I’m struck when checking out this section of the site how many of the topics and posts are related to illness, sickness, and disease. I think we may be carrying over some of our civilization-based notions of the body rather than truly rewilding our health and healing. Let me explain:
In most of the traditional medical systems I’m familiar with (Chinese being the most prominent, with a fair understanding of Ancient European, Tibetan, Navajo, Lakota, Mexican, and some Cherokee), most of the medicine is actually based around staying Healthy not on treating sickness. I’ll give some examples, in Chinese Medicine there are whole systems of exercises, diets, and herbs that are designed to keep one vital, healthy, vibrant, and spiritually balanced. This is the same in Tibetan traditions, and it seems to be the basis for some of the ancient European systems as well (like the sauna). People didn’t just do these things when they were sick or feeling run down, [b]They did them all the time in order to not feel that way[b].
Similarly, in the recent thread on Native American sweat lodges someone mentioned how much better they felt from their cold after doing a sweat. How would they (or any of us) feel if it was something we did regularly one to two times a week, every week (which is how one Lakota teacher I knew did things)?
What are ways we can truly rewild our health so that we sick less of the time?
Here are some ideas:
More wild foods
Wild medicines (preventatively)
More time outside in nature, in clean pure air
Drinking pure water from springs
Moving like the animals
Purifying practices such as sweats and cold-water immersion
Resting (this is one that is really hard to get most modern people to do, even though the majority of the world takes a nap every afternoon)
Truly Breathing Deeply and practicing stillness
Any other ideas?