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Bison, MyoReformation, auto-immune disease and healing
A lesson in surrendering trust to nature
Published 05.02.2025
When my older brother introduced the concept of ReWilding to me, it made sense instantly. Perhaps as I was fortunate to have been raised on the border lands and conflict zone of agriculture and nature as son of a farmer in the Norfolk Broads National Park. Perhaps my first mentor was my Great Uncle John Buxton with whom I would observe nature for hours at a time from old land rovers, to leaking boats and hides covered in swallow poo. While the concept that nature would fix itself when being 'given the space to do so' made sense on a soul level, it wasn't until my brother shared the short documentary on youtube about the reintroduction of Wolves to Yosemite National park that I had a concrete example of the implications.
The result of which changed the whole ecosystem, created more biodiversity and even changed the course of the rivers. The wolf in this case is a known by biologists as a keystone species and the impact it has is known as a trophic cascade.
MyoReformation acts like a keystone species in the body. It is akin to a large herbivore. Slow and powerful. Creating space, opening up pathways and allowing the revival of dormant processes.
Elephant / Bison - create pathways through the bush allowing light and other species into the forest. Grazing helps maintain the health of grasslands by preventing overgrowth and promoting plant diversity. Their wallowing behavior creates small depressions that collect water, benefiting other species. They coppice the trees, creating new growth. The trophic cascade when simplified might be: bison addition, grazing and browsing of vegetation, increase in small herbivores, increase in carnivores, increase in carcases, increase in scavengers and insects, increase in birds etc etc. So perhaps starting with a thick forest or single species of grass, the end result is closer to the image of the garden of eden. This is a shift from entropy to syntropy (link to blog about longevity).
In the same way, the wolves which prey on the Bison keep the herds on the move, ensuring that they do not 'over-graze' and kill the grasses, resulting in desertification.
The Bison is not directly healing the ecosystem, it is bringing balance back so that the natural processes, systems, flywheels and cascades can express themselves. In the same way, as a MyoReformation practitioner we are not a healer, but we are creating space for balance to return and for the body's natural processes to express themselves.
This is all to say that balance is necessary for nature to express itself in god's design, for the circle of life to turn.
Yes, a classic example is the introduction of cane toads (Rhinella marina) to Australia in the 1930s. They were brought in to control the cane beetle, a pest that was damaging sugar cane crops1. However, the plan backfired spectacularly.
Cane toads quickly adapted to the Australian environment and began to spread rapidly. Instead of focusing on the cane beetles, they started consuming a wide variety of native fauna1. Moreover, cane toads secrete a toxic substance that is deadly to many native predators, which led to a decline in native species that attempted to eat them.
The introduction of cane toads has had severe ecological consequences, and they are now considered a major invasive species in Australia.
Lion King, my favourite film as a kid - example of aligned living vs short-termist approach.
In the 1950s, brown tree snakes were accidentally introduced to Guam, likely as stowaways in military cargo. This non-indigenous carnivore had devastating effects on the island's native wildlife. The snakes predated heavily on native birds, lizards, and small mammals, leading to the near extinction of several bird species, including the Guam rail and the Guam kingfisher.
With the decline in native bird populations, there were also secondary ecological impacts, such as changes in seed dispersal and insect populations. The brown tree snake's unchecked population growth disrupted the island's ecosystem balance.
This is a classic example of how introducing a non-native carnivore can have far-reaching and often catastrophic consequences for native species and their ecosystems.
Certain western medical that target auto-immune diseases - where a part of the auto-immune system has begun to attack itself. Medications effectively destroy the whole immune system. This can eradicate the problem, but the implications are that the natural balance is destroyed. As a result, there is a long road to recovery, sometimes follow up treatments are necessary. Sometimes the person can't do the things they used to as their system is so out f balance.
The auto-immune disease itself is a result of imbalance. If we can create a balanced and resilient system then.
Knepp - thistles took over the whole space and their seeds were blowing across to the neighbour's land. It was embarrassing and caused Issy and Charlie to have severe doubts about the process they had embarked on, they nearly gave up. The result is that they . There is a name for this in holistic and medical circles: healing crisis.
Bison, once nearly driven to extinction, have been reintroduced to various prairie ecosystems, and their impact has been immensely positive:
Habitat Restoration: Bison grazing helps maintain the health of grasslands by preventing overgrowth and promoting plant diversity. Their wallowing behavior creates small depressions that collect water, benefiting other species.
Biodiversity Boost: The presence of bison supports a variety of other species, including birds, insects, and small mammals. For example, their grazing patterns create a mosaic of different vegetation heights, which provides habitats for different species.
Nutrient Cycling: Bison contribute to nutrient cycling through their waste, which enriches the soil and supports plant growth.
Cultural Significance: The reintroduction of bison has also had positive cultural and economic impacts for Indigenous communities who have historical and spiritual ties to the species.
The restoration of bison populations has had a cascading effect, leading to healthier and more resilient ecosystems. It’s a testament to how reintroducing a keystone species can revive and sustain an entire habitat.
Medicine is a bit like farming at scale, we introduce drainage systems and straighten the rivers so they are like canals. These are quick fixes. But later we realise that the health of the soil is impacting the farm… now the rewilding movement and regenerative approaches are slowly fixing these problems and returning balance.
This doesn't reference the broader cultural implications of the ReWilding efforts.
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Some of the information on this website is amalgamated from personal research, interpretations and experiences and is not to be taken as medical advice.
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