An Ounce Of Prevention
An Ounce of Prevention
Awareness on the physical, mental and emotional levels of our daily life and being alert to the ebb and flow of the changing conditions in our environment is key to living in a state of balanced health. Health is not simply the absence of disease but balance among body, mind, and consciousness. With a healthy body, it is said,” to treat the cause is to treat the effect.” to prevent the disease from coming about we practice awareness of the cause beforehand. When we live more consciously aware of when we are in a state of imbalance and can adjust then we are taking action to modify the cause. More simply stated could be, living proactively so as to put equal awareness into prevention as we do focus on the treatment of symptoms of the disease.
Ayurveda, one of the worlds oldest holistic healing systems it is the art of daily living in harmony with the laws of nature. It aims to maintain the health of a healthy person and heal the disease of an unhealthy person. It encompasses the whole of life and relates the life of an individual with the life of the universe. It brings balancing energies into all living organisms. In Ayurveda, the concept of five elements is fundamental (space, air, fire, water, and earth) as a human is considered a microcosm of nature. These five elements combine into three basic energies “Doshas” which are present in all of us in varying degrees. According to Ayurveda the source of all existence is universal cosmic consciousness which manifests as male and female energy. “Purusha, associated with male energy, it is choice-less, passive, and pure awareness. Prakruti, the female energy is active, choice-full consciousness, both are present in all of us. It is ancient wisdom that recognizes us as a part of the whole and validates the ebb and flow of our nature and encourages us to adjust for life’s imbalances for optimal health and longevity.
As we are a part of “all there is” we have the innate wisdom of the universe to guide us if we are listening and desiring of balanced health. “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure” Life doesn’t require that we live perfectly, but it does offer us the opportunity to be the keepers of the gate when it comes to our health by simply being aware and adjusting for imbalance. Every minute of every day is a chance to do better than the moment before. When we are consciously aware, paying attention to our being on all levels and something feels out of alignment we adjust for better alignment. If we over indulged at a party, the next day we adjust, by drinking lots of water to detox and eat better. If we’ve been sitting all day with work, we move our butts. If we are having a tough time in a relationship, we seek out the guidance for healthier relating. If we feel a cold coming on, we slow down and honor the bodies need for gentleness. If we are having self-sabotaging thoughts then we get to the root of why. None of us are perfect and that’s okay, it’s not why we chose to wear this human suit, but we do love wearing it and want to get lots of wear from it. By choosing to be in touch with our full being, cherishing it, mending it, forgiving it, loving and valuing it, offering it compassion, we are choosing to see it as a part of this big beautiful cosmic consciousness and accepting the gift of knowing how to take action to modify the cause.
“I’m not telling you it’s going to be easy, I’m telling you it’s going to be worth it.”