flow,

Ease and greater peace of mind.

Your heart will fill with gratitude more easily and you'll view the world differently.

Healing can be likened to a spiritual path or an awakening they all tie in together to make up a new way of life.

I'm speaking here from raw personal experience years and years of studies and the experiences of clients,

Friends,

Colleagues,

Mentors.

Healing is something that is becoming more well known and it's crossing over into mainstream medicine more and more which is music to my ears.

You know to hear people in the medical world talking about this holistic healing we're healing body mind and spirit.

Healing is something our body has the ability to do naturally.

It's amazing really when you think about it this can only happen with the right internal and external environment.

And what happens is we often restrict the body's capacity and ability to heal because we put so much strain and pressure on it physically.

Even down to posture,

Build up of toxins,

Negative energy,

Emotional blockages can also prevent natural healing from happening because the built up energy begins to spill over if you like.

Healing is positive natural flowing energy so when it's up against a negative force whether that's in mind or body.

It has resistance to contend with so this is going to make it more difficult for the body to heal and reach and maintain a state of balance which is homeostasis.

It's important to note that when we're not balanced and our body is under stress this can cause disease.

It's much like anything and everything in nature a plant or an animal needs the right environment to grow and flourish.

If it doesn't have the right environment it suffers,

Wilts away and gets disease.

And let me tell you resistance to healing is quite normal for the majority of people in western societies.

If you think about the things we're faced with on a day-to-day basis and what we put our bodies through not always by choice.

Is it any wonder we need some help and guidance in this area?

We've been conditioned to think and behave in certain ways since birth without regard for the consequences which is often to the detriment of our health and well-being.

You may have seen another blog post on my website which is titled part of the global awakening.

Are you part of the global awakening?

Which goes into more detail on this so you might want to take a look at that one.

The mind-body connection is very real and thankfully science as i say is finally catching up with what healers have known for forever.

When our mind holds on to stress trauma and negative thoughts or experiences this manifests in the physical body.

So while our body is working around the clock to heal and replenish itself it almost becomes stuck at that point where the emotional self is clinging on.

And usually this is a contributor to anxiety and depression.

Now this is not to say you can force blocked emotions out and let go of trauma easily.

It can take time,

Guidance,

Awareness,

Nurturing,

Love and patience.

Also you may not be consciously aware of these blockages and when they manifest as illness you could be wondering why,

Why me?

Which then leads to the wake-up call,

Find a cure,

That state.

We can learn to regulate balance and actually feel our emotions so they should never become stuck.

We can learn to find balance using our own healing system and when it flows we grow on more levels than you can imagine.

We build resilience,

We cultivate compassion for ourselves and others.

And in scientific terms our internal healing system is made up of the parasympathetic nervous system which is part of the autonomic nervous system.

And other body systems such as the immune system,

The endocrine system which are all integrated to bring our body into rest and repair mode.

Regulate hormones,

Balance emotions,

Cleanse the body of toxins and all in all protect us from disease.

Stress is the number one cause of disease because it shuts off the parasympathetic nervous system which is that internal healing system and it keeps the sympathetic nervous system,

The fight-off-light response,

Active.

I just want to add a bit about retreats here because when you go on a retreat you escape the everyday stressors.

So this is a great way to force yourself into a mode of healing if you struggle to do this in your everyday life or on a conventional holiday.

So our retreats are led and structured in such a way that they encourage you to let go and heal without any resistance.

And that's actually the sole purpose of the retreats that I run,

It's to facilitate holistic healing which in turn helps you to reach and maintain a state of well-being.

I need my own holistic therapies and space for inner healing.

This is an ongoing thing and for me it's not a luxury.

It's absolutely an essential part of my self-care.

I need to bring my body back into a state of balance regularly to counteract the stresses and strains on my body.

And I work in this industry where I'm surrounded by positive people,

Positive energy,

So if I need that for my own health then it's safe to say that you probably do as well.

Often clients say to me,

Do your hands not hurt during massaging all day?

And I tell them no because I've learned the correct techniques for injury prevention and I allow my body to heal after a hard day's work.

It is absolutely number one for me and so I'll rest,

I'll ice my hands,

I exercise and strengthen my body to prevent injury.

So again it's about balance and I make sure that if there is a pain,

If there's a niggle and my body is giving me a signal or a sign to say stop,

I will reduce the workload or I will have some time off.

And of course yes I have learned this the hard way without a doubt,

It usually does take something like an injury to give us a wake-up call.

But I often ask myself why do we always wait for the call?

Why not be in a constant state of prevention rather than cure?

Why do,

Why don't we allow healing to flow like nature intended?

It's not always that straightforward is it?

And I'm a believer in the saying,

No better do better.

And this doesn't mean we need to strive for perfection but at least we can do the best we can for ourselves to allow us a chance at the healthiest and happiest life possible.

So are you with me on that one?

Holistic therapies and retreats of course they facilitate healing but you can also facilitate your own healing every day.

And you can do this by getting adequate good quality sleep and rest.

Get in touch with me if you need help with any of these things.

Connect with nature by walking outside.

Meditate,

Sit on bare ground on the bare earth and breathe in fresh air in a place that is as far away from pollution and toxins as possible.

You can eat a healthy balanced rainbow diet full of nutritionally dense whole foods.

You can limit toxins such as refined sugar,

Alcohol,

Greasy food,

Meat and dairy and processed foods.

And also try not to overeat because we've all been there haven't we where we eat too much and then our body's working so hard to digest that food it's maybe neglecting the other areas that do need that healing on a day-to-day basis.

Drink lots and lots of water which will keep you well hydrated and mentally alert.

Meditating daily or practicing mindfulness throughout the day this is always a big one for me it's such a simple concept but often we we do neglect this area.

So taking time to just be so you can relax and focus on your breath,

Clear your headspace and recharge.

This is another big one connecting with others that uplift you.

People that don't bring negative energy to you just allow yourself to say no if you don't want to be around someone that makes you feel depleted and negative.

And that connection with others it releases endorphins and it definitely contributes to our overall happiness,

Health,

Well-being.

Another one is laughing.

It really is the best medicine isn't it so I don't really need to say anymore you can never overdose on laughter and joy.

And being creative so when we are creative we're usually floating in a space that's free of time and we naturally let go of stress and overthinking.

And being creative boosts well-being because it gives us a sense of purpose,

Focus and accomplishment.

So when those creative juices are flowing nicely that is definitely going to bring in some nice positive healing energy.

I actually did a stress management course you may well have been involved in that online a couple of months ago.

It was a 10-day stress management course and I introduced the learners to a daily practice of three well-being breaks.

And this is just one of the practical solutions I advise for stress management and three well-being breaks at 10 minutes each works out at only 2% of your day in terms of the time investment.

So it's a hundred percent possible to maintain and the three well-being breaks are 10 minutes of movement.

Any type of movement just put some music on have a dance just let your body move listen to your body and just sort of go with the flow with movement or you could do a 10-minute walk.

I started hula hooping since the lockdown and so I've been just grabbing a hula hoop and just getting my heart pounding when I need a little break from the screen.

So the first one 10 minutes of movement.

The second well-being break another 10 minutes is 10 minutes of active relaxation.

So active relaxation could be something like a meditation or it could be 10 minutes of reading.

Reading something that's nice and like a gentle read not something that's too intense.

So just 10 minutes of relaxation it could just be having a bath and putting some music on.

So something that's active but it's putting your body into a state of relaxation.

And if you can do more than 10 minutes this is great but these are kind of like the minimum you know these three lots of 10 minutes.

They're the minimum but what you'll find is they make a real big difference.

They do make you feel a lot more yeah sort of in a healing space and a lot more relaxed and calm and healthy and well throughout the day.

And the third well-being break is 10 minutes and this is usually the one that people find the most challenging because it's 10 minutes of complete nothingness,

Stillness.

Just be,

Just sit,

Just sit with you as you are.

Sometimes when people sit with their feelings and emotions it can bring things out.

So you may have opportunities for emotional releases but just to sit and be whether you're contemplating,

Reflecting,

You probably will find that your mind is active but you can work towards slowing that down.

It takes practice so if you can just sit and be for 10 minutes maybe just have a cup of tea and let your body go into its own healing system,

The parasympathetic nervous system.

And again if you can stay here for longer than 10 minutes brilliant.

Do let me know as always how you get on with everything I love hearing from you on your journeys and if you've got any questions feel free to drop me an email.

Check out the links in the episode description and I will look forward to connecting with you next time.

Thank you so much for listening,

I really hope you are inspired to evolve,

Grow and let go on your spiritual journey.

To support this continuing work please share this podcast,

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Visit ultimateholisticescapes.

Com to find out about our upcoming retreats and events and feel free to share your feedback and experiences or ask any questions via the contact form.

Have a wonderful week and I look forward to connecting with you again next time.

Reviews

Thank you so much! This was a very helpful information.

Thank you for the in-depth information delivered in an earnest way.

Very interesting! Thank you!