Happy Thanksgiving to everyone who celebrates it! I hope you have a wonderful time with loved ones, and enjoy the incredible bounty of food that continues to be available to us these days. Even though times are hard for many of us, there is still so much to be thankful for.

Did you know that Thanksgiving is also National Family History Day? Ever since 2004, by declaration of the United States Surgeon General, families have been encouraged to talk about and record which health conditions run in the family on Thanksgiving. Preferably not during dinner, if you prefer to keep things polite.

Family history can be a very important screening tool to assess risk and sometimes even diagnose health problems. Families can share common lifestyle, environment, habits and behaviors, diet, and other factors that influence health as well as often sharing genetics. Of course, just because something runs in your family doesn’t mean you’ll necessarily have to deal with it personally, but when it comes to health, knowledge is power.

A complete family history record covers several generations of your extended family, including children, nieces and nephews, brothers and sisters, cousins, parents, aunts and uncles, and grandparents. If you have enough information, going even farther back in your ancestry couldn’t hurt. This can also be a great time to share family stories and explore your heritage.

If you’re not spending the holiday with your family, consider making some phone calls or remembering to bring up medical histories at the next family gathering. A family record can be a very precious gift to give yourself and the next generation.

And if possible, try not to overdo it on the sugar.

When I was first diagnosed with a chronic illness I read somewhere online about a clinical study in which a group of sick patients who consistently repeated the affirmation “I’m getting better every day” got well significantly sooner than the control group, who didn’t say the affirmations.

Now, the existence of this experiment was second-hand internet information, so I don’t know if there was any such study. Let me be clear about that. I was never able to track it down, and I don’t know if it’s anything more than an urban legend. But as someone coping with overwhelming health issues, just hearing this maybe-fictional story reminded me to hope. I immediately found a piece of sturdy paper and wrote “I’m getting better every day” in bright orange marker and hung it on my wall so I’d see it and remember to say it.

I didn’t think these were magic words that would miraculously cure me, but I knew that there was one sure way to ruin my chances of ever being healthy again, and that was*TO*  give up on myself. Even if I had to play what felt a little like mindgames with myself to stay positive, I was going to do it. No matter how sick I became, how discouraged I got, I knew I could not afford to let myself stay in a negative state of mind.

Because whatever positive thoughts may or may not do, the negative ones can be disastrous. I can’t speak to anyone else’s situation, but in my own, I know that stress is one of the worst things for my condition. It makes me more tired, it makes my chronic pain worse, and when I feel stressed and miserable I’m less likely to do things for myself that might help, even simple things like taking a warm bath or doing a little gentle yoga. When I get into a cycle of negative thinking, I’m bombarding myself and my poor, defenseless body with stress every waking moment.

Can the power of one little affirmation stop that juggernaut in its tracks? Are you kidding?  No! Of course not.

However, the power of habitual positive thinking, practiced consistently, has helped me. I’m now used to believing I will one day be healthy again. Because I deeply believe this positive affirmation, when my thoughts turn negative I just have to remind myself of something I already know. I haven’t beaten my illness yet, I tell myself, but I most certainly will. And that keeps me fighting. That keeps me working toward my goal.

Even if I’m wrong, and I’m just cultivating delusions, and I never enjoy a fully healthy body again, I’m still keeping myself away from thought patterns that lead to stress and depression. Don’t get me wrong, I still think I’m right. I am going to get well, but even if I weren’t I’d still be coming out ahead.

“I’m getting better every day” is pretty basic, though. Maybe I should add in some extras like laser vision or a cool new bike. It couldn’t hurt to ask.

Do you use affirmations in your pursuit of health? I’d love to read yours and learn whether you think they’ve helped you. Please share in the comments!

What does Holistic Health mean to you? In our modern age, it seems like it has come to mean any form of healthcare that isn’t 100% focused on the physical body and whatever immediate crisis it may be experiencing. Which, when you put it that way, just sounds like Common Sense Health.

Hasn’t our concept of health always been holistic? Even back when everyday survival was a challenge, health wasn’t simply an absence of physical symptoms; it was the ability to thrive. Illness was a sign of systemic unbalance, often indicating that something was amiss with the mind, body, and spirit. Our early ancestors may not have understood the mechanisms of disease, and often had little success treating it, but their model of health makes sense. A happy, fulfilled, physically vibrant person is truly healthy.

Of course we’ve made a lot of progress since then. Our life expectancy is longer. We’re generally taller, most of us have plenty to eat, and we can survive diseases that used to ravage populations. But we seem to define health exclusively in terms of subtraction: fight disease, lose the weight, kick that habit. And these are all good ideas, certainly, but if that’s all we do something is still missing. To nourish your mind, body, and spirit you must embrace positive things as well as reject the negative. That’s what makes health holistic.

We have something else that our ancestors lacked, though, and it is the key. We have knowledge. It’s easier for us to access information than it has ever been for any generation in history. We can learn about different healing modalities, theories, spiritual directions, tools, and perspectives. Indeed, sometimes with so many options it can be overwhelming. It’s hard to know which of them is right for us, but the pursuit of true full-being health is the most important adventure we can possibly undertake. It’s worth beginning the journey, and it’s worth sticking with it.

At Holistic Palooza 2011, a free natural health festival at Irene’s this weekend, you can spend all day exploring. You can participate in yoga classes or watch vegetarian cooking demonstrations. You can get a free massage, or attend classes about the Golden Rule, Muscle Testing, Healthy Relationships, and much more. You can meet other people who are also on their own personal quests to become as magnificently healthy as possible. You can choose your own path, and experience whatever you feel nourishes you. That’s what holistic health is really about.

We hope to see you there. We hope you find something there that changes your life, even if it’s just a little bit, for the better.

Excitedly I arrived at yoga teacher school extra early for my first day.  My teacher is someone that I respect and consider a friend. I feel totally honored to be taking this journey with her at the helm of my ship.  There are 11 soon to be yoga teachers sharing this experience. Though we are together, each persons path is truly solitary. This morning we were fully immersed in challenging asanas. In the mid afternoon our minds were stimulated with a yoga discourse on the history and types of yoga……

Ellyn Gray works at Irene’s Myomassology Institute, she is a graduate of Irene’s, a Reiki Master Practitioner, and currently in school to become a yoga teacher.   You can follow her experience by clicking the link below.  Subscribe to her blog to get regular updates.

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