Your health overview – February 2016

by Dr. Annick Hollender (February 2016)

Thirty-five years ago this month, I opened Hemmingford’s first chiropractic clinic. Time has passed since then and continuity is assured. Our community keeps evolving beautifully. Here I am offering you the fruits of my knowledge and my years of experience as a health care professional.

There is so much to say about health. It can be looked at in so many different ways. Today, I propose that we consider the Medicine Wheel as our tool to investigate the topic. The Medicine Wheel is the loom on which the fabric of the Native American culture is woven.

If our health is too often compromised, it is because we have lost sight of our true North. You see? The four directions are a fundamental component of this structure.

health feb 2016

Our body is our Earth, that is where we live! Our inner garden deserves our respect and our thoughtful care — a well nourished earth, plenty of pure water, sunshine and clean air in infinite supply. Thus, as the seasons come and go, inevitably, we need to respect the demands of Nature, because our vehicle (our body) obeys immutable laws in order to remain our faithful servant:

Winter (West) commands rest to replenish the earth — introspection leading to awareness and change.

Spring (South) carries the energy of renewal — deep cleansing provoked by the melting of ice and snow… purification of our system.

Summer (East) brings the intensification of the presence of the Sun, with its joy and exuberant growth; and finally,

Autumn (North) serves its hoped for bountiful harvest, and that boisterous wind that clears away the leaves! Time to store food for winter!

Around the Medicine Wheel we find EMOTIONS, BELIEFS, hereditary baggage (family, cultural, spiritual…), all of which and more constitute and influence our choices and our Journey on Earth. Sustained by purposeful living and propelled by our deepest values, we now have fertile ground for flourishing health!