The Path to Holistic Wellness (Infographic)

My quest for holistic wellness began way back early 2008 when I was diagnosed with hyperglycemia and was given medication.  Following family’s advice given our medical history, I was on medication for 2 years.  During said period, my regular visit to my endocrinologist then is more of a conversation rather than consultation, as I would challenge my doctor on what’s the rationale behind the medicine prescribed to me, what are the side effects, and if there is why do they prescribe such.  I would ask how can I be off from said medication, what are my options and what’s the ultimate cure.  When my doctor said that it will be maintenance medication then it dawned on me that I will be on it for life and that’s not how I envision managing my health moving forward.  Armed with the belief that our body can heal itself naturally, that we were designed by God to function ably having defense and healing mechanisms, I started searching for natural and alternative ways of healing, made the decision to stop my medication and addressed my condition with proper diet and exercise.  Fast forward, 8 years after I have been off from medication and maintained normal blood sugar level.

This episode in my life inspired me to continue on what I have started and opened my consciousness more on preventive care, alternative form of healing and healthy lifestyle.  I began to read books, make lifestyle changes, attended wellness seminars and workshops.  It’s in the latter that I met my Naturopath Doctor-Mentor.  I personally set up a consultation time with her for general health assessment and natural ways of sustaining a healthy lifestyle.  It is during this time that she shared with me her vision of building healthy communities and disease free world.  And one of the many ways she does to make this vision a reality is to transfer her knowledge by training lay people to become health practitioners.  I resonated with the thought of becoming a health practitioner myself cause as a Certified Professional Transformative Coach, I help others to become more aware and deepen their learning about themselves so they are able take charge of their life and be responsible to attain sustainable results.  What I help to impart, I also learn to apply.  As a coach, I learned to live a more keen awareness life, making conscious and purposeful choices not only in health aspect but all other life areas. Further reinforcing in me my non-negotiable in life that is family, wellness and spirituality.  In line with these priorities, I realized that taking my passion for wellness to the next level will be a valuable complement to my coaching profession and can make a major difference in people’s lives.  By acquiring a more formal education in health and wellness, I will not only be able to help my family embrace a more holistic outlook and approach to living a healthy lifestyle, I will also help in spreading awareness and educating others on true healthcare. 

And so I began my journey on an intensive 20 weeks class on Integrative Functional Nutrition.  This is not your typical type of class as every meeting one has to be prepared for a situational quiz and specific topic research work for presentation on top of capturing all the salient points and wisdom nuggets shared in every lecture and class discussion.  Then the last day of class will be the final written examination – combined case studies and concepts application. Am grateful to make it through the 20 weeks course requirements in the midst of hectic schedule and now onto my practicum.

This journey opened me up to something revolutionary and exciting. More than the foreign sounding scientific terms and mind boggling technical concepts I learned, this course is encompassing as it touched on a new healthcare paradigm. Looking back to my 2008 condition, then it all made sense now what led me to it. Here are the top lessons* I find worth sharing, learning and applying:

1. Our definition of life, sickness and death will be the healing paradigm
2. ‘The best way to change the world is to change ourselves’ – I have to walk my talk. My passion for holistic wellness has to manifest in me first even before I help to spread this to others. 
3. The mystery of healing – when we help others heal, we are healed as well.  The same goes with the power of prayers – the one who’s prayed is also blessed
4. Our body can heal itself – our body is designed to have healing and defense mechanisms
5. Everyday is a new opportunity to build a new body – our body fully rebuilds in less than 2 years and 98% in less than 1year
   1. DNA renews itself every 2 months
   1. The following rebuilds itself in:
      1. Skin – 1 month
      1. Liver – 6 weeks
      1. Stomach lining – 5 days
      1. Brain – 1 year
      1. Blood – 4 months
      1. Bones – 3 months
6. Our DNA is not our destiny
7. Epigenetics tell us that our environment, what we do, how we live, what we eat and where we are can affect how our genes express themselves
8. Changing our state of consciousness can influence or even change the tendency for gene expression
9. Our genes do not define us. We are not the code, we are the writers of the code
10. The key and lock to nutritional healing is food and body respectively.  The biochemistry of these two allows for deeper healing
11. Let Food be the Medicine – food is information, it contains various valuable information in the form of nutrients that can answer the different needs of our body
12. There is no prescription but rather a process, framework and structure working together to achieve a personalized holistic healing
13. Holistic approach to health management
14. Understanding the root cause of the disease – acute conditions require acute measures, chronic conditions require holistic approach
15. Knowing the core dysfunctions like toxins, stress, unhealthy diet and lifestyle, malnourishment, traumas
16. Primal food is not only diet and food, this includes body movement, relationships, spirituality, physical movement, beliefs, mindset

* Reference – lecture notes from Dra. Christine V. Gonzalez, NMD, PhD and Dr. Ibarra M. Gonzalez, PhD – WII-ICRI FN Class 2018