Daniella Saunders – MA(Phil), BA(Hons), RGN, ITEC

It was only when I became severely ill that I became able to fully appreciate the limitations of a medical system which is primarily built upon a physical approach to health.  I found that whilst there are some aspects of mainstream healthcare are highly beneficial, there are also many significant influences on health which are not adequately addressed. Things like the stress-illness connection, the impact of external situations on your wellbeing, or the relationship between spirituality and health.

I also found that there is a vast difference between learning something through academic training, and living through it yourself. I now believe that experience is perhaps one of the most important aspects of being able to develop insight into any situation, especially if you are helping others in that area.  After all, how much can you ever really understand something if you have not experienced it yourself?

So, I went on to complete additional training in a variety of holistic health modalities, integrated them into my own life, and found this path to be the solution for regaining my own health and vitality. I eventually felt better than I ever had in my life, and also had a much deeper understanding of what is really important when it comes to long-term health.

After this, I continued to work in the holistic health field, having run my own practice for over fifteen years. My specialist area was in exhaustive conditions including chronic fatigue, fibromyalgia, or burnout. I was particularly interested in working with empathic people who found themselves dealing with energetic concerns which lay outside of mainstream medicine.

I also found that using holistic health practices was also a highly effective way of helping people with a variety of chronic health issues. Especially for acute and chronic pain relief, and for reducing stress-related symptoms like inflammation, anxiety, or insomnia.

So I understand how important it can be for people to be able to access this type of support when they need it, and I am committed to supporting the use of holistic health therapies for people who would find benefit from their regular use.

I believe that it should be easier to access high quality holistic health services for people who want to use them.

Evolving Wisdom

There is also another aspect of holistic health which I have found to be equally important, but in which a lot of well-meaning, but confused, practices still exist. This is the relationship between mind, spirituality, and health.

On an individual level, holistic health relates to personal wellbeing. So, it encompasses all aspects of your life, including mindset, habits, relationships, finances, emotions, and so on… This level has a similar approach to mainstream wellbeing advice.

But on a deeper level, holistic health also recognises that consciousness is the fundamental nature of life, and this changes how you approach wellbeing because it is based upon a completely different worldview.

Although many people with an interest in Eastern-based spirituality or energy therapies have some degree of recognition of this fact, this is where people can easily become lost or confused. This lack of clarity about the deeper levels of holism shows up as seeking. Constantly trying to find answers about spiritual awakening, enlightenment, or self-realization. 

One of the interesting things about holistic health is that once you begin to explore the nature of mind-body awareness more deeply, you naturally just keep going until the point where you understand the nature of consciousness on a fundamental level. Like many other people on this path, I went through a very lengthy, convoluted process, exploring many different spiritual avenues in an effort to find the answers I was seeking. Yet I found that many of them led nowhere – and I was just going round in circles of perpetual seeking.

The way that I finally resolved this was to return to university and explore the nature of mind-body health at a much deeper level. Whilst completing honours and masters degrees in Eastern and Western philosophy, I studied a wide range of topics including metaphysics, consciousness, healing, spirituality, and holistic health. 

On a personal level, this was one of the best things I have ever done, because it finally resolved all those burning questions that I couldn’t find satisfactory answers for.  It also helped me to understand the subtle differences between medical and spiritual approaches to the nature of mind, and how this manifests within a therapeutic situation.  

On a professional level, I now find myself able to use this experience to provide mentorship for my fellow practitioners; people who already have insight into wellbeing, but who want to take an even deeper approach to their practice.

I believe that real wisdom is not a process of learning more – it is the un-learning of what you thought you already knew.

Evolving Service

For anyone who is on a path of self-realization, the natural next step is to share what you have learnt with others and to help people who are experiencing emotional stress or suffering through your services.

Over the last couple of decades, whilst working as a self-employed therapist myself, I have seen so many highly skilled, caring, and empathic people complete their training as a coach or therapist, only to never actually use these skills because they have struggled to build up their own practice.

Some people find self-employment to be a huge and unexpected contrast, when compared to being employed by others. They are simply not prepared enough for the challenges that this new situation poses.

Since most therapists are highly motivated and solution-orientated, many people actively seek help to fill this gap in their business skills and knowledge. But sadly, there are an increasing number of people who offer mentorship under the guise of being ‘spiritual’, not in a genuine way, but as a marketing tactic. Unfortunately they often take advantage of genuine heart-centred practitioners who are trying to make a positive impact in the world through their work.

Its sad to see so many talented healing practitioners fall away from their therapeutic roles, when there is such a growing need for their services. Plus, the people who really need these services might also go through life without knowing that different types of support are available, and so they are potentially missing out too.

For many years now, I have been feeling more and more called to supporting the work of my fellow healing practitioners. So, after having a recent change in my personal circumstances, I have finally taken this as an opportunity to do something about this situation.

Now I provide ethically priced support for healing practitioners, spiritual workers, and wellbeing service providers of all types. Including coaches, therapists, counsellors, spiritual mentors, and caregivers. My primary aim now is to help holistic health practitioners to elevate their practice. I have 3 different types of support:

• Health: Supporting your client evolution with holistic resources
• Wisdom: Developing your own philosophy for health and self-realization
• Service: Growing your wellbeing practice and doing meaningful work

I believe that holistic health practitioners can make a positive impact in the world through their services.

Main Health Qualifications

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