I can't commit to that: Making healthy choices

One day a guy — let's call him Bill — called after having been referred to the Center for Holistic Health by a friend. Bill was experiencing back pain and was beginning to have trouble lifting his leg. Previously, when this had happened, Bill would see his chiropractor and that would take care of it. Bill then returned to his normal life. Only this time, it wasn't going away.

I invited him in for a consultation to further discuss his situation and determine some options. It turned out he'd been experiencing similar symptoms off and on for about fifteen years. He also shared with me that he'd been going through a particularly stressful time in his life.

I talked to Bill about how stress physiology and its global effects manifest in the body. He already knew that stress causes increased heart rate and blood pressure, shallow respiration and a tightening of the spinal muscles. He didn't even seem surprised to hear that it causes a reduced blood supply to the higher brain. This was probably because he was also experiencing some mental forgetfulness. Bill appeared to resonate with my description of Network Care and the effects it would have on stress physiology. Finally, he asked me how many visits he would need to commit to.

Those of you who know me or have read my articles understand that I'm not a proponent of the quick fix. We all shape our health over time. Since the factors involved in creating health — or dis-ease for that matter — are various and cumulative, why would we assume that years of patterns could be shifted and “fixed” instantly? In addition, the last thing I would want to do is remove his body's warning system without any learning or change in behavior on his part.

Based on his history, I told Bill that he'd most likely be looking at a couple of visits a week for several weeks to complete basic care. Bill said, in an extremely pleasant manner, “I have to be honest; I'm just not someone who can commit to that.” I appreciated his honesty, and, since I don't subscribe to the kill the messenger philosophy, I was able to tell him I had no attachment to his decision as to whether or not to begin care. Basically, he was saying that he had a history of not being able to commit to something like this and in order for him to do it he would have to change his normal behavior; he just wasn't sure he could do it. What is interesting here, of course, is the fact that Bill's inability to change and adapt in his life is most likely the cause of his discomfort, and exactly why he really needs care.

Clients have heard me say many times that the degree of flexibility in one's structure is directly proportional to the degree of flexibility in one's life, and this situation was a perfect example. Inflexibility in one's structure directly effects neuro-peptide binding on the cellular level. This, in turn, has an effect on one's available behavioral responses. For more information on the subject, refer to The Molecules of Emotion by Dr. Candice Pert.

Many times in life, we get attached to a story about ourselves, or an explanation of why things are the way they are regardless of the relevant truth. Our inability to change our story and adapt to the ever- changing landscape of life can wreck havoc on our physiology. If we are brought up with a particular belief system and those beliefs no longer work for us or match our evolved body/mind it creates a mental struggle and results in a defensive physiology and associated inflexibility of structure. Many of the symptoms we experience are a direct manifestation of this mechanism.

If we think about it and look back on our lives, how many times have we changed what we thought or believed about religion, politics, relationships and life? How many times have we reconsidered — in the light of new evidence or heightened awareness – what our choices might be? That is what you might call growth.