Get Well Before Getting Sick

“I went from from sleeping 12 to 16 hours to a normal 8 to 10,” Sharon said. “I have way more energy, I’ve lost 21 pounds. I feel amazing, and that gives me more energy right there. Plus, doing the 8 Weeks to Wellness, my pain is way less, and just overall I feel so much better. I was able to succeed; I didn’t think I could.”

The 8 Weeks to Wellness program works on different areas of health: Chiropractic, functional fitness, weight loss, nutrition, massage, and mindfulness. It’s an educational program that teaches you how to eat, manage stress, exercise and take care of yourself for life.

“We talk about having all the tools in the tool belt,” Reed said. “Eating well will give you the hammer, but not the nails, measuring tape, and everything else you need to build the house. Folks need it all for the best health they can have for as long as they have it.”

Chiropractic Care
A bad back can certainly slow anyone down. But the pain being felt could be affecting more than movement.

“If the spine is not positioned right, it’s going to affect the different functions,” Reed said. “If the spine is not moving right, it’s stuck, or out of its normal function, the joints break down, muscles break down, the nervous system isn’t working properly. Everything else is compromised.”

Our central nervous system is constantly sending information to the brain and then back out to the body. If anything happens along the spinal cord line, that information can be delayed, altered, or otherwise affected. And the disruptions can be anything from a slipped disc in between spinal bones or an improper diet that can cause interference. Drugs and alcohol can also cause issues with the information delivery.

“Absolutely. One hundred percent has to do with what you put in your body,” Reed said. “So many people have issues, and it’s from not eating proper food. There‘s so much correlation between the two.”

Functional Fitness
You don’t have to be an Olympic athlete to understand physical activity is a big part of staying healthy. But many of us don’t realize how a sedentary lifestyle can affect us in the short term and the long haul.

“There are studies that correlate sitting for long periods of time to the new smoking,” Reed said. “The worst posture standing is better than any posture sitting. Sitting is terrible for the spine, for whole body health.”

According to the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention, 60 percent of U.S. adults are overweight and a third of the population is obese. Having obesity can lead to heart disease, stroke, type 2 diabetes, and even certain types of cancer. Many of these diseases can be managed or even removed with an active lifestyle.

“The program is 15 minutes focused on posture, 15 minutes focused on mobility, 15 minutes on cardio, and the last 15 minutes is designed for whole body strength,” Reed said. “If we have someone who is doing that twice a week, we encourage them to get another four or five days of some kind of movement. Walking, jumping jacks – it doesn’t have to be a whole hour, but something.”

The 8 Weeks to Wellness program is tailored to each individual’s ability and takes into account age, physical limitations, injury, and past exercise history. A personal trainer will help you through the proper exercises to maximize your efforts.

“We’re built to be moving, our body works better when it’s moving,” Reed said. “A pond that doesn’t have running water, it gets stagnant, and it starts to die.”

Massage
For many, a massage is a way to treat ourselves every once in a while as we lead busy, stressful lives. No matter your profession–computer programmer, carpenter, or secretary–you can benefit from massages on a monthly, weekly, or more basis. But it shouldn’t be viewed as a luxury.

“Obviously, a lot of people hear massage, they think of spa and incense burning,” Reed said. “That massage is great for relaxation too, mental as well as physical.”

However, a massage can be so much more than listening to waves crash on the beach. Sitting at a desk all day can cause muscles to tighten, decreasing flexibility and causing long-term physical issues.

“It’s really the same principle for anybody,” Reed said. “Massage helps us to heal faster, improves muscle elasticity, joint improvement and helps the tissues, ligaments, and tendons to move with ease and decreases pain in the joints. As we age, ligaments, tendons, and muscles lose elasticity, affecting our movement and leading to injury.”

Weight Loss
While the program only lasts eight weeks, you will learn how to eat for the rest of your life. Different than a quick-fix diet that leads to weight loss one minute and weight gain the next, 8 Weeks to Wellness will teach participants how to eat properly.

“Eating proper carbs, fat, and sugar and proper timing is important,” Reed said. “A lot of people are carb-loading before going to bed and it’s one of the worst thing you can do for a variety of reasons. The program is helping people eat multiple meals, portion control, and making sure it’s in balance depending on activity levels.”

So there is no reason to stop eating pizza, just as there is no reason to have five slices of pizza. And don’t forget about those apples.

Mindfulness
With a strong mental approach to the program, the ability to lessen fears, reduce cravings, strengthen self-awareness, and make correct choices during bouts of inevitable stress become second nature. Training your body is one part of the puzzle, but training your mind might be the biggest.

“With the program, we are trying to get people to quiet their minds,” Reed said. “We’re super busy, push, push, push, rush, rush, rush. We want them to just sit without having 9,000 things going on.”

It seems like a simple task, just relaxing a few minutes every day. But between work, school, sports practice, making meals, and everything else that goes on in a single day, scheduling this time is important. Treat it like another meeting on the schedule with the added benefit of not actually having a meeting.

“People don’t have time to sit and be still,” Reed said. “We want them to clear the mechanism, reset themselves for the next day or the day ahead. We need to quiet the monster between our ears so we can face the day.”

It seems simple–preventing sickness is just a matter of working toward wellness. But it’s more than just jogging a mile here or eating a salad there. The 8 Weeks to Wellness program will show you the way to a healthier, happier you.

“It’s really for anybody and everybody that’s hoping to accomplish prevention or restoration from chronic illness,” Reed said. “Everybody is ideal for this program. Both younger and older would benefit.”