Do you have any niggling health issues, which don’t feel quite right? Maybe you’ve seen a doctor but they couldn’t find anything? They probably sent you off for a scan or a blood test, but nothing is showing up and no one can put their finger on what the problem is, so they say there isn’t a problem. You might not be convinced.
If this sounds like you, read on because I’m going to give you some valuable information about how to help prevent disease from manifesting in your body..
By the time you have a disease which has been given a name and label in Western medicine, you have most likely missed out on years, even decades, where you could have been treating it, reducing its impact or even possibly preventing it altogether.
Disease doesn’t just manifest in the body – you don’t wake up one day with cancer, heart issues or osteoporosis. Rather, it’s caused by a combination of factors including genetic predisposition and also lifestyle factors, which can be modified if you listen to the warning signs before they turn into full blown disease.
In Ayurveda, we call the development of a disease, the Six Stages of Disease – this covers the beginning niggling little issues (maybe you’re not sleeping well, suffering reflux or heartburn) through to the imbalance spreading to other parts of the body, and then the last level, infrared where the bodies natural healing system isn’t able to fight the illness.
Improving health – moving up the spectrum
Together with a team of experts, and the knowledge incorporated from 5000 years of Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, meditation and yoga, we created the Health Spectrum.
This Spectrum clearly sets out nine levels of health – from optimal health down to chronic disease. It links together the medical industry (which focuses on the lowest levels – when you’re ill), the wellness community (which focuses at the middle levels) and the mindfulness industry (which is somewhere in the top levels).
So, the first thing you’re probably wondering is how do you get out of the red zone and make it to a place of optimal health? The first step is understanding this process.
Some diseases will be untreatable, however in many instances they can be treated with the help of qualified doctors and health practitioners, and it is possible to move up the spectrum.
The earlier the symptoms are identified, and treated, in the Health Spectrum, the quicker recovery will be. Ultimately you want to be in the top three levels, which are optimum health. I’ll talk more about those shortly, but first I want to show you where disease starts.
Six stages of disease
Here’s a rundown of the first six levels - the Six Stages of Disease.
Blue level - Accumulation: From this point down, the bottom six levels link to the Six Stages of Disease in Ayurvedic Medicine. At this level, there is an imbalance in the body and it might show up in the small intestines or stomach as constipation, abdominal distention or gases in the colon. For some people, this could mean intense hunger, dark or yellow coloured urine, discoloration in the whites of the eyes, heaviness, lethargy or cravings. Most people don’t take notice of the imbalance at this point, believing stress and minor health complaints can be ignored or treated with a bandaid approach.
Green level - Aggravation: At this level, the ongoing imbalance – whether through diet or lifestyle or stress – has gone from a quantitative imbalance to one that is qualitative. With most disease originating in the gut, the abdominal pain and discomfort starts to intensify causing heartburn, reflux, asthma, sinus congestion or excess mucus. At this stage few take notice of the problem, perhaps only visiting a pharmacy to get medications for short-term relief.
Yellow level - Spreading: Now symptoms and imbalances start to spread to other parts of the body, via the bloodstream and circulation leading to aches, pains and low energy. It can affect the body with fatigue but also the mind with depression or anxiety. Symptoms might be cold hands, dry skin, palpitations, rashes, burning, congestion and water retention.
Orange level - Localising: Here imbalances settle into a weak part of the body – perhaps due to previous trauma, genetic predisposition, accumulated emotional stress, repressed emotions or other factors. This is when many people start to see doctors, who are often not able to name the disease, or they begin to look into their lifestyle as a result of the visible symptoms they’re feeling.
Red level - Disease: At this level, the body has clearly come down with some sickness. The Western medical industry gives the disease a name and attempts to treat it – so that might be high cholesterol, heart disease or diabetes – however this can be problematic as the underlying cause of the disease haven’t been treated.
Infrared level - Chronicity: It usually takes many years of an untreated disease to get to this level. At this point the disease has become so strong that the body’s natural healing system can’t reverse it and it might progress into an autoimmune disease or even cancer – both reaching epidemic numbers now.
Aiming for the top
Of course, you want to pick up any issues before they become disease. At that point they are really easily treatable and with some fine-tuning you can quickly be feeling great again. Here are the top three levels - and these are where you should be aiming.
Ultra-violet level - Ultimate health: Here the body, spirit and mind have reached the highest level of consciousness. It takes many years of practice to get to this point and life is easy and happy.
Violet level - Optimal health: At this place, not only is the body completely healthy, but so is the mind. This free flow of in the body leads to the ability to reach detachment and a place of observation on a daily basis. You are eating according to your body type and listening to your body intelligence.
Indigo level - Good health: At this level, the body is in balance, senses are sharp and emotions are pure. Thinking is clear and there is plenty of energy, with few signs of stress.
Masking the problems
Unfortunately, Western medicine doesn’t recognise the early symptoms of the disease process, so this is why you need to educate yourself, listen to your body and get the right help early on. As practitioners, we really wish that clients would come to us when an issue first manifests in the body. I would love it if a patient came and told me they were suffering with constipation and that was it - that would be the evolution of wellness - to deal with imbalances straight away. More often, people will say they need to do something, then three years will pass before they get around to looking at it; by then the issue is chronic.
Start by finding out where you are in the Health Spectrum here. The test only takes a few minutes, it is FREE and you can repeat as many times you like. From there I can help you on the journey back to optimal health.
If you want some further reading, here’s an article I recently wrote on this topic, published in my regular corporate health column in Business First Magazine.