Innate Power of Healing

In Chinese Medicine, there is a large focus on not separating the mind-body-spirit of a being. This is part of why they call the medicine holistic. This gives Chinese Medicine practitioners the ability to try to understand how the vibrations, resonance and movement of the mind effects the spirit and body and vice versa.  This also gives practitioners a certain strength when treating clients; when we can try to see the whole of a person, we can better understand their state of being and their needs. Then ultimately, we can be more informed about how we can support them in their healing journey at that moment and in the future.

I often get asked by clients here in Nepal if there is medicine on the needles. It is totally new and absurd for some folks to understand that just by a small poke, the body can re-regulate itself; pain and disease can lessen, change or cease. Digestion can improve. Sleep can become deeper and more consistent, etc. It shows why this practice has been around for thousands of years. Our bodies want to do well for us. Sometimes they get off track due to environmental pathogens, dietary disruption, difficulty processing emotions and experiences, etc. However, there is always the possibility of reminding our ecosystem of systems (mind-body-spirit) to do their unique jobs and do them in a way that resonates with the surrounding systems in the body. 

Healing is something that takes place within us. I want to remind myself and others that healing doesn’t always need to be reached for externally. YES we need support of others and our environment. We are here to guide each other and in my opinion, have a duty to try to do well for each other. However, striking a balance between the outward reach and inward connection is important. There seems to be a large trend of reaching externally for the pill, the massage, the treatment to fix our problems. Again, all of these aforementioned things are tools and are a necessary part of the healing process. But, without the inward connection to our innate power of healing, these tools can become the sole answers; and in turn, can leave us feeling powerless in our own healing journey and experience in general.

In tandem with external sources of support, we can also focus on uncovering our internal strength and healing ability. The external support we get in our healing process ultimately is acted upon and transformed within us. We got the power!

Further, In Chinese Medicine we don’t see our internal environment as being separate from the external environment. Thus, we can learn about our internal environment by studying the external and vice versa. When we are enjoying a stroll in the forest, we can observe and feel the ecosystem working together as a whole. Yes, a tree very well has a different job than a small creek; however, their jobs are interconnected and interdependent. The external environment also has this innate ability to heal, to work together to bring about health, sustainability and flow. Sure, there may be a devastating thunder and lightning storm, some of the trees may get burnt down; but eventually, they will break down and decompose, giving back to the earth and ecosystem.

This ability to decompose, re-regulate after a disastrous storm is also a part of health and healing. And, this is actually a natural part of life that will occur no matter how hard we try to avoid. We can notice and be grateful for this innate power of decomposition, reusing and re-regulating that never ceases all around and within us.

I deeply respect Chinese Medicine, amidst many other ancient healing modalities, that call upon the beings’ innate ability to heal. This means that our mind-body-spirit is constantly seeking what Western medicine calls homeostasis; i.e. a state of regulation, resonance and ability to not only be aware of our experience and environment, but also able to digest it and interact with it. Digest our experience? What? That sounds weird. Totally, but just as we digest our food, digesting our experience is important. When we are unable to be with our reality and our responses to it, it can cause blockage, stuckness, dissociation; which can lead to a myriad of imbalances or diseases. 

Our mind-body-spirit is able to consistently help us achieve whatever we are intending to achieve. Often times, we can live our life with a lot of misdirected intention or attention; like for example, if the mind is fixated on a past experience, the mind-body-spirit can actually continue to manifest the feeling of that experience in the present - even though the experience itself lives in the past. This constant supportiveness of the mind-body-spirit can be engaged with in a present, intentional way; instead of in a way that actually hinders our ability to digest our experiences. No matter the hardship, the mind-body-spirit is able to heal or at least create the most optimal circumstances to heal; especially when the intention and attention of these three interconnected entities are aligned. 

We can intentionally and consistently engage in practices that help to access and align the intention of our beings to become more in relation with our innate ability to heal. The practices I focus on are breath practice, different styles of meditation, yoga, qi gong, dancing, writing, painting, swimming, hiking and playing. Here, at Innate Power of Healing, we can work together on the practices of breath work, meditation, qi gong, yoga and overall movement practices to strengthen the relationship with our innate power of healing. To say it differently and perhaps more bluntly; the pain medication may help us in the moment to find relief and yes this is of course necessary at times. But what is less well-known or practiced is that simple, intentional breath work can also bring about a state of ease, less pain and create circumstances for the body to heal and have less pain in the future.

Overall, our mind-body-spirit is constantly seeking regulation and health. We often just need a nudge of support along the way as the inevitable disease, trauma or loss is experienced. My yoga teacher Emily, who is also my Somatic Experience coach, says “safety isn’t the absence of threat, it is the presence of connection.” This has helped me understand that health isn’t the absence of disease, but rather our ability to be present with the state of our mind-body-spirit through the inevitable sicknesses in life. Health is also our ability to heal, our ability to digest, our ability to connect with ourselves and the world around us, amidst pain, hardship and loss. Health is being able to remain open, allowing life experiences to be felt and then flow through us; like water flowing through an open, unimpeded river. Much easier said than done, believe me. That’s why we are here together, to help each other. Remind each other of the moment, of what healing feels like in the body and ultimately to remember that we aren’t alone on our healing journeys.

Let’s explore and build trust with our mind-body-spirit’s innate power of healing.