From Amanda's very early writing (1990s to early 2000s), shared as it was originally written.
ARTICLE 2.
WELLNESS - WHAT IS IT?
Do you know that in America, there are some Companies that have 'wellness days'? Instead of employees taking 'sickies', they are allocated points for every healthy or wellness activity they undertake, and after a certain number has been accrued they are allocated a day off - for wellness!
Wellness is much more than health. Health in the traditional sense is the absence of disease or disease prevention. Wellness is a whole different concept.
Wellness is about balancing your whole life - considering all the aspects - mental, physical, emotional, spiritual, psychological. It's about waking up full of energy and vitality and having energy and vitality all day - rather than wondering what it was like to have energy and vitality! It's about having a purpose in life; taking responsibility for yourself and your needs; listening to your body and hearing or recognizing what it needs you to do; seeing the big picture; playing and having fun; lightening up; eating wisely; exercising before you get sick - in other words a wellness way of life is a way of thinking and living so you enjoy life more, feel better, look better and achieve more of what you want.
For example, in our western medical system, we traditionally give people the warning signs of diseases or disorders, for example, bowel cancer. Now this is better than nothing. But by the time you have any one of these warning signs, it may be too late - you may already have damage or disease and you need to see a doctor about it immediately. Wouldn't it be great if there was a way of telling your bowel or colon was in great shape? In other words, a wellness sign. Well there is.
One of the keys to wellness is awareness. So many people are unaware of how their body works and that it actually 'talks' to them and tells them waht they need to do to be well. To know you have a well colon you need to be aware of what comes out of it - I know some people will think this is not suitable newspaper material, but where else will they learn potentially life saving information? Sometimes from progressive doctors and health professionals or from reading books, but generally people remain ignorant about their bodies util something goes wrong with them.
So here it is - how to know if your colon/bowel is in good shape....have 'fluffy floaties' as opposed to 'slinky sinkies'! I know this may be a gross concept to some of you but the truth is that if you become and stay aware of what's happening in your body, chances are you will be able to work out what you need to become and stay well. If you have slinky sinkers by the way, you need to eat more fibre, fruit, vegetables and do some more exercise until you have fluffy floaties.
Here's another new concept. How many people do you know go to the doctor for 'wellness checkups' , that is go to the doctor or health professional, when they feel perfectly OK, just to check that everything is in terrific working order. Fortunately, regular check ups are becoming more popular and doctors are handing out important lifestyle advice.
But I wonder if our focus is in the right place. As a nation we are obsessed with cholesterol and fat. We devote hours of time and pages of magazines and books on diets and foods to avoid etc. When will we realize that lack of exercise is probably the plague of the 21st century? And that having a sense of purpose in life is crucial for wellness. And that aging bodies don't have to be the norm?
These are some of the ideas I want to pursue in this column. I have a burning passion and committment to take this information that is now readily available in scientific literature and make it available to the general public - in terms that they can understand. There are lots of little (and big) things that we can do every day to help us have more energy, feel better, live longer and be happier.
