Cape Breton Island: A 100% Natural Healing Elixir

If you’ve heard Allister MacGillivray’s Song for the Mira, you know the phrase “And if you come broken, they’ll see that you mend”. Have you ever thought about what the words really mean? Who is coming broken and what’s being mended? Personally, I’m aware of at least seven people who had spontaneous life altering or “mending” experiences during their visit to Cape Breton, and I’m sure that there are many more.

So what gives? Cape Breton Island is renowned for its friendliness, laughter, and endless hospitality. But under the “drop in for a cup of tea”, welcoming smiles, and plates of squares, there is a powerful heartbeat; a nourishing rhythm that creates a fabulous approach to life that helps people recalibrate, rejuvenate, and revitalize on many levels – mind, body, and spirit.

For example, a friend visited the Island a couple of years ago. He met a branch of his family he didn’t know existed. Attended a wedding and discovered a 9-piece band playing music he loved. Drank some cold beer and ate big chunks of McFadgen’s pound cake. Laughed a lot in kitchens of people he had never met and found his name was no longer Ken but Kenny. He was so impacted that he brought his best friend and his wife back for a visit in the fall to share the “feeling”. He changed his email name from Ken to Kenny. You see what I mean. His outlook and appetite for life were reshaped. He was transformed. That is the kind of mending we all need from time to time.

Did you know that the Journal of Nature recently published a study showing that city dwellers have more brain activity triggering anxiety, fear, and stress than non-city dwellers? My theory is that Cape Breton’s heartbeat is so potent that it actually slows down brain activity and supports a healthy body rhythm, something people are yearning for on a conscious or even subconscious level.

To explore Cape Breton’s healing potential a little more; I spoke with the talented Dr. Glenna Calder (nee Morris, Port Hood) who has been successfully practicing Naturopathic Medicine for the past 10 years. Here is how the conversation unfolded, over a kitchen table of course:

ML: You’ve often told me that Cape Bretoners have a healing power in our openness, spontaneity and our ability to connect and laugh with others. Can you explain?

Dr. C: Visitors to Cape Breton experience, perhaps for the first time since childhood, the ability to exhale and simply be themselves. For most, it is a big shift because for Cape Bretoners who you are and where you are from are valued; not status, money, or day job. Because of this, you quickly forget your routine view of yourself and start to see yourself differently. You look more at what is within – because that’s what’s valued.

Also, the pace allows you to join in – you can effortlessly keep up and join in because it mirrors the rhythm of your natural heartbeat. Take a West Mabou Square Dance, for example. Someone grabs you at the door and boom, you belong. The feet are going, the mind doesn’t get in the way, and all of a sudden you are having a good time – the dancers don’t let you stay in your mind too long – they bring you out. You release. You relax. You heal.

ML: Can you share why immersing yourself in the sights, smells, and sounds of Nature support the healing process?

Dr. C: Our five senses tell us what responses we need to have depending on what is occurring around us. Modern day stress like traffic, missing a deadline, or having an argument trigger the “fight or flight” response, sending adrenaline soaring through the body and causing many physical reactions that aren't without consequences. Calming sounds such as the waves on Ingonish Beach, birds tweeting, or fiddle music with a steady beat relax us because the brain tells the nervous system that there is no reason to be on guard; all is well.

ML: You mentioned that Cape Breton offers a foundation for an “excellent Naturopathic protocol”, what do you mean by that?

Dr. C: First, let me share that Naturopathic medicine is a distinct system of primary care that tackles the root causes of illness, and fosters health by using natural therapies such as: botanical medicine, clinical nutrition, hydrotherapy, homeopathy, naturopathic manipulation, traditional Chinese medicine, acupuncture, and life style counseling. It supports your body’s own innate healing ability using an integrated approach to disease diagnosis, treatment and prevention. The basis of a naturopathic protocol is to nourish and heal the body. Anything that relaxes the mind, body and spirit will improve your health. This is because it promotes an anabolic state, which is life enhancing rather than life draining; or put another way, it shifts your body into a state of rebuilding and balance.

ML: Anything that you would like to add?

Dr. C: The next time you make a decision, listen to how your body reacts. Take a deep breath, connect with nature, and tap into to your innate Cape Breton heartbeat. Then ask yourself “Is this choice life enhancing or life draining?” Works like a charm.

Enjoy the day!

Mildred Lynn
*Cape Breton Island: A 100% Natural Healing Elixir was originally published in the Jul/Aug 2011 edition of The Rising Tide Magazine. I'll post a link to the publication, when the on-line version is available :)

Follow me on Twitter

Go to 2011 BLOG DIRECTORY