Wellness – The Biggest Opportunity of the 21st Century

Snohomish County (Washington State) is on the leading edge of a national integrated medical “wellness” community. So what’s all the buzz about wellness in today’s medical environment? Most insurance companies now cover Complementary Healthcare including Naturopathy, Chiropractic, Acupuncture, Massage, Bowenwork and many other ancillary Integrative Practitioners. As well, there are many significant leaders revolutionizing the healthcare industry from the inside out. National figures include Dr. Andrew Weil, Dr. Deepak Chopra and Dr. Oz who are informing the general public about Complementary Integrative Healthcare. Going beyond traditional care approaches are Health and Wellness Coaches. Coaches are a direct link to beginning a new proactive approach to your own healthcare.

Just south of the Snohomish County line is Bastyr University, one of five naturopathic schools in the United States. Hundreds of naturopathic doctors are being trained and certified every year. Bastyr is on the cutting edge of what is a whole new perspective on looking at wellness care. What is changing is about healthcare training everywhere is the laser-like focus and respect for the whole person. Integrative Wellness Practitioners are interested in treating the whole system of a person’s health. There is now a Holistic Chamber of Commerce in Washington State based out of Marysville.

Local hospitals like Stevens Hospital in Edmonds, Providence Regional Medical Center in Everett and Valley General Hospital in Monroe offer a wide range of support groups and wellness classes. The Everett Herald newspaper publishes a Snohomish County Health Calendar.

“Wellness is generally used to mean a healthy balance of the mind, body and spirit that results in an overall feeling of well being.” (Wikipedia definition) “More people than ever are realizing that their bodies have an innate healing ability, that the true doctor is the doctor within” states John Blye DC (longstanding Lynnwood chiropractor)

With uncertainty in the global markets ever increasing, finding your own overall feeling of well being is your greatest asset. Taking the time to nurture your own inner/outer strengths is a great key in your ongoing success. Reducing stress through meditation or other time-tested techniques can keep your mind from monkeying with your balance.

If there is an industry poised for success in the 21st century, it will be the practitioners of Complementary Integrative Wellness who model and broadcast a new wellness doctrine. The new practitioners will be teachers and medical artists, taking their craft to new levels of awareness. As the horizon of the new century broadens our perspectives, those who honor the physical-mental-spiritual combination of our healthcare will find a rich vein of client satisfaction and increased individual wellness. Our communities thrive and prosper when able-bodied people rise to their greatness.

Scott Wurtz LMP RBT Copyright 2008 All Rights Reserved

Playful Living Without Shadow’s Rule

I am intrigued how a simple failure can produce amazing learning. In the process of facilitating classes on rhythm for accomplished flute players, I learned a great lesson. Over the course of a weekend retreat I was responsible for a variety of classes. One morning when it was my turn to teach a master class, I arrived totally unprepared. Rather than feeling unprepared, I chose to go into the class with an open mind and began by asking the class what they wanted. What blew me away was the depth of dialogue and learning shared around the room. Participants learned more from one another and their vast experiences; it was like the light bulbs kept going off. I then facilitated deepening all this learning with practical exercises and more dialogue.

I was delighted when a class participant made the simple comment, “You taught without a shadow.” What my learning has been about this concept continues to be reinforced today. From my understanding of our conversation, the shadow aspect related to using power, as an authority (technician), to teach.

The shadow is an aspect of who we are, whether conscious or not. A teacher can use their experience as superiority, where they are the better technician. Without the shadow, all participants including the teacher are equal. For example; when a teacher uses dialogue for learning and everyone is acknowledged for their contribution, the generosity of the moment provides for significant illuminations. The way the sharing of ideas happens and how the teacher listens and supports these ideas can be dramatic. The light bulbs (mental/physical understandings) will keep turning on.

As I continue observing this perspective in classes where I participate, I am continually amazed at how often a teacher’s pattern of presentation gets in the way of real learning. The participants are often very hungry to learn, but without healthy dialogue, their curiosity is squashed. What then keeps us curious? Where is the teacher’s stimulation that encourages curiosity as opposed to simply being the deliverer of a specific system of knowledge? My own fundamental system is based more on the kinesthetic experience yet I find very few teachers know how to teach kinesthetically, other than dance, yoga and movement specialists.

Getting back to the classroom, when the knowledge is shared or acknowledged in each individual’s learning style, learning is dramatically reinforced. I am seeing an enormous appetite for the specific learning styles to utilize. It is like a new body of work, a new sense of style about teaching is being born. Yes, the underpinnings have always been there and some have excelled naturally. I want to know why it seems so critical right now. The patterns of shadow/non-shadow are so apparent and ripe for me to see, to witness. The witnessing is for me, about seeing without judgment, about being fully present, in my heart. When is the last time you allowed your mind to move like a river, gently through your consciousness, without a shadow?

Harnessing the Power of Your Inner Smile

While participating in a class by psychologist Lisa DeLongchamps, she instructed us to say to ourselves “relaxed and amused.”  The whole class was astonished that something so simple could be so profound.  Over the years, using this phrase whenever things got tense was a godsend.  At one point, I was looking in the mirror saying the phrase and it was uncanny how my mouth naturally went into a little smile and I felt a renewed sense of delight.

In Taoist trainings such a Qi Gong, students are instructed to have an inner smile while performing their exercise routine.  I invite you to utilize this technique for just five minutes a day and see what happens.  What’s most important is to find a way to practice this every day.  You can practice in bed before you retire or before you slide out in the mornings.

Recently, my son talked me into a bowling league.  Both of us hadn’t bowled in quite awhile and it took some time to find our rhythm.  Years before, I developed the practice of smiling to the pins before I bowled them down.  My son was having a particularly difficult day and his face showed it.  I mentioned to him about having a smile on your face when it’s your turn to bowl.  Once he smiled, he did fantastic and we ended up have a lot of fun the rest of the night.

I invite you into a dialog about the Inner Smile.

When does your smile naturally appear?

How often do you catch yourself smiling or noticing a moment of amusement.

These are muscles we habitually use and the process of training them to show up on call can change our outlook on life.

Isn’t life easier when smiling is fun and natural?  When you break out a smile, do you notice how others reflect it back?