As a naturopathic doctor, I believe our bodies are continually self-regulating; balancing between the body’s innate healing potential, and the external and internal stressors that influence our body.
So, what gives us resiliency? Samuel Hahnemann, the father of Homeopathy, describes our body’s innate self-healing mechanism as a vital force—regulating our physiological functions, immune system attack, digestion, and even our minds and how we process input. Stressors are not just things that affect our physical body, we can have stressors that impact the mental, emotional, and even spiritual aspects of our health. Without a vital force, we decay and are unable to thrive.
If our body is truly resilient, we will be able to recognize stressors or triggers, and not let them take over and affect our body. For example: if you know certain foods make your symptoms worse, avoid them so you do not place your body in a vulnerable position to feel ill. Or if you know going for a walk for 10 minutes a day makes you feel so much better, GO DO IT! When we place our bodies in a vulnerable position, our vital force has to work harder and harder to compensate. And if we don’t have our environment, food, and minds in a balanced space, we will have a more difficult time being resilient to the stressors that come our way.
Vale of Health
On my website, www.valeofhealth.com, I have a tab called Naturopathy where I have an outline listing many of the health determinants that impact our well-being. Imbalances in these health factors will result in lower vitality, less resilience, and signs or symptoms of disease. Signs and symptoms of our illnesses are not necessarily bad—they provide us information, especially to me as a naturopath who implements homeopathy. The signs and symptoms of a case help lead me to find an individualized homeopathic remedy that can help regulate the dis-ease occurring on the cellular level of the body.
So, to expand on my answer from earlier—what gives us resiliency? 1) Self-awareness of our internal and external stressors. 2) Actively working on the obstacles or factors of our health determinants that are dis-tuned. And 3) Living life without fear. This third point may be the most difficult to accomplish, but essential if we want to live a life being present, engaged, and healthy—both in our mind, body, and spirit.
My name is Sofia Adams and I am a naturopathic doctor at Vale of Health, a virtual naturopathic consulting practice. I have specialized in homeopathy and lifestyle modifications to optimize vitality and individualize care for a variety of health concerns. It is my duty to help ignite the self-healing mechanisms each one of us contains by addressing the foundational determinants of our health and provide holistic recommendations that create a driving force for our body to regain our health. When I am not helping clients, I enjoy working with my husband on our farm, gardening, and trying new recipes in our kitchen.