This optimal health manifesto offers our patients a way of life to strive towards an active long and fulfilled life. It also summarizes our core Wellness Connection beliefs and enables us to serve our patient community as holistic healthcare providers.
Have you ever wondered?
What would your life be like if you didn’t have your health? Do you even know what “optimal health” is?
Or maybe you are at a place right now where your health is declining and you are feeling the effects. Whether you have experienced it or not the fact is that our health determines our quality of life and how we get to experience life. It doesn’t determine how wealthy we are, the stuff we have, or the vacations we take.
Having optimal health will, however, determine how we experience whatever amount of wealth we have, the quality of the experiences with the stuff we have or the vacations we get to take.
Optimal health is a lens through which you experience life
It is the lens that filters how you get to experience relationships and life. Then WHY do we take it for granted? WHY do some of the wealthiest and most successful people in the world ignore their health, let it decline to the point of disability or disease, and say “I would give all my money to have my health back” or to have “optimal health”?
It is because from a very young age we are not taught what optimal health really is and what it will mean to us for our entire life. It is not public knowledge that optimal health is one of our most prized possessions. On top of the lack of knowledge about how important our health is, we are not taught what the true foundations of optimal health are and how to take care of our health.
Focus on optimal health while you still can
We are then blindsided by health problems as we age and secondarily bombarded with quick fixes like drugs and surgery to erratically regain what we lost. But, if we are still not taught the principles of optimal health then the problem either returns, repeats itself, or gets worse.
For some, it is a wakeup call or a health crisis that results in positive change.
For others, it becomes a downward slope of apathy and a steadily declining experience of life itself.
So, what is the answer? What is the solution? It is “optimal health care” vs. “sick care”. Optimal Health Care for every single person encompasses the following; understanding what optimal health means and the fundamentals of how to take care of it.
This does not mean that this guarantees perfect health for every person for their entire life. It is not an insurance policy that shields a person from every disease and symptom known to man.
What Optimal Health Care is, is the way in which you take care of your health from when you are young till the day you die. True Health Care is a journey and always changing and evolving. So if you are interested in knowing how you maintain and optimize the health you were born with as long and as best as you possibly can then read on!
A state of complete well-being
As our own WHO (World Health Organization) defines;
Optimal Health is a state of complete physical, mental and social well-being and not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
To understand how to have optimal health you must first understand what optimal health is. It is easy to think of “If I feel good or look good” then “I am healthy”. But, that can be a slippery slope for your health because what we call “optimal function” of your body is getting ignored. Then what happens is that you find yourself with a symptom or in a health crisis.
So if health is a balancing act of taking care of your physical and mental well-being then where do you begin?
Recognize the three most common areas of stress
Optimal Health Care begins with recognizing what the 3 most common stressors are that break down our health. Physical, Chemical, and Emotional stressors are the most common hits that our health takes, day in and day out. At any age from 2 or more, this can affect our lives.
Physical Stress
Physical stressors preventing optimal health from the beginning of life can include; strain to the neck and spine at birth, repetitive falls as a child, sports injuries, lack of exercise, car accidents, repetitive strain from using technology, sitting most of the day, driving, and repetitive positions or movements in one’s daily work.
Chemical Stress
Chemical stressors preventing optimal health from the beginning of life can include; antibiotics, vaccines, pollutants in our food or water, food additives, hormones, air pollution, nicotine, alcohol, and prescription or over the counter medications.
Emotional Stress
Emotional stressors preventing optimal health from the beginning of life on include; lack of enough emotional support as a child, hectic schedules, peer pressure or bullying, death of loved one, lack of healthy relationships in one’s life, stress on the job, or the everyday stressors of being a parent.
Optimal health is a journey
As you can see our lives are made up of physical, chemical and emotional stressors that can prevent optimal health. That is why your Health doesn’t stand still. If you let these stressors mount up they will drag your health down and you will never experience optimal health. Health will not maintain status quo and WILL NOT get any better if it is left to take the insults of these stressors. Although, you can be able to maintain an optimal health range if you take some of the steps that will be outlined next.
Meaning, if optimal health is a journey and not a destination then it is all about the optimal health strategies that you take, day in and day out, that keep your health from sliding backward.
Strategies for achieving optimal health
Optimal Health is like a muscle, we have to exercise it consistently to have the results we desire.
Feeling joy, energy, vitality, and the ability to do what you want to do in life both physically and mentally are the REWARDS of taking care of your health. So let’s now look at the most effective and time-tested optimal health strategies.
Your physical health requires movement.
I don’t just mean in the form of exercise either. Although an integral part of optimizing your physical health, exercise is not the foundation. It is very beneficial and important element of optimal physical health.
First, you must understand the foundation of what controls your physical optimal health. Your physical body is made up of muscles, ligaments, tendons, bones, organ systems, a blood supply system, and an immune system.
The importance of your nervous system and the spine
The most important organ system in your body that controls every part of your physical body is your Nervous System. Your Nervous system is your brain, spinal cord, and all the branches of nerves that send messages to every cell in your body and return messages back to the brain. It is one big communication loop that keeps your physical body functioning properly on all levels.
Your Nervous System is encased in bone, the skull, and spinal column until it exists between the bones of the spine. So, remember when I referenced all the physical stressors that we can go through in life? The most common problem in regards not optimizing your physical health is the physical stressors that attack your spinal column. Why? Because if your spinal column is a suit of armor for your spinal cord and at the same time is allowing the perfect opening for each spinal nerve network, then imagine what happens if your spine shifts out of alignment and starts to create resistance on your Nervous System.
Falls, repetitive trauma, poor posture, etc. All of these cause your spinal bones to shift, lock up, which then ultimately creates resistance to how your body functions. When your physical health does not have the proper communication from the brain to the body and back because of spinal stress then breakdown occurs.
Your physical health can decline rapidly or it can break down slowly over time without you knowing it until you then develop a symptom like herniated disks, severe arthritis, fibromyalgia, and chronic pain. This happens silently and then finally you are left with a permanent physical health crisis and no longer experiencing optimal health.
However, the good news is that with awareness and good practices, you can create and nurture your body back into a state of optimal health.
Optimal Health Care is preventative.
The foundation of preventative care is to keep your spinal column in alignment and moving freely so that your Nervous System has no resistance and can function at its highest level.
So what is the solution to the most important foundation for your physical health? Chiropractic Care and Spinal Rehabilitation. This healing art is time tested for over 100 years. It is a natural form of healthcare that is backed by research and continues to be at the forefront of alternative medicine.
What is Chiropractic Care?
It is a gentle and specific adjustment that is made to the spinal column to facilitate motion and alignment. At the same time, it is reducing nerve stress and the effects of the physical stressors that have mounted upon one’s body preventing optimal health.
Simply put, chiropractic care is reducing nerve stress which then allows the body to heal and function at its best. Chiropractic Care has specific methods for a newborn all the way up through the most elderly years. Care for your physical health can begin with a routine of Chiropractic Care, the frequency depends on your lifestyle and needs to reach optimal health. It is the cornerstone of optimal health. When combined with exercising and stretching your health can soar to the next level.
The importance of diet and nutrition
Chemical Health is the second foundation of the triune of Optimal Health. To understand how we optimize the chemistry inside our bodies, we need to understand what stresses our chemistry.
An unhealthy diet void of vitamins/minerals, additives, and preservatives in our foods, toxins, and hormones in our food and water systems are just some examples. We live in a world where we are exposed to toxins day in and day out. Our bodies are built with a reserve, some with a reserve greater than others. Nutritional deficiencies and toxicities can cause imbalances in our immune system, our digestive system, and our hormone systems.
Just like physical stress symptoms can surface at an early age or they can go undetected for decades further preventing optimal health. Simple strategies to combat chemical stress is a clean and nutritious diet, whole food supplementation, and avoiding processed foods.
Emotional Health is the third foundation of having optimal health.
Our day in and day out lives can be stressful in themselves. Add in other stressful life circumstances and the stress response can become a vicious cycle in our body which messes with our hormone system.
Emotional stress affects our mind and body. It affects our nervous system, our posture, our hormonal balance, our blood chemistry and even our digestive system. Being aware of how stress takes its toll on your optimal health is the first step. The second step is to utilize stress-reducing strategies like deep breathing exercises, going for walks outside, talking to someone, meditation or prayer, and scheduling in some time for yourself. Physical exercise, chiropractic care, massage, and acupuncture are also very effective natural methods to reduce the stress response in your body.
The Wellness Lifestyle
The Physicians and the team at The Wellness Connection believe in the wellness lifestyle. We know that physical, chemical, and emotional stressors break down our health and lead to many of the health problems that we are facing today. They rob you of having the optimal health you deserve.
Chiropractic Care and Spinal Rehabilitation is one of our core services to treat health problems naturally that are caused by physical stress on the nervous system.
We also utilize functional medicine, nutritional counseling, specialized lab testing and weight loss programs to help our clients reverse the damage that different nutritional deficiencies and poor dietary habits have caused.
So, in summary, your health is the foundation in how you get to experience your life. Every person has a different genetic makeup, genetic expression, weaknesses, and strengths. But everyone has the opportunity to improve and then experience optimal health at any age or stage.
Your health and how you take care of it is your choice. Our mission is to help those who are ready to either take care of a health problem naturally or maintain the health they have. We empower our clients with the health strategies to improve their health for a lifetime.