What is Health?by Hilary Totah |
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We are told repeatedly that we should be healthier. Eat five a day, do more exercise, stop smoking, don’t drink so much alcohol, drink more water, etc. Some people think that complementary therapy and self-responsibility are the way forward... |
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Others may prefer a more conventional route to health. Quite often there is conflicting advice about what is the healthiest food, the best exercise or the most effective treatment. It’s no wonder that we become confused and give up the diet, let the gym membership lapse and return to our old ways. What is good health and how, with all the conflicting messages we get, do we decide how we can achieve a healthier life? The truth is we are all individuals with different needs, lifestyles and conditions and there is no ‘one size’, or one health regime which fits all. If alternative health is your preferred route, a new complementary therapy centre has opened in Hastings, the Wellington Square Natural Health Centre, which aims to go some of the way to address these issues. They are offering a one-on one advice session with clinic director, Linda Lazarides, for those who may not be sure which complementary therapy would be most appropriate for their condition, or which exercise class will benefit them. Linda, who has extensive experience of many different therapies and is a nutritionist herself, has overcome her own health problems through the use of natural medicine. The Wellington Square Natural Health Centre has been set up by Jo Fairley and Craig Sams, well known in Hastings as the founders of Green & Black’s chocolate and Judges’ organic bakery and whole-food shop. Jo says that opening the centre has been the realisation of a long-held dream, to set up her own natural health centre providing a beautiful and professional space and offering an integrated approach to health.
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Her enthusiasm for complementary therapy was inspired by her own experience of receiving acupuncture treatment. After many years of suffering from a chronic health problem, not helped by conventional medicine, she found that after one acupuncture session her symptoms disappeared. Jo now wants to encourage others to realise the benefits of complementary therapies and inspire them to take responsibility for their own health. She has brought together the best of Hastings’ complementary therapists and offers treatments ranging from the more conventional physiotherapy to acupuncture, shiatsu, homeopathy, natural beauty therapies, a stop smoking programme and many more. There is a stunning yoga studio - complete with sea views, a fully equipped pilates studio as well as pilates mat-work classes available. To come back to the question – what is health? The World Health Organisation defines health as “A state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.” Yoga teacher B.K.S. Iyengar says “You have to create within yourself the experience of beauty, liberation and infinity. This is health. From a healthy person, smiles and happiness shine forth like the rays of the sun.” Well, that’s worth striving for; maybe I will keep eating the broccoli. |
Hilary teaches Scaravelli yoga at
the Wellington Square Natural Health Centre on Friday mornings, from 8am to 9am. |
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