A Chiropractor’s Guide to Creating Health & Happiness This Fall & Beyond
By Dr. Michele Gardner of Gardner Family Chiropractic, Flemington, NJ
Have you ever attempted to program your GPS and found it searching for satellite? It won’t show your travel route until it first knows where you are… Finding your way in life is incredibly similar! You cannot get to where you want to go without first knowing where you are. In helping you develop your Personal Health Plan, we’ll talk about where you are on your journey to health, different philosophies of health, and actions to ensure your future wellbeing.
Because we are all at different places on our journey to health, we will each have a different plan. You will tailor your own program to suit your lifestyle. The idea behind a Personal Health Plan is that it is a decision to stay healthy and take steps toward insuring your future success. (Madeira, 2006) My favorite definition of health is one that includes physical, social, emotional, and spiritual wellbeing – not merely the absence of disease. (WHO, 1948) Health is a lifelong journey and requires a bigger picture view of life to be in view at all times. With this in mind, know that you are building awareness here. You are defining your interpretation of yourself and getting specific about what you want.
Some of us are healthy and want to stay that way. Some of us are facing a health challenge or crisis that is new. Some of us are managing chronic illness. Whether you have survived a health crisis and want to insure it never comes back, or want to take your current health to new heights, a Personal Health Plan will help you succeed. No matter where you are on your journey, I want to encourage you to make your choices from a place of self-love. A frantic push toward a desired end with a rigid list of to-do’s will not serve you and is not sustainable. Plus, you’ll miss out on the gifts you have the potential to receive – even while in crisis.
If you owned a million-dollar race horse, what would you feed it? Would you exercise it? Would you keep its environment clean? Would you give it plenty of rest, sunshine, and fresh air? Of course you would! The reason you would is because this isn’t just any horse… this is a million dollar race horse! (Madeira, 2006) Have you guessed it already? Yes, you are the million-dollar race horse! Why would you do any less for yourself? For the parents reading this, I know you want the best for your children and you know they learn through observation. Lead by example. Love yourself enough to treat yourself as you would your children so they can learn to do this for themselves. Our ability to love is infinite. I promise you, if you love yourself more you won’t be taking anything away from them. You’ll be giving them more than you can imagine.
For some of you, the following will be a big ah-ha moment. There are three different philosophies of health.
- Mechanistic Philosophy: This is the one our culture is most familiar. The belief inherent in this philosophy is that living things are like complicated machines, composed of many parts lacking any intrinsic relationship to each other.
- Holistic Philosophy: This is the one most familiar to Eastern cultures. This philosophy values the idea that living things should be viewed as wholes- not as collections of parts. Functioning cannot be fully understood solely in terms of component parts.
- Vitalism Philosophy: The basic principle of this philosophy is that living things have an innate intelligence which animates, motivates, heals, coordinates and inspires them. (Glassey, 2010)
Our culture’s medical model is based in the mechanistic philosophy. It is the most beneficial in emergency scenarios. If your kidney if failing or you’ve broken a bone, this is the approach best utilized. However, when faced with chronic illness, the modalities steeped in holism may fair better. And vitalistic philosophy can help us choose to add actions and traditions to be utilized whether we’re sick or well. There really isn’t necessarily one right answer. It is what is right for you right now. And, that may change too. Life and growth are a dynamic evolution.
Directions for Creating Your Personal Health Plan:
Once you’ve chosen your primary philosophy of health, you’ll develop your personal health wheel. Some examples of a health wheel are shown here along with a blank one you can print to create your own.
You’ll notice there is a center circle on this wheel.
Out of your health philosophy, choose up to three traditions that support your philosophy.
Some examples are: Acupuncture, Aromatherapy, Ayurveda, Biofeedback, Chinese Medicine, Chiropractic, Energy Medicine, Faith Healing, Feldenkrais Method, Functional Medicine, Gestalt Therapy, Herbalism, Homeopathy, Hydrotherapy, Hypnotherapy, Iridology, Kampo Medicine, Massage Therapy, Meditation, Naturopathic Medicine, Osteopathic Medicine, Polarity Therapy, Pranic Healing, Prayer, Qigong, Rebirthing, Traditional Medicine, or Yoga Therapy.
Next you’ll choose facets of health that are important to you.
The most common are physical, spiritual, recreational, professional, social, emotional, mental, financial, romantic, creative, relational, environmental, and family. Within each category you can get specific and detailed.You have the ability to know what area of your life needs your attention to reach health goals. Simply evaluate yourself on the wheel. There is an example wheel that is multi-colored with tick marks to help quantify the level of health achieved in that category. (Baker, 2013) What do you want your life to be?
After you have chosen which areas to work on, you can decide what or who will help you with your action steps.
You are not meant to do this alone. Find practitioners within that can walk with you along your journey. They will help hold you accountable while giving you the support you need.
Get started right now:
Print one of the sample wheels. When thoughts come to you about what you want for yourself, journal them or use a voice recorder on your phone. You’ll build upon this with time and allow the specifics to unfold.
If you’d like support from me, don’t hesitate to reach out. Visit my website for more information on how to reach me. I can help you find a practitioner you are looking for or guide you through some choices. Lastly, I’ll leave you with a quote I like:
“If you don’t design your own life plan, chances are you’ll fall into someone else’s plan. And guess what they have planned for you? Not much.” – Jim Rohn
No matter where you are on your journey toward health, you can make choices today that will lead you where you want to go. Surround yourself with people who help you passionately move toward self-actualization!
Works Cited
Baker, B. (2013, September). Retrieved from http://www.startofhappiness.com/wheel-of-life-a-self-assessment-tool/
Glassey, D. (2010, September). The Vitalistic Healing Model. Retrieved from Pathways to Family Wellness: http://pathwaystofamilywellness.org/Holistic-Healthcare/the-vitalistic-healing-model.html
Madeira, J. (2006). Developing Your Personal Wellness Plan. Setting Things Straight (p. 1). Madeira Success Strategies.
Duke University (2014). Retrieved from Duke Integrative Medicine: http://triadintegrativehealthcoaches.com/
Unknown. (n.d.). Retrieved from Pinterest: https://www.pinterest.com/pin/11892386492434313/
WHO. (1948). WHO definition of health. Retrieved from WHO International: http://www.who.int/about/definition/en/print.html
Wikipedia. (2016, August). Holism Philosophy. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Holism
Wikipedia. (2016, June). Mechanism Philosophy. Retrieved from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mechanism_(philosophy)
