Navigating the noise and unraveling the confusion….what is health?

By Naturopath Nayha Wright

As humans realize the importance and intricacies of health and wellbeing, the health and wellbeing market continues to grow at an ever increasing rate.

Isn’t this a good thing? 

Well yes, in many ways it is.

However, I  would like to invite a deeper consideration and reflection on what constitutes health.

I became a Naturopath because I felt that by empowering each individual to be in optimum health, they would be better equipped to show up in the world and contribute their gifts.

However, I am starting to realize, the sickness in our modern world is not one that originates in the body. 

The symptoms may manifest in the body. But the true illness is sourced in the mind, and beyond that, the culture.

And as we see the health and wellbeing industry expand, we also see this dissonance magnified.

Health becomes an obsession and primary focus, demanding more and more time and resources from the individual.

An increased interest in herbal medicines, superfoods and nutritional supplements, funds a multi million dollar industry, which despite its supposed focus on health, can have an increasingly detrimental effect on the health of our biospheres and ecology.

Superfoods that sustained populations for generations, are now sold to the west, while their custodians choose to replace them with cheaper, less nutritious substitutes. 

Many of our precious herbal medicines are on the brink of becoming endangered, especially those that tend to be more wild harvested and cultivated.

Huge environmental costs are incurred, as these products are traded around the globe, especially those which require cold storage, such as wild blueberries or salmon.

Is this truly a picture of health?

Or is it time for us to realize we are viewing the world through a post industrial, colonial, extractivist lens, and to consider this may actually be where our deepest collective healing can occur. 

Deeper perhaps, than you can imagine, because this perspective also encompasses how we relate with ourselves and our communities.

To return to a world view and way of being that truly comprehends and respects our interconnection with all of life, and the responsibility each of us actually hold as part of this tapestry of creation.

I know It may initially be confronting to reflect on this topic. 

However my intention is to remind and empower you to remember. That your health is your responsibility, and it’s closer than you think.

Advertising may have led you to believe that health requires you to constantly reach and grasp for something beyond yourself. 

When in reality it starts here and now, in every moment. It starts with you. 

Science is now confirming why so many cultural and traditional practices and concepts of health and wellbeing are actually important.

We are realizing just how beautifully complex we are.

In my next newsletter article, I will share my insights into how you can cultivate a culture of health within yourself and your environment, starting with what you already have, and where you are at in your own journey. 

The information in this article is for educational purposesonly and is not intended as a substitute for health care advice. Please consult your friendly local naturopath, herbalist or other health care practitioner for personalised advice, particularly if you have a diagnosed medical condition or take pharmaceutical medications.