The Covid-19 pandemic is changing the health agenda in totally new ways. A shift is underway as more people take steps to protect themselves from becoming unwell.
Within this shift is the realisation of the futility of our Western ‘sticking plaster mentality’ of wellness. That is, of seeking a cure once illness has set, rather than focusing on prevention and maintenance.
When the world changes, we are called to rethink everything. I see more people turning to Eastern Medicine, Ayurveda and “alternative” remedies to boost health and immunity.
The first step in moving towards a prevention mindset is to move from short-term thinking to a bigger picture view of health. Rather than quick fixes, we seek compound benefits – practices that, when done regularly, help to maintain and prevent.
Within this long-term view is our opportunity to live a long and pain-free life.
To cultivate a healthy “prevention mindset”, ask yourself the following questions.
- Can I view taking care of myself as a way of living and moving through life, because I value myself and choose to seek a pain-free life? Taking action from a place of fear, terrified of sickness arising, inhibits the flow of our Ki, our lifeforce that helps us maintain an inner balance that also keeps us in harmony with our surroundings.
- Can I accept that there is no perfect balance, rather the aim is to live moderately and within our capacity? Can I recognise signs and symptoms of imbalance, and learn how to return to balance?
- How can I prevent illness from arising?
In the practice of staying well, we become active participants in our self-care, engaged in an ongoing process of learning to become more animated, more connected, more charged with life. On the flipside, those of is living within the Western medical model have likely been cast as passive actors in our health, entirely reliant on ‘experts’ and magic bullets when we get sick.
From my own experience, it feels life-affirming to have practices I can turn to every day to prevent dis-ease from arising. Qi Gong ‘forms’ that take anything from two minutes to an hour, Reiki meditation cleanses embracing mantras and visualisation, and self-Shiatsu practices are my medicine. They help me feel more empowered about my self-care.
For an easy and accessible blend of practices join my weekly online class: Balanced, Happy & Whole. These practices can help you to ‘live’ the prevention mindset.
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Around 1500, Dutch philosopher Desiderius Erasmus is thought to have asserted “Prevention is better than cure”. It makes sense doesn’t it? Yet less than 3% of health budgets is devoted to prevention – the rest goes on cure and care, according to the Coalition for Health, Ethics and Society.
Chinese Medicine embraces the logic that the best remedy for calamity is to avert it – the best cure for sickness is prevention*.
It’s time for greater adoption of practices for prevention. They are as needed now as they probably were in the 2nd century BC when prevention was written about in the medical classic, the Neijing.
“Maintaining order rather than correcting disorder is the ultimate principle of wisdom. To cure disease after it has appeared is like digging a well when one already feels thirsty, or forging weapons after the war has already begun.” ~ Neijing
*Source: Beinfield, Korngold – Between Heaven and Earth – A Guide to Chinese Medicine (1991)
