The last few months have been challenging to say the very least. And it’s got us thinking about what it really means to optimize your wellness. Even when things are “normal,” it’s hard to eat all the right foods, not eat any *bad* foods, exercise frequently enough, but allow time to recover, get sound sleep and find time to relax, de-stress and refuel. But with the ground shifting seemingly every day, optimizing wellness really needs to be looked at in a slightly different light.
There’s a fascinating concept that is often used to refer to chiropractic: salutogenesis.
Salutogenesis means “creation of health.” A salutogenic approach to wellness looks at health as on a continuum between “dis-ease” and “ease.”
{Click here for an explanation of the diagram.}
We know that forces beyond our control often contribute to dis-ease. But rather than focusing our attention there, in a salutogenic approach we seek to add things that benefit our health positively. When we are committed to this long term approach, we understand that the positives we add to our health repository will change throughout our lives.
The magic of practicing this approach is that we create a coherent mindset of healthfulness. Of course, we can still get sick. However, our bodies will have years of resources to draw on to fight dis-ease through our immune system and organ reserves.
There are three primary principles of this approach:
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Wellness is a dynamic balance.
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When it comes to wellness, a little bit of all the right things are more important than a lot of any one thing. (Diversity is key.)
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The story you tell about your wellness is as important as the actions you take.
Salutogenesis is really both a mindset and method. Learning to practice a salutogenic approach to wellness is something that sticks with you for your whole life. You will never unlearn or forget it. It informs your choices and allows you to manage stressful times, when it becomes more challenging to maintain regular habits.
Published July 2, 2020