“Health is a gift you give yourself that allows you to fully participate in life and give to others from the abundance of your own wellbeing.”
LISA RIENIETS ND
I’ve been consulting as a naturopath since 1985, and I’ve always loved health and healing. It’s my reason for being.
I’ve come to an age where I’m looking at my life’s footprint and what’s important.
My goal now is to leave behind a legacy of knowledge that began in 1970 when our family opened Rener Health Centres, a naturopathic clinic in Western Australia.
We’ve spent decades working with families and co-creating holistic solutions for improving health.
Since the beginning of Rener, our motto has always been prevention is the best cure.
Your health is not just a matter of not being sick today. Some ailments take years of self-neglect before they develop into symptoms.
The good news is your body is designed to be healthy.
You can improve your health when you understand what your body needs and what to do to maintain well-being. And you do it!
It’s my joy to share my skills and experience with you.
UNDERSTANDING HEALTH
At the very core of health, you find that it’s all about energy.
Everything we eat, drink, breathe, absorb, think, believe and perceive, feel, decide, say, do and experience influences how energy is created, absorbed, used, and flows. The state of our health is an indicator of this process.
As a naturopath, my job is to identify what’s going on and why so that my clients can heal and maintain an optimal state of energy and well-being.
HEALTH IS ENERGETIC
We believe energy is everything. It is the power that sustains life.
The number one requirement for health and well-being is vital force (chi), which means the quality and quantity of energy available to your cells.
Vital force depends on your physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual states of well-being, and all are equally important to the wholeness of your health.
HEALTH IS HOLISTIC
Health is the end result of harmony and balance between all that influences a living being – including physical, emotional, mental, spiritual, social, and environmental levels of existence. All of these factors need to be addressed in healthcare programs.
HEALTH IS HARMONY
From a holistic perspective, studies reveal that it is not the individual parts of a person but the flow and dynamics between them that are pivotal to health outcomes. To heal means to harmonise the whole of you.
YOU ARE LIKE A GARDEN
I often use the imagery of a garden to help my clients understand their health and realise their bodies are far from helpless.
Naturopathic medicine is based on recognising that your body is a balanced ecosystem, much like a garden but more complex.
Like a garden, you are innately a self-protecting, self-recovering, self-regulating and self-restoring organism, if given the right requirements.
In a healthy garden, all the individual parts – the soil quality, nutrients, water, sunlight, seeds, animals (birds, bees, insects, worms), and microorganisms – work together harmoniously to produce trees, flowers, grass, fruits, herbs, and vegetables. Not one part of a garden works separately from the whole.
It’s the same with your own body (garden). All your immune system organs – your gut, lymph nodes, white blood cells, bone marrow, liver, lungs, sinus, hormones, and brain – work together to provide a well-functioning immune response. Not one part of you exists in isolation from the rest. They all depend on each other.
When it comes to gardening, gardeners know that tomato seeds will not grow in beach sand, no matter how many seeds you scatter. That’s because seeds alone are only one part of the story.
There are fundamental natural laws that govern gardening. Producing a healthy harvest requires fertile soil containing the right amount of nutrients, microorganisms, seeds, water, and sunshine. These elements must also be in proper proportion and balance. If you use too much water, your plants will drown. If you don’t provide enough water, your plants will wither and die.
It’s precisely the same for your body and its ability to thrive and protect itself. What you put into your body, what you expose your body to, environmental factors, and lifestyle choices, hugely influences your health outcomes.
To take charge of your health, you need to change your perception of your body. Your body is like a garden, an intricately balanced ecosystem. And you are the gardener.
YOUR BODY IS NOT A MACHINE
The opposite belief of seeing yourself as a garden is to consider yourself to be more like a machine made up of individual parts, unable to be repaired unless broken bits are replaced.
A machine is a victim of wear and tear, powerless to defend or renew itself. Machines are destined to break down and end up on the scrap heap.
You are not a machine!
NATURE IS DESIGNED TO RECOVER AND SO ARE YOU
Most people don't know how healthy they can be because they have never applied nature's laws to their bodies and reaped the benefits. The fantastic thing about nature is that it doesn't matter how damaged or neglected a garden (your body) is; you can still restore it.
If you make the effort to clean out the weeds (toxins, inflammation, sugar, etc.) • repair the soil quality (microbiome and micronutrients) • and nourish the garden (nutrition, hydration, exercise, sleep, relaxation) • you can rebuild, revitalise and heal.
Alternatively, if you see yourself as a machine and don't bother to cleanse, repair, and fuel your body (garden), you won’t be able to thrive or protect your health.
HEALTH IS A LIFESTYLE
Health is not a matter of luck or ‘good’ genes. Everything you do every day influences your health outcomes.
Here are some of the general health guidelines I give my clients that can also help you:
Restore your gut microbiome: 80% of your immune well-being depends on the microorganisms (microbiome) that live in your gut. Therefore, you need to address any imbalance in the gut microbial community. Too much pathogenic bacteria and not enough friendly bacteria contribute to an irritable bowel (diarrhoea, constipation), smelly gas, bloating, an itchy anus, and a compromised immune response. See our Healthy Gut Reboot blog for more health tips and guidelines.
Reduce your stress load with sufficient relaxation, mindfulness, play, and prayer practices.
Keep inflammation levels low through healthy nutrition and learning stress management skills.
Exercise briskly 3-4 times per week – start with 10 minutes minimum and build up to 40 minutes of exercise, increasing your heart rate until you are sweating and puffing.
Get sufficient sleep: aim for 7 to 8 hours of uninterrupted sleep.
Reduce belly fat by eating less sugar and processed foods, reducing how much food you eat (portion control), and increasing your exercise. Obesity is a leading contributor to chronic disease.
Provide your body with nutrition that builds a strong immune system by eliminating sugar and processed foods, and increasing your intake of fruit, vegetables, herbs, spices, nuts, and seeds.
Quit smoking and get all the help you need to succeed.
Drink in moderation if you consume alcohol: 2 standard drinks maximum per day.
Reduce exposure to immune-depleting toxins: including chemicals hidden in household cleansers (go green) • air fresheners (use essential oils) • plastic and non-stick cookware (use glass, ceramic and stainless steel) • personal hygiene and makeup (use chemical-free, organic products) • cosmetic fillers and botox injections (switch to cosmetic acupuncture) • highly coloured and preserved food (eat organic and biodynamic).
AND NEVER GIVE UP ON YOU
I always encourage my clients to love themselves enough to be a priority in their lives.
That means making time for health and well-being.
And if you don’t know where to begin – start anywhere that heals. Read our blogs.
Explore and discover.
If you need help and guidance – seek it.
If you need to learn new life skills – learn them.
And never give up on you!
Wishing you the best of health,
Lisa Rieniets. ND