The definition of ‘holistic’ is a philosophy, “characterized by the treatment of the whole person, taking into account mental and social factors, rather than just the symptoms of a disease”. It’s based on the theory of ‘holism’, or the idea that various systems, in this case, the systems of the body, should be viewed as one whole, rather than a collection of individual parts.
Holistic wellbeing can, of course, mean different things to different people. But to Cody Crowley, a Canadian welterweight boxer now residing and training in Las Vegas, treating his body holistically has completely transformed his health, wellness, and ability to train for, and win, matches.
According to the conventional health and fitness industry, Cody was “doing everything right”. He was taking a variety of health supplements designed to support his body through training, yet his body still wasn’t performing. Instead, it was getting worse. Over an entire decade, Cody felt his body deteriorating, day after day. His immune system was suffering, his adrenals were giving up, and he just didn’t know why.
He was experiencing so much stress, depression, and anxiety, that his body “started flaring up and it wasn’t able to perform” at the most crucial of moments – in training and competition.
Cody recognized that people and fans only care if you win or you lose, they don’t want to hear “excuses” for not performing at your best.
But it wasn’t until he was diagnosed with fatty liver disease that he had some kind of information on what was going on.
This was his wake-up call, and he started researching nutrition and what it was that could be affecting his body so badly, despite being an athlete who was training every day.
He switched to a plant-based diet, stopped taking conventional health supplements, and instead turned to natural health supplements.
His energy levels started to increase and his autoimmune condition subsided. He was respecting his body, and that was the turnaround.
Before, he’d been disrespecting his body and not listening to it. He was simply consuming food, not hearing what his body was craving and telling him to eat. He was eating for fuel, without considering what his body actually needed in order to function at the highest level.
In his own words, once he started listening to his body he changed his internal environment – then all of a sudden, his external environment also changed.
Now, through a holistic, whole-body approach to fitness and wellbeing, he says he has no fear of loss, making him a dangerous, empowered opponent. “When you have that flow, nothing else matters”.
Proving that an alternative, non-conventional, holistic approach to wellness most definitely has a place in the boxing ring. Cody is living proof.