An Epidemiological Phenomenon: Cardiovascular DIsease

I made my annual trek north to New York over the holiday season to see my family and friends. It's always a time when I can connect and reflect upon how grateful I am for the people in my life. The familiar comfort and the strong feeling of peace and ease in my body that flowed from it reminded me of two things — just how important our relationships are in the landscape of our lives, and how comfort enables us to express our true selves and thereby sustain a healthy physiology. These realizations and reflections prompted me to write this article.

Once upon a time, a client of one of my colleagues insisted that he “didn't want to become dependant on anyone,” in relation to starting Network Care. My colleague responded by saying, “we all need each other.” I've thought about that statement many times over the last several years relative not only to my wellness practice, but to my personal life as well. The following study suggests that we really do need each other, for while we are able to survive alone, our relationships do play a major part in our ability to thrive.

The Center for Disease Control found that residents of a small town in Pennsylvania had the lowest incidence of cardiovascular disease in the country. Prior to their on-site investigation, they expected to find very health conscious, physically fit, vegetarians. What they found instead were drinking, smoking, relatively out of shape people who went home every Sunday for momma's home cooking. The CDC tracked these people for years and found that when they moved away from their home base, their incidence of cardiovascular disease returned to the national average. They determined that the socio-cultural family dynamic was the major factor in predicting cardiovascular disease.

I have a close friend who has a very strong family connection. In fact, they get together frequently and celebrate every important event in their lives. While I'm a bit envious of my friend, I do feel lucky to work in a profession that affords me many close relationships. In fact, I've said many times that my clients feel like family to me and I'm convinced that even if we do move away from our families we can strive to have the same type of connection with everyone in our lives.

From a spiritual perspective, it has been said that the Divine is present in all of us. It follows then, that by strengthening our connections to each other we are strengthening our connection to our Source. As the new year begins and we vow to eat better, exercise regularly and do more healthy things for ourselves, let us remember how important our relationships are as well.