Mike on Health Mike Waters
physical energy. Even during sleep a “restless mind” can dramatically throw off our hormonal function, creating fatigue, negative thoughts, and not being in a proper “frame of mind” (re: hormonal state), to enjoy all the possible great aspects of the day ahead. People who perceive emotionally a satisfying life get through the “bumps” of their journey, the occasional stressful periods. But they have satisfying “rituals and routines” that get them through these times.
Total Health and Wellbeing In this issue I’d like to talk about other aspects of health, or the things we do to be healthy. We measure, quantify, rate our personal health based on our biology. While what we call “the core concepts in health” -- exercise, diet, and abstaining from tobacco use are all very important, there are other aspects of our life that that contribute to our health. Who we are. Our personality, our “trait self” contributes largely to our biology. In core health we talk about an “exercise, physical activity” personality. Even in the area of stress, good or bad, we talk about a personality type. Our DNA, cultural conditioning, and changes in ages through the lifespan take us through various adventures that are constantly testing our immune systems. States like “burnout”, boredom, nervous breakdown are extreme signals of a life headed towards illness. Happiness, peace of mind, and life satisfaction put our chemistries at ease. These ways of being, how we think about the world and live daily in it can’t be quantified down to 30 min blocks of effort. It’s a culmination of weeks, months, even years of our life’s total experiences. The blood work and analyses by the physician, or the fitness performance test by the fitness practitioner are only periodic snap shots of how we’re participating in life. The mind and the body are one. I’m hoping that by now, most of us understand that our personality, or how our “head” works creates the biochemistry of hormonal changes that affect our health status at any given time. Through our personality we participate in health 24 hours a day. We operate hourly as a constant chemistry experiment, always changing our emotional and
Nonlinear approaches to health, or the psycho –social-spiritual side of health. Some experts believe that there’s an ART not a SCIENCE to being healthy. The biological data supports this. It starts with daily rituals and routines. And all comes together with the various personalities and traits that I mentioned above. The way a lot of people do a number of healthy experiences is called “causality.” It’s just who we are and what we do throughout the day. Doing ART, engaging in social activities like VOULTEERING, or having and taking care of PETS are not always planned programed “dosage related” things that a lot of people do. Gardening, walking or biking to the store; if they are enjoyable things to you they are all healthy activities. There’s nothing wrong with participating in linear structured health practices. A certain percentage do. However you do it, it must contribute to positive pleasing experience. These types of linear, non-linear, causality rituals and routines must contribute to a happy satisfying life. Your biology. Hormonal levels, immune system chemistry will be much healthier for it. Mike Waters is the Director of Health Promotion for Timberhill Athletic Club in Corvallis OR email him at timberhill.mike@comcast.net or call 541-207-4368 for any comments, feedback, or ideas on helping our communities to be healthier. Follow Mike’s tweets at TACyourHealth@twitter.com or check the Facebook page, just search for “TAC Your Health” Visit the new web site at: tacyourhealth.weebly.com
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