Armando Merlo, PhD - Holistic Health Practitioner

18/12/2025

Most people hear “acid vs alkaline” and think of lemon water or extreme detox diets.

In my work, I use it differently, as a way to support the internal terrain.

This guide doesn’t ask you to be “perfectly alkaline”. It simply shifts the ratio:
– Around 80% of your food volume from plant-rich, mineral-dense, alkaline-forming foods
– Around 20% from acid-forming foods like quality protein and whole-food starches

You don’t have to jump straight to 80/20. Many people start around 60/40 or 70/30 and move gradually as their habits (and nervous system) adapt. The main thing is that it’s sustainable: more colour on the plate, less ultra-processed food, and less overall inflammatory load on the system.

I’ve put the whole framework into a free 80/20 Alkalising Guide (PDF).

DM me “80/20”, and I’ll send you the link.

05/12/2025

The Five Pillars of Health relate to a naturopathic and holistic approach in which health is not only the absence of disease but a state of well-being that emerges from the integration of multiple layers. This framework: immunity, assimilation, elimination, regeneration, and oxidation, forms a foundation for understanding how chronic stress disrupts the system.

Each pillar corresponds to specific organs and their vital aspect, the emotional component that must be considered. Sustaining negative emotional states can compromise vitality at the level of the Vital body, which then correlates to the physical organ through downward causation. These systems are disrupted through chronic stress and HPA-axis dysregulation caused by prolonged sympathetic activation, as well as dysfunctional thinking at the mental level and emotional distress at the vital level.

Healthy choices at the physical level originate from thoughts at the mental level, guided by deeper processes at the supramental or archetypal level. When mental meaning becomes dysfunctional, imbalances move from the subtle levels down into the physical, influencing these pillars of health.

Chronic stress activates the fight-or-flight response and contributes to sympathetic dominance, affecting immunity, digestion, detoxification, tissue repair, and oxidative balance. Over time, this creates allostatic load and reduces the body’s ability to maintain homeostasis.

Understanding how emotional states, belief systems, and mental conditioning shape physiological outcomes helps explain the breakdown of these pillars. Regulation of the HPA axis and coherent emotional states support the restoration of balance and well-being.

For insight into how imbalances move through the archetypal, mental, Vital, and physical layers, please see my post Layers of Being.
For more on downward causation, please see my post The Primacy of Consciousness.

03/12/2025

02/12/2025

This study examines how a natural medicine approach may support stress regulation by integrating physiological and psychological markers of stress. For clarity and readability, only the psychometric assessments are presented here.

Ten individuals experiencing chronic stress completed a two-month program that combined weekly Neuro-Linguistic Programming, breathwork, reflective work, and holistic coaching. The protocol drew on principles of quantum medicine, incorporating the five bodies of consciousness and the idea of consciousness as foundational, with the aim of supporting self-regulation and coherence.

Psychometric assessments (DASS and PSS), along with heart-rate-variability (HRV) measures—such as normal-breathing coherence, deep-breathing coherence, mean heart-rate range (MHRR), participant symptoms, and subjective feedback—were tracked across all participants.

Most participants showed moderate to meaningful improvements in psychological distress and perceived stress, with reductions across depression and anxiety subscales. HRV data showed increased coherence during both regular and deep breathing sessions for many individuals, suggesting enhanced autonomic balance. MHRR trends varied by person, with several showing improved flexibility over time. Participants also reported reductions in physical symptoms and better emotional well-being.

The combination of subjective improvements, changes in HRV coherence, and symptom reduction suggests a potential shift in stress-response patterns and HPA-axis regulation. These findings support the possibility that a quantum-based framework, emphasising coherence and the subtle body, may positively influence stress physiology through downward causation. Overall, the study adds to emerging evidence that integrative, consciousness-based approaches may help mitigate chronic stress.

25/11/2025

In today’s fast-paced society, the effects of stress have reached pandemic proportions. Chronic stress has become one of the most pressing challenges of our time because most people lack the education and tools to manage their psychological and physiological systems effectively. Our upbringing and education rarely teach us how to regulate our emotional states or develop resilience, so we rely on temporary fixes instead of addressing dysfunctional thinking and belief patterns.

Dysfunctional thinking has infiltrated our minds. We have not been taught how to observe our thoughts or self-regulate our emotional states. Environmental and psychological pollutants have increased, and our minds have become a junkyard of marketing, social media and habitual thoughts from unresolved experiences or the addiction to the feelings or hormones they produce.

This impacts our physiology and psychology. We rarely pause to reassess our state or consider what we allow into our minds. Our behaviour may not be our own; it is the result of learned responses to perceived stressors, forming an identity shaped by conditioning.

We are paying the price through disease and illness. Research on stress physiology, such as the work of Williams in 2022, shows chronic stress does not need to be severe; it only needs to be consistent. Prolonged stress can lead to depression, cardiovascular strain, anxiety, digestive issues like IBS or gastritis, and skin concerns such as acne or eczema, which have been discussed in work by Marks and King.

Long-term studies highlight increased cardiovascular risk with persistent strain, and research also shows how chronic stress disrupts digestion through the fight-or-flight response.

Workplace performance, decision-making, productivity and long-term well-being are all affected. Chronic stress alters economic behaviours, influences impulsive choices, and contributes to growing healthcare demands. Elevated stress hormones weaken immune function and increase inflammation, as recent studies have shown.

Stress is increasing annually and has become a pandemic of its own, with prolonged activation of the HPA axis contributing to widespread dysregulation.

24/11/2025

Discover Emotional Insights
HeartMath® coherence training offers a unique way to explore the connection between your emotions, nervous system, and overall well-being. By combining simple techniques with real-time biofeedback it helps you understand and regulate the impact of stress on your body and mind.
HeartMath®

The HeartMath® Institute, established in the early 1990s, has led pioneering research into heart–brain interactions, stress, and human performance. Their findings show that signals from the heart influence how we think, feel, and function on a daily basis. HeartMath sessions use heart rate variability (HRV) biofeedback alongside proven techniques to guide you into a state of coherence, where your heart, mind, and body are working in harmony.
More than 300 peer-reviewed studies support the benefits of HeartMath, which include:
Greater focus, attention, and mental clarity
Improved energy and sleep quality
Reduced stress, anxiety, and fatigue
Stronger emotional regulation and resilience
A deeper connection between mind and body
HeartMath provides a non-invasive, science-based approach to support balance, resilience, and well-being in everyday life.

What HeartMath Can Reveal
Heart rate variability (HRV) coherence patterns
Stress and recovery capacity
Nervous system adaptability
The interaction between emotions and physiology

Possible Benefits of HeartMath
Stress and anxiety reduction
Enhanced sleep and energy regulation
Better focus and concentration
Increased resilience to daily challenges
Improved mood and emotional balance

What to Expect During a HeartMath session:

Baseline Measurement: Assessing your HRV coherence with biofeedback technology.
Guided Practice: Learning breathing and focus techniques to shift into coherence.
Real-Time Feedback: Watching your progress as your nervous system comes into balance.
Practical Tools: Simple techniques to apply at home, work, or in moments of stress.

21/11/2025

This article explores the primacy of consciousness and the models of upward and downward causation in quantum medicine. Drawing from the works of Hagelin, Laszlo, Goswami, Kafatos and Rein, it touches on how consciousness acts as the foundation and how this understanding may reshape our approach to health and healing when dealing with chronic stress.

The primacy of consciousness and the models of upward and downward causation in quantum medicine are vital for linking the correlation in understanding where imbalances arise in both the materialist and quantum medicine models. It provides a framework for systems that govern our overall health. This model will help provide a deeper understanding of how to mitigate chronic stress. Firstly, establishing the basis for the primacy of consciousness and then moving on to the two distinct models ‒ upward causation and downward causation ‒ offers a contrasting understanding of how physiological and psychological processes interact.

Click the link to view the full article

https://holism.life/the-primacy-of-consciousness-and-the-models-of-upward-and-downward/

12/11/2025

Through mental rehearsal, we can activate new circuits in the brain; new thoughts make a new mind.

Our thoughts become our experience, and these experiences create how we feel throughout our day.

Through thinking and feeling, we can create new conditions in the body that correlate with the mind, strengthening the body-mind connection and enabling it to function more optimally.

31/10/2025

Our continuous thoughts, words, and emotions form a pattern and neural connection, a sequence in the brain, forming our habitual response or reaction to life.

Neuro-Linguistic Programming helps us bring these unconscious sequences to light, transforming automatic reactions into conscious choices.

Through deep meditative states, emotion, and awareness, we can create new neural connections that reflect the shift in life we would like to make.

Awareness and action are the beginning of transformation.

28/10/2025

Start with a Complimentary 20-minute chat — no pressure, just clarity on your next steps or to find out more info.

What You’ll Gain in 20 Minutes

Clarity – Share your story and explore how I can support your well-being.

Connection – Experience my unique holistic approach.

Next Steps – Leave with a clear sense of direction.

👉 [Book My Free Call] DM Me!

📍Based at Pure Symmetry, Parkmore, Sandton

📞 082 789 5098
www.holism.life

16/10/2025

Discover Emotional Insights
HeartMath® coherence training offers a unique way to explore the connection between your emotions, nervous system, and overall well-being. By combining simple techniques with real-time biofeedback, it helps you understand and regulate the impact of stress on your body and mind.

HeartMath®
The HeartMath® Institute, established in the early 1990s, has led pioneering research into heart–brain interactions, stress, and human performance. Their findings show that signals from the heart influence how we think, feel, and function on a daily basis. HeartMath sessions use a heart rate variability (HRV) monitor (emWave® Pro) alongside proven techniques to guide you into a state of coherence—where your heart, mind, and body are working in harmony. By monitoring your nervous system’s natural shifts between “fight or flight” (sympathetic) and “rest and digest” (parasympathetic) states, you gain immediate insight into your stress response and learn how to shift it in real time. More than 300 peer-reviewed studies support the benefits of HeartMath, which include:

-Greater focus, attention, and mental clarity
-Improved energy and sleep quality
-Reduced stress, anxiety, and fatigue
-Stronger emotional regulation and resilience
-A deeper connection between mind and body

HeartMath provides a non-invasive, science-based approach to support balance, resilience, and well-being in everyday life.