“Both … patients had let go in their own ways as they moved toward health. And isn’t that how healing usually happens? In these ordinary times, in these everyday moments, people open themselves to what serves them most.
“It’s with these chronic states of dis-ease that prescriptions of traditional medicine fall short. Don’t get me wrong — heaven forbid, if I’m hit by a car or contract bacterial meningitis, 911 me to the nearest ER for the best that traditional medicine has got. (And, yes, vaccinations are good.) But once traditional medicine has delivered me from that acute phase of illness, I know that if I want to stay well, the root and core of that health come only from complementary means. It was acupuncture that alleviated my seasonal allergies, thereby permitting me to stop an exhausting regimen of allergy shots, nasal sprays, eye drops, and two different antihistamine pills. It is yoga, cardio, and Pilates that keep my body limber and strong. Maintaining a healthy diet — well, that does everything. My meditation practice has made it possible for me to live in a way that is nourishing while the rest falls away. For the chronic conditions of daily life, it is these other modalities that will stave off depression, anxiety, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes, obesity, heart disease, stroke, and cancers so that we can find a better quality of life than we can by adding yet another bottle of pills.”
