Which Way To Spirit?
When human spirit is so much a part of health and healing, what does it mean for physical healing if you’re someone who’d rather talk about your bowel movements than of how you support your spiritual health?
For many people, the concept of “spirit” or spiritual health exists in undefined territory, outside our familiar or family experience. This can make it seem fringe, woo-woo, or even dangerous.
But consider when the last time was that you felt connected to something bigger than yourself. Was it outside in nature? In the majesty of a forest or under the stars? This is part of spirituality. And it’s a part of us.
Shamanic healers from around the world offer a different perspective of what it means for a woman to transition from a regular menstrual cycle and fertility, through to menopause. I asked our shamanic practitioner, 
Many of us are familiar with the image of someone “hyperventilating” (breathing rapidly) as a reaction to stress. However, the opposite is also true from periods of prolonged stress: In times of continued mental, emotional, or physical stress (such as chronic physical pain), our breathing can become shallow and we may even hold our breath without realizing it.
These days it seems everyone has elevated stress levels. Most of us don’t realize just how much that affects our health and wellbeing. Our nervous system acts as an information superhighway, delivering messages throughout our body regarding stress management. From a Shamanic Healing perspective, this is how and why it matters:
There was a time in my life when I was so busy and stressed, I couldn’t stop for a single minute. I mean that quite literally. I flew through the day, from one thing to the next on “autopilot” (going through the motions), and everything became a blur. By the end of the day, when it was time to sleep, I’d lay in bed awake for hours. My mind still thinking, wheels turning, about what I had done that day and what I needed to do the next day.
