| A Round Table discussion on Pharmaceuticals
& Wellness in the 21st century Moderated by Janet Lang We live in a society that values speed, quick fixes and the fastest possible route from point A to point B. This philosophy seems to have become a part of the way we treat our bodies, as well. Four alternative healing experts connected with the Midwest Institute of Bodywork and Somatic Therapy recently met to discuss this disturbing trend, and how it has affected the health of people in this country. The roundtable included: • Carmelita Davis-Beets, founder of the Midwest Institute of Bodywork and Somatic Therapy in Kansas City, and a Certified Body Somatic Practitioner. • Lisa Dugas, Certified Body Somatic Practitioner in Northmoor, Mo., and instructor of conscious movement classes at the Midwest Institute of Bodywork and Somatic Therapy. • Aaron Stonecipher, Certified Body Somatic Practitioner in Kansas City, and instructor of basic and advanced bodywork classes at the Midwest Institute of Bodywork and Somatic Therapy. • Sylvia Vallotton, Chiropractor in private practice in Piper, Kan., and anatomy instructor at the Midwest Institute of Bodywork and Somatic Therapy. Why do we people take medications? Sylvia: People don’t want to take responsibility for their health. People have many health problems, and many can be helped with lifestyle changes and through diet and exercise. But it is easier to take a pill. Aaron: Lifestyle changes are a step toward the unknown, and people are often hesitant to do that. They are scared of having a new environment around them – even if it is a change for the better. As Sylvia said, it’s just easier, and less scary, to swallow a pill. Carmelita: Our whole society has speeded up. Fast food, fast cars, fast life. We used to live in nature’s arms, and by the seasons. We were more in touch with planet earth and weren’t speeding down the highway of life. Now, everything is super-speedy. There is no time to smell the flowers. Aaron: No time to be whole and real. Our emotions get trapped. Carmelita: So most people in this country want to do everything quickly, including feeling better and healing. So they just take a pill. People just don’t take the time to really listen to their bodies and find out what is going on. Who are we? Why are we here on earth? How can we take responsibility for ourselves? Sylvia: We can choose processed, white bread or whole-grain bread, real food, fresh produce. Most people just take the easier or cheaper way – and their bodies are paying the price. Carmelita: Too many people are the victims of advertising. They surrender to the brainwashing. Sylvia: It’s easy in our world to think that if we don’t feel bad, then we must be healthy. And if something doesn’t feel quite right, we just take a pill and cover it up. Carmelita: Many just don’t understand what health really is. It’s balance of the body, mind and spirit. You can’t be healthy in just one of those areas. To be balanced and truly healthy, all three must be right. Sylvia: Western medicine doesn’t look at the big picture. A doctor will prescribe an anti-depressant, but won’t encourage the patient to get therapy to find out what’s causing the depression. Kids are given Ritalin as a quick fix, when sometimes just a change in learning environment can make a huge difference. Carmelita: The Chinese look at health in a totally different way. They pay their doctors when they’re well, because if they get sick, the doctor is not doing a good job. As a culture, the Chinese observe levels of healing that make responsibility for one’s own health a given. The first level includes nutrition, relaxation, exercise, martial arts and using herbs. Everyone in that society lives by the philosophy that they must, first and foremost, take responsibility for their own bodies. Our society does not have that philosophy. The next level of healing in the Chinese culture is using massage and acupuncture to treat pain and other physical problems. The last resort, in that culture, is what our society turns to first: surgery and prescription drugs. Sylvia: As a chiropractor and body somatic practitioner, I talk to my patients about this very thing. We have to stop treating every health problem with drugs. Lisa: I heard a good definition of disease: A deficiency of pharmaceuticals, or an excess of body parts. (Everyone laughs.) Sylvia: Natural healing sometimes takes longer, but if you give herbs a chance there is a high success rate – without the side-effects of medication. Lisa: It comes back to balance. When doctors prescribe medication, they tend to look at just the one problem they are treating, and not the whole picture. Aaron: Drugs might take care of one problem, but they make the body out of balance in another area. Carmelita: When someone is sick, the liver often clogs up and gets toxic from the sludge in the body. Then if they are taking drugs to treat the illness, the drugs put even more toxins in the liver, which is already taxed from the illness itself. Sylvia: That’s why doctors have to do liver and kidney function tests so often. Medicine poisons our organs. Carmelita: We keep coming back to balance! Drugs throw the body off balance. They might help one thing, but they will throw off something else. Instead, we need to find the root cause of a health problem. I encourage people to check out every option for treatment, and to use herbs. Think about small steps toward health. I live a fast life, too, but I make time to go to the chiropractor, get bodywork, take vitamins, eat right and exercise. Lisa: You are fulfilling your sacred contract. Sylvia: God gave us the knowledge to heal ourselves and to clear interference. We just need to be willing to do what it takes. How can someone take steps toward a healthier life? Aaron: I recommend a good flexibility program such as yoga or Pilates. It helps to balance and cleanse the body, and helps you get in touch with yourself. Lisa: It’s important to recognize that getting healthy and staying healthy is a process, not an event, like taking a pill. Carmelita: It’s a commitment to a kind of lifestyle. Lisa: It’s one step at a time. Aaron: It’s not going to be just one thing that turns your health around. But it’s a direction to go toward. Sylvia: Wouldn’t it be wonderful if more people started their kids thinking about health in that way? That we have to be responsible for our bodies? Aaron: Kids aren’t raised knowing which foods are healthy and which are not. Lisa: And children pick up the eating habits of the people around them. Sylvia: We start our kids off with medication, without considering alternatives. They get ear infections and end up on antibiotics, rather than trying chiropractic or garlic oil. Carmelita: We’ve lost touch with who we are, Mother Earth, the seasons, what grows from the ground. Our bodies are made of what the earth is made of – and most of the cures are from the earth, too. Are drugs ever okay? Sylvia: Drugs have their place, but as a last resort – not the first choice. Sometimes an illness has gone too far and there’s nothing else that will help. Lisa: There are times when an infection must be treated with an antibiotic. Sometimes, bacteria just get the one up and drugs become necessary. But not for a cold! Carmelita: In Chinese medicine, there are 22 herbs that treat viruses. And there are many essential oils that treat infections, such as myrrh, frankincense and oregano. Lisa: It’s just important to know your body and be tuned in to what your body is telling you. If you’re aware of that, then you’ll know when something isn’t right very early on, so the problem will be easier to treat. Carmelita: Our culture – without a philosophy of preventive care – has brought about most of the health problems in our society. We have to be our own doctor. We have to take responsibility for our health. Ask why. Read. We’ve given our power away, and we have to take it back. Aaron: We have to give our bodies the chance to help themselves. Carmelita: With natural healing, the problem may get worse before it gets better. Lisa: I look at it as a healing crisis – not an illness. Carmelita: We all have power over our bodies. We just need to take charge. To learn more about Body Somatic Therapy and the educational programs offered by the Midwest Institute of Bodywork and Somatic Therapy located at 5518 N. Antioch Road in Kansas City, Mo., call (816) 718-1147, or visit www.body-somatics.com. Janet Lang lives in Kansas City and writes frequently on health-related topics. Her book, Ten Things to Help You Survive and Heal While Grieving, was published in 2002 by Forest of Peace Publishing in Leavenworth, Kan. Janet writes a column, “WellLink,” which appears every other Wednesday in the Independence/Blue Springs Examiner. She owns a public relations firm, Expansion Communications, and is working on a black belt in tae kwon do. Janet can be reached at janet@expansioncomm.com. Copyright © 2003 Janet Lang |
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