Healthy Aging: The Whole Woman Approach

The purpose of chapter 37 is to emphasize the potential for healthy aging. We know that our bodies change with age. Skin begins to lose its elasticity, wrinkles emerge, bones may become more brittle, muscle tone diminishes, and we gain weight more readily. Chronic conditions that have been forming for years may finally manifest as full-blown symptoms claiming our attention. Our energy levels may be lower, almost as though our vital force is leaking away. Still, there is potential for vibrant health if these challenges are approached with the proper perspective and if we are equipped with the best of integrative medicine. When thinking about how to support patients in their efforts to age healthfully, it is important for health professionals to move away from the perception of aging as a problem to be solved, and rather to reconfigure the concept of aging.