Did you know that your body is a self-mending genius? 

Well my friends it certainly. When I truly discovered this phenomenon and completely understood it on every level of my being—the way I looked at my body and the way I treated it on a daily basis changed forever.

Usually when I bring this up, with my Naturopathy clients, it does not surprise them that the body is able to heal itself.

We have all experienced, at some stage in our lives, cuts, burns, scratches, strains, sprains, breaks or bruises and have witnessed the body repairing itself to the best of its ability. 

And depending on the impact of the wound and severity of the initial trauma, there may be no evidence left behind at all or we may bear a scar to remind us of that moment in our life forever.

However we often underestimate the amazing healing capacity of the body and take it for granted.

Your body works constantly to protect you, regenerate you and heal you. 

It is a perfectly functioning engineering machine based on biochemical reactions that happen automatically—without you even having to think about it.

For example when you are ho,t your sweat reduces your core temperature and when you are exposed to a virus or bacteria your glands swell as the lymphatic system and immune system attempt to fight off disease to keep you healthy.

When I was studying at University I learned all about the “Father of Modern Medicine,” Hippocrates. 

As I delved deeply into his life, work and philosophy I felt as though I personally knew the man (maybe in another life perhaps).

Hippocrates whole legacy fascinated me but the biggest thing this wise old man taught me was about the human body’s innate ability to heal itself.

He recognized that the human body is not passive to injuries nor diseases but rebalances itself in accordance to counteract them.  

In other words, the body is always trying to rebalance itself and is self healing every second of everyday from the moment we are born until the day we die. Every function of our body is an effort to restore its equilibrium and maintain a healthy balanced state of wellness.

Knowing the body is designed to heal itself is one thing. However, the most important part of this process remains in the fact that the body must have the right conditions to support this innate repairing process. This my friends, is the key to unlock deep healing and transformation within yourself, mind, body and spirit.

“The natural healing force within each of us is the greatest force in getting well.” ~ Hippocrates

When clients come to see me the first thing I always do is identify the blockages that are stopping them from healing themselves. One thing I have observed and witnessed over the years is that healing is not so much about getting better as it is about letting go and releasing anything that no longer serves you.

These have the potential to become roadblocks within your own healing journey or, worse still, can cause more problems within other areas of your life.

physical toxins
old emotional debris
high and unrealistic expectations
imposed conditions
self-limiting beliefs
a lack of faith can all affect the bodies natural ability to heal itself

So the key to honoring, respecting and understanding the body’s innate healing is to put yourself into a state where your body can do what it is instinctively, biochemically and energetically designed to do—heal and repair itself.

Here are my top five tips for putting your body into a state where it can heal and repair itself.

1.  Use your breath.

Yes that’s right, just breathe. Most people use only ⅓ of their lung capacity to breathe—this is called thoracic breathing and it doesn’t allow much oxygen to enter the cells of our bodies as the breath is too shallow and fast.

Taking 10 slow deep long breaths will help to calm down the nervous system and relax the tissues of your body.  If you do this several times a day your body has the ability to increase its oxygen capacity, which assists rejuvenation on a cellular level.

Best of all its free, quick and we all know how to do it.

2. Rest by taking some time out.

Resting when you need to is not a sign of weakness nor is it a selfish practice. 

It is a sign of self-respect and self-love.

Resting when you need too allows your body to restore itself leading to better performance, increased mental capacity and an invigorating boost in energy levels. When you do not rest you are depleting your body and activating the “flight or fight” response in to overdrive.

Give yourself permission to rest when you need it—this becomes a wonderful healing gift that you can give yourself. Rest will benefit you in many ways, as it truly allows the innate healing capacity of the body to shine.

3. Get nutrients into your body.

My homeboy, Hippocrates said “Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food” about 2300 years ago. 

Nutrition is a key player in the body’s capacity for repair and regeneration and should never be overlooked in any treatment protocol. 

Ensure you are getting clean, whole, organic foods and eat as Mother Nature intended us to eat. 

Focus on fruits, vegetables, nuts and seeds, whole grains and plenty of water.

If it comes in a package with an extremely long shelf life, it will not support your body—ditch it immediately.

4. Explore your emotions.

Your emotions play an enormous role in the health of your body. 

This is known as mind-body medicine and focuses on the interactions between mind and body and the powerful ways in which emotional, mental, social and spiritual factors can directly affect health. 

If you are carrying old emotional “wounds” your healing capacity will be limited. 

Explore meditation, energetic healing, releasing and forgiveness practices and let go of any unnecessary emotional baggage to allow room for freedom and light into your being.

5. Have a good chuckle.

I’m serious, lighten up. We are bogged down in the stories of our minds and experiences. We forget to have fun and laugh. Life is not all serious—laughter actually accelerates the healing process. 

Patch Adams, one of my all time favorites’s is a genius on this theory. Check out his work.



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Author: Kate Reardon

Editor: Ashleigh Hitchcock

Photo: flickr