Lissa Rankin

Do The Hustle and Other Good Medicine.

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Posted by Judy Moon

Merriam Webster defines medicine as – noun ˈme-də-sən, British usually ˈmed-sən
:a substance that is used in treating disease or relieving pain and that is usually in the form of a pill or a liquid
:the science that deals with preventing, curing, and treating diseases Native Americans have a different definition for medicine. Native American medicine is an all encompassing way of life. “Medicine means the presence and power embodied in or demonstrated by a person, a place, an event, an object, or a natural phenomenon. Medicine may be good or bad according to the intent with which we use it or how it affects people.  A kind word is good medicine, and an insulting or a discouraging word is bad medicine.” Medicine is all around you, for example, “the sun is shining today- that’s good medicine.” I really love this concept of medicine.

I recently read a way cool book also addressing medicine that goes on to my list of “life changers.”

Mind Over Medicine, Scientific Proof That You Can Heal Yourself by Lissa Rankin M.D.  was one of those “I can’t put it down” books for me. Lissa is a mind-body medicine physician. Her story is similar to a lot of others who have written these types of books, where the physician is sicker than the patients they are treating. She chose to figure out why.

She shows us the connection between our emotions and our health. clearly proving we store issues in our tissues. “She shows how thoughts, feelings and beliefs can alter the body’s physiology.  This is not your typical positive thinking “woo woo” kind of book. The book sites scientific studies, the end notes in the back show where all of the studies are found. She doesn’t suggest that you ditch your doctor. She encourages you though to listen to your “your inner pilot light – the radiant, sparkly spirit of you … It’s that part of you that is a little piece of divinity fueling your life in human form. It’s that 100 percent authentic, never extinguished, always-shining-though-sometimes-dimmed part that lights the way back to wholeness, happiness, and health.”

My favorite part of the book was writing my own prescription – how cool is that???!!!! I went to her website www.lissarankin.com and downloaded the free Whole Health Self Healing Kit. I answered all of the questions in each section – belief, support, inner pilot light, relationships, work/life purpose,creativity, spirituality, sexuality, money, environment, mental health, physical health. Some of them I must admit were hard to answer. I literally had to take a mental break about half way through. For example, she asks questions like – “what truth am I unwilling to face in my life right now?”, “am I clear on what my soul wants to create?”  – Yikes! Those are not things I usually think about, but I did and then based on your answers you come up with your prescription. Genious!

I carry mine around in my purse and do my best to look at it daily. There are things you might expect to see – eat more plant based foods, go to bed earlier, meditate daily, but there’s also fun things like knit more frequently, start composting and my favorite one of all – dance daily. Which is where ” the hustle” comes in. Sometimes after I work out, I will do the hustle, yes, I am admitting this publicly. It makes me happy – for no other reason –  and THAT is good medicine.

Just in case you need a refresher – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W08g2DLyTt4&feature=youtube_gdata_player

See you on the dance floor!

Sources:
International Journal for Healing and CaringMind Over Medicine by Lissa Rankin, Medicine Cards by Jamie Sams and David Carson