Definitions
Foundation Concepts of Natural Health Model
Balance: a state of internal stability, equilibrium and coherence. In Chinese Medicine, the proportions of yin and yang (complementary opposites) of any element are not "stuck" in either excess or deficiency. The degree of balance in all aspects of life-bioenergy, bodily processes and lifestyle-is a step toward or away from health.Stress: a chronic force/pressure or over-stimulation causing a strain on the system. This strain causes an imbalance which can lead to symptoms/warnings and eventually illness if not abated and reharmonized.
Environment: the source of all nourishment that either supports or harms life. Everything in the cosmos is a form of universal energy, function of E=mc2, meaning energy and matter are just different frequencies and vibrations, just different forms of the same thing, or chi/qi in Eastern thought.
Nourishment from the environment
Air: Breath oxygenates every organ, system and cell in the bodyBio-Energy: called life-force, chi/qi, prana-the form of universal energy moving through us. Bio-electric frequencies of very low but measurable oscillations moving throughout our bodies are the bio-communication and information network that precedes and directs bio-chemical activity of the body. Chinese Medicine discovered these meridians or "rivers" of bio-energy thousands of years ago and the premise that imbalances or blockages in these meridians, like rocks in a river, cause all illness and that the body can heal itself if these energy channels are blockage-free.
Connections: relationships & meaning in life: family, friends, work, community, spirituality.
Diet: Food and water, nature's medicine for our body's biochemical factory.
Filters alter nourishment coming in for good or ill
Activity: exercise, sleep, rest: stimulates organs and system functioning, "oils" the machinery.Attitude: evaluations of thoughts, beliefs and emotions. The mind is inseparable from the body and they are connected by emotions (emotion = energy in motion). "The body reflects the mind, the mind reflects life."
Core Functions that affect all organs and systems
Digestion: converting food into energy-what comes in.Detox: elimination of toxins (microbial, viral, chemical, emotional, etc)-what goes out from cells in the body.
Dental: teeth both reflect and amplify system functioning at all levels-physical, mental, emotional. Metal fillings and root canals are special concerns.
Structure: supports functions of all organs and systems.
Allergies: altered reactivity to otherwise innocuous substances—body's warning system that something's wrong with digestion and/or detox.
