In this article, Dr. Christine Angelard introduces you to the five pillars of caring for your health: nutrition, releasing memories, walking, embracing silence, and gratitude/joy: the Heart.
Being healthy is not simply the absence of disease—though that is one aspect. Being healthy also means being at peace, in harmony with one’s body, soul, and emotions.
It is a state that depends as much on the inside as on the outside. In other words, if the flow of energy within me is smooth and free, I will be in good health. If, as Chinese medicine teaches, there is a blockage in this energy flow, suffering will follow. Thus, the concept of circulation and fluidity is closely linked to the concept of health.
Fluidity of energy also means fluidity of thought: not being stuck or blocked by emotions or even traumatic memories. Life is movement—a slow, steady movement, like a beating heart.
Health originates first and foremost from within. In the same way that we truly and completely heal from the inside out, health is the result of an inner harmony, or even an inner alchemy.
We become responsible for our health when we pay attention to five essential points that truly determine our capacity to be—or not to be—in good health.
Pillar 1: Nutrition
The first pillar is the one Hippocrates spoke of 400 years before Christ: “Let your food be your first medicine.”
Eating well means eating in tune with the seasons, choosing whole or semi-whole foods, reducing sugar, adding sprouted seeds to our diet—true reserves of vitamins and minerals—and drinking water instead of juice or milk. Calcium is more easily found in a varied diet than in cow’s milk, where it is not readily absorbed.
Let’s return to a natural, varied diet: five servings of fruits and vegetables, cereals, fish, and a little meat. Let’s take inspiration from the Mediterranean diet, whose tremendous benefits have been indisputably proven by modern science.
The way we eat also affects digestion and nutrient absorption. Eating while watching the news or checking emails will not have the same effect as eating in a calm, friendly environment, where we take pleasure in savoring what’s on our plate.
Pillar 2: Releasing Trauma
Our life journey leads us to resolve, transcend, or even recycle various memories and traumas. Life is not simple and smooth; we all inherit painful memories and go through trials.
We need to release all of this from our energetic body as well as our physical body, leaving no trace of experienced or inherited suffering.
It is our human responsibility to transcend these pains—something that can take a lifetime. But when we take a step back and look at the chain of generations before us, as well as our own journey, it is up to us to lighten this burden for our own well-being and for the well-being of all.
Many studies in neuro-psycho-immunology have shown that unresolved scars are triggers for illness, accidents, and, in any case, weaken the immune system.
Unresolved, embedded stress will undermine our health. It is now beyond doubt that accumulated stress and immunity are interdependent.
There are various methods to address this, often with the help of a trained therapist. It can also involve symbolic exercises, such as those I describe in my book “Healing Gratitude: How to Heal the Wounds of the Past.” We all need support in this process, and the results can be truly liberating and deeply beneficial.
Pillar 3: Regular Exercise—Especially Walking
We are beings made for connection, but also for movement—not for sitting 12 hours a day.
Both science and common sense remind us that when we move enough, we feel better, our immune system is stronger, and our stress levels drop.
Walking in nature, Afghan walking (paced with our breath), and daily walks ensure lasting vitality.
Walking in nature can be a form of contemplation or moving meditation, helping us gain perspective on our lives, grounding us with our feet on the earth, our head in the sky, and our heart open.
If walking restores our physical health, it can also open the door to an inner dimension waiting to be explored.
Pillar 4: Embracing Silence
Embracing silence—or rather, listening to the inner silence within us.
Science has shown that people who meditate, or who engage in deep inner exploration (as I wrote about in my book “The Journey into the Land of Interiority”), have a much stronger immune system than others.
They also have lower circulating cortisol levels and better adaptation to various kinds of stress.
Neuroscience has revealed a reflex link between our cardiorespiratory frequency and the limbic brain—the brain of emotions. In other words, by adopting a calm breathing rhythm, calm naturally returns to this emotional brain region. Our breathing soothes our mind.
This is known as cardiac coherence. Practicing it two to three times a day for five minutes—adding visualization—has extremely positive effects on stress management and, more importantly, on health: better oxygenation of cells, mental calm, sharper perception and concentration, and reduced brain aging.
Returning to inner silence is above all about reconnecting with the Being that dwells within us, restoring our role as subjects rather than objects in the face of life’s events.
Our constant flow of thoughts, fears, and societal noise is an infernal chatter that cuts us off from our center. By returning to silence, to deep listening, we find ourselves again.
Just as beneath the ocean’s waves lies unsuspected calm and beauty, finding our center is discovering the hidden treasure within.
In our daily lives, let’s remember to find that inner calm—the true master builder of our lives. And when illness does arise, let us draw from this inner source of strength, which depends only on us and helps us navigate challenges with awareness.
Pillar 5: Gratitude and Compassion—Leading to Joy
Being able to give thanks for what we have, rather than lamenting what we lack, is not just a moral stance—it goes much deeper, affecting our energetic and physical bodies by opening the heart, the seat of all healing.
We are not all equally predisposed to this attitude, but it is urgent to cultivate it for our own well-being and that of others. Practiced sincerely and daily, gratitude changes the chemistry of our emotions and our body.
Gratitude leads to joy, for we are beings of joy at our core—though life has often layered us with stress and burdensome memories.
It is up to us to free ourselves, at least in part, and to recognize that everything in life is a gift, and nothing is owed to us. This shift in perspective changes everything.
When we do, we connect with the energy of the heart and touch the light that resides in each of us—buried deep but ready to shine if given the space. True compassion means seeing that light in others, whatever their situation. This is already a sign of an open heart.
Rediscovering the power of gratitude and joy helps us release our suffering and welcome compassion into our lives—then, the liberating Joy.
Nothing is owed to us; everything is a gift. Let’s remember that.
Let’s rediscover the joy of feeling connected to the whole—the joy of Being. My true life depends on this, and no one can take it away from me. Once experienced, I can return to it at will, for I am then lit from within.
It all comes down to favoring inner light over outer light.
Nutrition, exercise, releasing painful memories, inner listening, and finding joy through gratitude and compassion are the keys to our well-being.
We see that this requires tools for the physical body and attitudes for the soul and emotions. We are indeed physical, emotional, and spiritual beings—and we must care for all three aspects if we are to thrive.
By Dr. Christine Angelard, holistic health therapist.
P.S. Discover the next journey Dr. Angelard will be leading!
