What is health anyway? Is health merely the absence of disease? Are you healthy just because you don't have symptoms? Or does real health go a little deeper than that?

According to our modern allopathic medical system, each symptom of disease exists in isolation - and each bodily system is treated as separate from the others. This is what doctors learn in medical school - to diagnose "disease" via symptoms, and prescribe medications to treat these specific symptoms.

If you have a skin rash, you are sent to a doctor (dermatologist) who deals specifically with skin rashes. If you have digestive or stomach problems, you see a gastroenterologist. If you have heart problems, you are sent to see a cardiologist.

But what if all these symptoms were actually related?

With the conventional approach, rather than finding the root problem and addressing it, you would instead think you suffered from three different maladies and would likely end up on (at least) three different drugs!

On the other hand, holistic approaches to health - such as Functional Medicine - actually address the patient as a whole. ALL of your symptoms are considered together, and treatment is tailored to each individual's unique needs - rather than standardized "treatments" being used to treat specific symptoms separately. Functional Medicine doctors are trained to "treat people, not diseases," according to author and Functional Medicine doctor, Mark Hyman.

Addressing the entire spectrum of health is understandably more involved and time-consuming than simply focusing on one particular symptom or disease, but if you want to achieve truly balanced health and wellness, there are 7 key areas that you will need to address - both on your own as an individual, and with your doctor.

Holistic health isn't really holistic unless it considers every aspect of your being - not just your physical health. In today's post, I will discuss the importance of finding a healthy and balanced mindset - an often neglected area, but perhaps the most important element of enjoying holistic health in all areas of your life.

Ask yourself - are you happy and content with your life? Are you mentally and emotionally happy as well as physically? And if the answer is no, what is holding you back?

Until you can answer in the affirmative, you have not achieved true holistic health.

Step 3 on our journey to achieving holistic health is, of course, exercise! Movement is key to good health - in fact, it is one of the most essential factors for a healthy life.

For the most part, how you move isn't as important as how much you move, but there is some evidence that certain types of exercise are more conducive to good health and longevity. Hours of long-form exercise that stresses the joints and organs (think marathon running) may in fact shorten the lives of those who make that their main form of exercise. But in general, as long as you're moving, you're improving your health.

Unfortunately, for most of us in today's modern world, exercise seems to be thought of as more of an optional hobby than an essential need like food and sleep - even though it is equally as important for long-term health! You will not die of lack of exercise within a few days or weeks like you would without food, water, and sleep, but you WILL die of it eventually - far sooner than you would if you treated it as the essential need that it is.

As I explain below, in order to stay lively and healthy throughout your natural lifespan, you need to get moving!

Happy Easter!

I wish it felt a bit more like spring, but I will take the sunshine at least!

For this month's "freebie," I'm sharing an awesome opportunity to take a free class from a leading herbalist and natural medicine expert. I thought this would be a great follow up to last week's post on holistic and herbal healing modalities - as well as a shout out to all my lovely soul sisters out there! :-) This class definitely takes a feminine perspective on healing, but of course men are also welcome to participate and regardless of what gender you consider yourself, you are sure to learn a lot.

During this free virtual class, Discovering the Feminine Way of Plant Medicine: Healing Through the Wisdom of Natural Remedies, Rhythms & Relationships, herbalist, gardener, and author Deb Soule will share some of the medicinal plants and tonic herbs most valued for healing qualities specific to women’s health – including remedies to help women heal and thrive during all of the different cycles of our lives.

The online class will be held next Saturday, April 7th, at 10:00am PT/1:00pm ET so be sure to head on over and register now, while you're thinking of it. Or read more below to find out more about what will be covered in the free class...

It's week 2 in our series on achieving holistic health, and this week, we're talking about holistic healing with the use of natural remedies.

Does anyone else find it strange that that we supposedly need drugs that were created in a lab to keep us "healthy"?  How is this possible? Most of these substances are completely foreign to our bodies, so how are they essential for good health?

They aren't. In fact, some estimates say that adverse prescription drug reactions may be the 4th leading cause of death in the U.S. - and that's just for drugs that were prescribed and used according to directions! (When you add in overdose and opioid abuse, the number is much, much higher.)

For centuries, humans relied on plants to keep us healthy - and we didn't always make such a great distinction between "food" and "medicine." Certainly there were doctors and healers who used tinctures and other preparations of herbal plant medicines, but there was also tribal knowledge about certain plants to eat when we were afflicted by certain illnesses or other health issues. We evolved with a symbiotic relationship to plants, and this factor is sadly lacking in today's modern world.

Remember that health is not a simple yes or no question. All health exists on a spectrum. Feeding your body natural, healthy foods is the first step to true health, as we discussed last week. Many forms of illness and disease stem from poor nutrition - feeding the body things that do not support it, and denying it the foods that do support it.

However, holistic healing is about more than just herbal remedies or eating certain plants; it is also about taking a look at the whole being in a holistic way, rather than just trying to "cure" a certain symptom. Below we will take a look at what holistic healing means, and how it can help you to live a healthier life on all levels.

We're back! Up and running at last... As you may have noticed, our site was not working properly last week, and I was unable to get a blog post out to you as usual. (I took advantage of the break by going to see a movie - something I haven't done in months! I admit it was a nice little treat.) However, everything should be fixed now (if you notice any problems please let me know), and I'm back in action.

In fact, this week I'm starting a series on holistic health, so stay tuned over the coming weeks when I will be discussing 5 important aspects of true health from a holistic perspective.

Today's topic is where every discussion of good health should start - with what you eat...

This month's free gift comes to you from my friends over at Health Means - an online community of natural health experts with expertise in preventing and curing almost any type of disease you can imagine. 

For the months of February and March, they are giving away 20 training sessions on heart health - but this is holistic health, so these important talks will contain information not just on your heart's physical health, but also your emotional health as well. 

You can find a ton of awesome health information out there these days, but often it is delivered during a one-time event, and if you're too busy to attend even online, you may miss out on some of these important health topics. 

However, this one is a little different, as these talks are available for you to download and access indefinitely - not just over the course of a few days! As long as you request access during this free offer, you can then come back and review all of this helpful information at your own pace. 

--->>Get access to these amazing (free!) health talks now, or read more below to find out what the package includes...

So many of us (even in the natural health world) have a negative view of our bodies.

We aren't happy with their shape, size, or weight. Or even if we are, we complain about aches and pains, treating injuries as if they were a betrayal by our bodies, rather than a response to mistreatment. Or we bemoan the signs of aging we see, like wrinkles, or thinning hair, or loss of muscle tone.

It is as if we view our bodies as an enemy - or at best, a reluctant ally that we just have to put up with throughout our lives.

But your body (yes, even YOUR body) is amazing!

If we were to actually take the time to learn how our amazing bodies work, we might understand them better, and be more forgiving. We might also take a lot better care of them, meaning they might stay healthier - and help us stick around on this planet for a little while longer. 

Below are 5 amazing facts about your body. When you read this, take the time to really think about how awesome each of these facts is, and give your body some love and appreciation for all of the wonderful things it can do!

I've got something a bit different for you this month for your "February Freebie..."  But it's really cool and I can't wait to share it with you!

I wrote about this last year, but this year I'm even more excited because I've had a chance to learn more about this amazing technique and how it can help improve your health dramatically - and it's so simple and easy to do! I have actually been using it myself for a few years, but I have practiced it a lot more over the past few months, and done a lot more research on it as well.

Most recently, I used it to help kick a cold before I even got sick, and am now working on my chronic heartburn... I will have to let you know how it goes, but there is an entire event surrounding this amazing health technique starting this week, and I wanted to make sure you don't miss it!

The pre-event starts Monday, and you can register to watch the entire thing for FREE through this link:
http://holisticliving.clkpfct.com/go/twsVid1

Below is a link to the first video, which I thought you would find very interesting. It is about how much influence your mind actually has over your body and your physical health. Check it out below...

After a holiday season filled with sweets and rich foods, I always feel like the start of the new year is a great time to cleanse and detoxify - purifying your bodily systems for a fresh new year ahead!

No matter what type of diet or eating plan you follow, you likely have toxins built up in your body that you aren't even aware of. After all, toxins can accumulate in our tissues from many sources. From your personal care and cleaning products, to air pollution (both inside and outside the home), to the water you drink and the food you eat, toxins can come from many different sources.

Of course, you probably already know that your body has many built-in mechanisms for removing these toxins; however, depending on how much toxic exposure you've had over the past year (or years), it may be more than your body can handle without some support - especially if you are continuing to load your body with more toxins from the sources listed above. 

If you're not sure whether you need to do a detox, below I've listed some signs that your body could probably use some support in its detoxification efforts.

Or, go take this interesting quiz to find out your body's toxicity score...