Patterns and Health

The physical laws of the universe are defined by patterns of function and structure. The study of physics helps to identify and take advantage of these patterns to make the world a better place to live.

The movement of the planets, the weather, and the thermal activity of the earth are among the things governed by their patterns. Another example is the flow of a river, which is determined by many factors, including gravity, wind, geography, the volume and depth of water, and temperature. The total combination of all the relevant forces creates a pattern of flow. The consequences of other external patterns adjust this dynamic of the river. If a tree or rock falls into the water, the pattern is altered. More dramatic events like earthquakes or volcanoes can have massive impact on the river pattern.

Patterns function by adhering to characteristic traits. Patterns modify each other to create new patterns, often of greater complexity. But usually gaining greater organization.

The human body is also a conglomeration of patterns. These evolve with our species over time and within given individuals over their lives. 

We share many of our patterns with other animals, particularly other mammals. The need for and processing of oxygen is a characteristic pattern of all mammals. Almost all living creatures require oxygen for the same reason: metabolizing food.

There are a limited number of patterns that regulate the life functions of the animal world. Same for the plant world. Same for the mineral world. And so on. Animal studies of corresponding organ and physiologic functions and illnesses are valid for human application because of the similar patterns that have evolved for most mammals.

Studying the nature of patterns reveals insights into treating chronic illness.

We are each born with a multitude of patterns that guide the systems of the body to assure health. (These include our highly developed and organized cardiovascular and nervous systems.) We start with other patterns that oppose this goal. (An example of this is taste for salt and sugar, which may have been useful earlier in our evolution but has become a threat in today’s developed societies.)

Each of us has a unique health and illness status, which changes throughout our lives.  These are our “Health Patterns.”  Every person’s Health Pattern is determined by genetic and life factors, which are our “nature and nurture” contributions. 

We can identify, understand, acknowledge, and adjust our health patterns. Ignoring harmful ones and thinking they are benign or will just go away is fraught with the danger of eventual illness.

For health purposes, it is important to recognize the critical role of patterns. Being healthy requires following certain strategies that should become habitual, like exercise and good sleep hygiene. Harmful lifestyle patterns, like a high fat diet, are a drain on the health. These should be avoided or eliminated.

Over time, stable patterns become increasingly anchored in our make-up.  The deeper and longer a pattern runs, the greater is its own inertia.  Entrenched patterns are less responsive to attempts at change.

Nevertheless, we can and do consciously change our own patterns, whether we know it or not. Many of these changes occur just because we are engaged in the activities of life. We change patterns unknowingly by involving ourselves in various practices that become habits because of necessity, enjoyment, or other motivations.   These changes could be improvements or detriments.

Some healthy patterns enjoy almost universal agreement of their value. A regular and consistent program of stretching exercises is widely regarded as part of a pathway to good health. Smoking cigarettes is almost universally recognized as a cause of disease. This understanding does not necessarily lead to adopting the former and rejecting the latter, which is unfortunate. Knowing what we have learned about patterns helps us to make individual and societal decisions regarding them.

In healthy bodies, the cardiovascular system, the gastrointestinal tract, the skin organ, and so on – all operate optimally according to their natures.  This “nature” is the pattern that was genetically determined. If allowed to function optimally, each organ system will accomplish its specific task. The varying systems interact and support each other to achieve good health.

There are things we can do to enhance or to hinder the attainment of this goal. A primary purpose of the gastrointestinal system is to absorb dietary nutrients and remove waste. We can magnify this action by eating additional fiber. This is good. A diet high in low fiber processed foods may obstruct the process. This is not good.

Some actions that can affect the alimentary tract have immediate affects, like emergency bowel surgery. (This may be critically necessary in the short run, but has long-term negative consequences.) Developing a consistent habit (a pattern) of regular bowel habits, ingesting probiotics supplements daily, a systematic and steady program of abdominal strengthening exercises are some patterns that positively enhance the pattern of intestinal function. Bowel abnormalities can result from pattern changes caused by chronically drinking too much alcohol, straining with defecation, or eating a high fat diet.

The bottom line is that we create lifestyle patterns that affect our health patterns, for better or worse. As part of this bottom line, we must recognize and acknowledge that most illnesses are manifestations of patterns that come to fruition as disease.

The causal patterns may be asymptomatic for months, years, or decades before they express themselves. Most cardiovascular diseases, arthritis, neurological illnesses, and chronic pulmonary problems develop silently or with minimal symptoms. Then, “suddenly,” a person has a heart attack or stroke, joint pain, or chronic bronchitis. By the time someone feels sick, the process is an established pattern.

Aging alters long-established patterns.  Reduced resiliency of our bodies impairs function. Aging impairs resistance to all influences in life.  We become more susceptible to life’s encounters – big and small – as time goes by.  Importantly, though we are not aware of it, the aging process begins very early in life.  Some people are more prone to being affected by “LIFE” than others.  The inborn, subtle deficiencies that are part of a person’s unique make-up determine her or his vulnerability to life’s pressures.  We are not currently capable of defining or even detecting most of these elusive deficiencies. 

Dramatic changes can occur through powerful life-altering events.  Death of a parent can alter a pattern of health drastically.  The older one is when a major life-defining event takes place, the more traumatic the effect on the person’s patterns can be.

Healthy patterns can be made unhealthy by harmful patterns. The influences that helped to alter health into a deep-seated disease pattern might include high fat diet for vascular malfunction, repeated habits of trauma without preventive stretching for arthritis misery, and cigarette smoking for bronchial inflammation.

To correct this process, health energizing and repair and strengthening patterns must be introduced into the individual’s lifestyle.

Exercise, a cholesterol reducing diet and medication, and antioxidant nutritional supplements can help to reverse the coronary disease. Weight loss, stretching, and joint strengthening can mitigate arthritis problems. Stopping smoking, using an incentive spirometer, and singing can improve lung function.

Without specifically addressing the symptom or the origin of an illness, a person can recover by adjusting patterns in her lifestyle.

Introducing a program of regular stretching, addressing constipation, normalizing a sleep schedule are types of actions that can positively affect life, health, and longevity. Adopting a new healthy lifestyle like reducing dietary fat can improve something seemingly unrelated like arthritis inflammation and pain.

Instituting healthy reparative patterns takes time. Healing chronic diseases requires commitment and consistency. Instant gratification is often not an option when trying to alter old destructive patterns by adopting new ones. It is a long process that may never be complete.

Altering established unhealthy patterns to improve well-being requires acknowledging the power of habits and committing to the task. Lifestyle changes to institute health require time, effort, willpower, and sacrifice.

Unhealthy patterns inhibit the ability to overcome illness. New healthy patterns strengthen the ability to maintain wellness. Removing the former or adding the latter both often require going to extremes of change in lifestyle. Longstanding and deeply settled patterns are most resistant to interruption. Introducing a fresh pattern meets resistance from established ones.

Losing weight is a good illustration. A young person may be able to make minor dietary and exercise changes and be successful. As we age, we may need to totally eliminate the wrong foods to see progress. Having an occasional dessert instead of daily sweets will not upend the pattern of fat retention. Like an alcoholic quitting the addiction, the body will respond favorably to total absence of those foods which reinforce the pattern of excess weight on the body.

But it has to be delved into for there to be any chance of any success.

For more of my commentary, read my other blogs on health of the body and the spirit at www.soulbodydrz.com