Table of health and inflammation as affected by internal and external environments

	Health	Inflammation
Internal Environment	Healthy sleep habits and adequate sleep         Meditation         Positive thinking and perspective shifting         Self-awareness and feeling of connectedness to greater community         Breath work         Healing imagery         Living mindfully         Listening to body speak         Inspired living         Mental acuity     Immune system functions optimally	Chronic stress with poor coping skills         Poor sleep and fatigue         Depression     Anger and guilt         Anxiety         Allergies and autoimmune disease         Poor digestion and chronic pain         Poor gut flora         Negative thinking         Cancer         Obesity         Heart disease        …even more inflammatory conditions
External Environment	Well balanced wholefood diet          Probiotics in food or supplements          Community         Healthy relationships         Exercise and yoga         Certain herbal supplements and vitamins         Music, literature and dance         Art and beauty in your environment     Free of toxins         Natural surroundings with diverse animal and plant life         Massage and body work         Medications and surgery when indicated         Journaling, therapy, social support         Autonomy and justice	Processed foods and poor diet         Social isolation         Lack of exercise/Sedentary lifestyle         Environmental toxins and pesticides         Abusive relationships         Certain medications         Infections and viruses         Smoking, excessive drinking, drug abuse         Lack of autonomy and injustice Trauma and violence  © Regina Zopf and Trotula Health, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Regina Zopf and Trotula Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

The Problem: Working hard and yet not finding fulfillment or inspiration in the lives we are leading. Living in the modern world can be depleting, leaving us feeling dissatisfied, uninspired, and stressed out. We lose the energy to achieve what deeply drives and motivates us. 

Why? Often times we succumb to our emotions and a depleted physical state leaving us feeling empty and stagnant. Perhaps, because we doubt ourselves and our ability to support ourselves as we follow the motivation of our inner selves.  Or we are not taking the time for self-care that we so desperately need. Ultimately, this can lead to resentment, anger, confusion, and insecurity all turned inward and often on the ones we love.  We find ourselves feeling burnt out, overworked and uninspired.

This may lead us to seek cheap thrills in vices or addictions that have temporary effects, or worse, negatively impact our health, leaving us feeling guilt and emptiness. Eventually, this cycle and the inherent negative thinking patterns that develop, begin to take their toll on our health, first in subtle ways and ultimately as disease. If we don’t slow down to rest, heal, and reflect on what inspires and motivates us, our physical and emotional limitations take control. Physical pain and negative behaviors can be our mind and our body’s way of telling us to reflect and change ourselves, not our surroundings.

So how can we manage to listen, heal, and indeed thrive, when we are working so hard from day to day? We can seek balance in our health and attempt to connect to our true self on a moment-to-moment basis. This is not always easy, and it takes work and reprogramming of daily habits and thinking patterns, but slowly, connecting to our deepest self, the cement that once sealed the bricks in the walls around our hearts and our minds will start to wash away perhaps leaving behind soil and seedlings, until little by little, your life will blossom into the life you truly want to be living.

© Regina Zopf and Trotula Health, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Regina Zopf and Trotula Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.

My Health and Healing Philosophies

1. When people are inspired they live their spirit and express their unique manifestation of the energy that exists in our universe.
2. Health and wellness attained through a whole health approach to rejuvenation and relaxation and self-care can open people to inspiration. 
3. The mind and body are not separate entities, and therefore, the health state of one is reflected in the health state of the other. Conversely, healing of one can lead to healing of the other. To attain total health a mind body approach should always be applied.
4. Pain in the mind or the body can be a guide to healing and therefore seen as an ally.  Pain is a signpost on a health disease continuum that is never static. Therefore listening and awareness of one’s physical and emotional states is crucial.
5. Honesty and the personal desire and motivation for wellness can assist individuals in the process of maintaining health.
6. Herbal medicine is a reflection of the way that humans and plants have co-evolved and can continue to benefit one another.
7. Botanics can provide beneficial effects which can assist people in their healing process but can also exert harmful effects on the body, therefore optimizing safety is key with an herbal approach
8. Science and allopathic medicine are powerful tools for healing when applied with education and autonomy, as well the application of the philosophy “First, do no harm”, and with an awareness of the pitfalls of a reductionist approach.
9. The health of the environment is reflected in the health of individuals.  Promoting diversity both within and outside of the human species by practicing compassion for all living things can improve the health of humanity and the environment we live in. Furthermore, a physical connection to nature can improve our health and well being.
10. Our sociocultural surroundings can affect our health deeply in positive and negative ways. Equality, freedom, and justice are essential to health. In environments where they are limited or do not exist, personal truth and awareness of self is beneficial.
11. Compassion and extension of self to other living beings provides a healing power above all others.

© Regina Zopf and Trotula Health, 2013. Unauthorized use and/or duplication of this material without express and written permission from this blog’s author and/or owner is strictly prohibited. Excerpts and links may be used, provided that full and clear credit is given to Regina Zopf and Trotula Health with appropriate and specific direction to the original content.