Lifestyle Medicine and The Hero´s Journey_

On November 19th and 20th 2021, The Mexican Association of Lifestyle Medicine will host its National Congress (online and offline).

The Chosen Narrative: LIFESTYLE MEDICINE: THE HERO´S JOURNEY

The Chosen Manifesto:

In a moment of profound health concerns–not in regard to COVID, but Chronic Disease-, humanity is feeling confused, lost, and hopeless. But there is a truth we always forget: WE ARE ENOUGH. And there is a second thing we forget: Lifestyle Medicine has the power not only to transform our health as individuals but also the planet´s.

The Hero’s Journey of Lifestyle Medicine is a journey where we re-signify what it means to eat, move, sleep, rest, communicate, and love. The very things that we do everyday have the capability to reconnect us with the soil, air, and water around us; the invitation to reconnect with our ancestral and inner wisdom; the possibility to reconnect with animals, bacteria, fungi, and each other; the power to move social, economic and political forces; and the wisdom to integrate chronic disease as an essential part of our journey and not as the enemy blocking the way forward.

The right prescription of the LM Pillars is not an imposition from the health professional or the regulatory body, but an opportunity to give new meaning to our lives and the fundamental roles we play as human beings. We are all Heroes. Our weapons: the food we eat, the way we move, the way we stand still in meditation and the words we use to create and express meaning and love.

The Hero’s Journey is not a metaphor for how life works; it is a description. Lifestyle Medicine is the new story we bring back after transcending the fight with inner and outer dragons. It is the story we bring back to empower our fellow humans. And the thing is: It has been here all along, but it feels like we are knowing it for the first time.