There are a number of different definitions out there trying to define “health.” Here are two of those quotes that seem to approach the fullness of what chiropractic has been speaking about for so long.
“Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity” World Health Organization – Definition of Health
“Health is a dynamic tension towards physical, mental, social and spiritual harmony, and not only the absence of illness, which gives man the ability to fulfill the mission which has been entrusted to him, according to the state of life in which he finds himself.” The Vatican – Pope John Paul, Definition of Health
I wish that we could get the history of each of the people that have died from this virus so that we could examine what their diet was (or was not ) comprised of, sleeping habits, exercise (or lack there of), amount of time they spent outside in a day or week, life stresses, genetic predispostions, medications and preexisting conditions known and unknown or ignored. This would give us the real truth.
We know that a person's state of health is impart due to genetics, enviroment, diet, and many other factors.
Everyday our bodies successfully ward off potential harmful bacteria, viruses, fungus, mold, parasites and other potential invaders. Our amazing immune systems seamlessly identify, locate, isolate, destroy and discard of these unwanted intruders. Sometimes we are aware of this process and most of the time we are not. Fevers are our bodies way of destroying invaders. Therefore fevers are not necessary a bad thing. Fatigue can be telling us that our body is overextended maybe trying to fight off an intruder which is requiring more of the body's resources and we need to slow down to allow this to happen. A cough or sneeze is our body's way of trying to expel a foreign object whether that be a pathogen or simply pollen. The point is that our bodies are designed to keep us healthy from invaders. However, we need to provide it with the correct amount of resources to do so. We need to get enough good sleep, fresh air, sunshine, exercise, stimulation, rest, food/nutrients...... so it can do it's job.
This new virus is giving us all a reality check of where we are out of balance.
Fear and anxiety stimulate the sympathetic nervous system. This system is designed to help us escape a short term danger like running from a Tiger that is chasing us. It is not designed to be turned on every day. If it is activated for long periods of time it causes unwanted and harmful changes in our bodies making us more susceptible to illness. Continuous stress (fear, sadness, anxiety, mental, emotional) causes our immune system to malfunction. First it causes and increase in cortisol which is produced by the adrenal glands that will go to the pancreas resulting in insulin/sugar changes, digestion changes, increased inflammation, and lowered white blood cells which are needed to fight off infections and intruders. In some people this can even lead to an over stimulated immune system that does not know when to turn off and it produces too much inflammation and /or begins to attack certain cells of your body by mistake.
Please check out this video about alternate nostril breathing. Alternate nostril breathing provides equal amounts of oxygen to both sides of the brain. This helps to balance the brain and the autonomic nervous system which is made up of the sympathetic and parasympathetic.
Also, check out an older blog post I wrote on Breathing by going to https://www.donnagigliotti.com// and go down to the BLOG and click on Older Post Contents.
Many of those that have successfully overcome this new virus have done so using nutrition, supplements, exercise, breathing, and rest to name a few.
We must go back to the basics of healthy living. This is a wakeup call for us all. The nervous system is at the front line of control so having a nervous system free of interferences (nerve pinch, pain, stiffness, irritation.....) is very important. Movement, breathing , and rest will help your body to correct itself when getting a chiropractic adjustment might not be possible. All of these points also hold true for our 4 legged companions.
