A Newbie Guide to Alternative Wellness

Are you new to alternative wellness and overwhelmed by all the new terms and information? 100 years ago, the term we use today, ‘alternative wellness’, was simply called ‘healthcare’. Medical care was administered by a doctor who was your friend or neighbour – he knew you and your family, he made and took the time to ask how you were, and listened to your answer as a friend would. He would prescribe exercise, sunshine, a change in diet and MAYBE an herbal remedy to help with the very worst symptoms of an ailment. There was hands-on touch, both for assessment and treatment.

Unfortunately, healthcare has become an industry, run by the profits and losses of insurance and pharmaceutical companies. A doctor’s time is so often dictated by how many patients she can squeeze in during a day, how many prescriptions she can write, and, in some places like the U.S., whether or not a patient is covered by the right insurance.

Despite all the advances in modern medicine (like real cures for cancer and AIDS), the reality is that the global population is more stressed out, more chronically ill, more overweight and less healthy than it has ever been. People are searching for something different, for caregivers that really pay attention to their needs and use guidance and medicine that works naturally with their biochemistry and physiology.

When you’ve spent your whole life relying on and trusting Western medicine, the alternatives can get overwhelming. There are so many, and unless you are self-trained or a specialist yourself, it can be difficult to know who the right professional is to see to suit your needs. Over the next several months, we are going to explore what these alternatives are together:  naturopathy, homeopathy, acupuncture, Chinese medicine, Ayurveda, midwifery, and herbal medicine. I’ll share my knowledge and research about these forms of alternative care, recognizing that every person is different, with her own needs. Since it has been my field of experience for the last 16 years, we’ll start with chiropractic.

My goal is simply to empower you to make the decision that’s right for you.

In my next blog, I will address the back cracking commonly associate with chiropractic including why you should never let anyone other than a professional do it. Then we’ll go beyond traditional chiropractic, into how the field is evolving and expanding, and how we do things at Spines & Minds.  So, be sure to sign up here to receive my blog.