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by James Strohecker
Creating
a Culture of Wellness
We are currently experiencing a wellness crisis in our culture, what some may call a wellness culture war. This crisis that has two faces. One face is a culture that approaches health through a focus on disease management rather than teaching the fundamentals of healthy living. This culture has led to health care costs spiraling out of control as it glorifies and promotes unhealthy lifestyle practices, immediate gratification (the quick fix—a pill for every ill) and the consumption of chemical-laden foods and toxic products through slick media advertising; a rapidly deteriorating level of public health with epidemic levels of obesity, diabetes and heart disease is the result. Sadly, this culture has seemingly unlimited resources and controls our major media.
The other face is a smaller but growing culture that
looks to the fundamental principles of healthy living
to lead us to a higher level of personal health and
well-being. This culture creates services which are
rarely covered by our health insurance system; promotes
consumption of organic foods grown without chemical
fertilizers and pesticides and lifestyle products which do not
contain harmful or carcinogenic chemical additives; displays
a higher level of health and well-being; and suffers less from
the epidemic lifestyle and stress engendered illnesses than the
members of the “illness culture.” This culture has had limited
financial resources and difficulties in getting their message out
through our major media.
The first culture is focused on illness. The second culture
is focused on maintaining wellness. The illness culture is a very modern phenomenon, growing rapidly since the advent
of the pharmaceutical drug industry into our current “medical-industrial complex.” The roots of the wellness culture are very ancient. The systems of ancient Chinese, Ayurvedic, Greek, and Islamic medicine (Unani) viewed health as a state of balance and illness as the result of not living in accordance with natural laws—what I to refer to as “the human operating system.” In these systems good health and longevity were the primary focus of medicine, and the secondary focus was returning people to good health when they became ill.
Moving to a Culture of Wellness
To bring about an expansion of the “culture of wellness” in
our society where it becomes the prevailing culture will require a new type of leadership from our federal government, the medical industry, and corporate America, that looks beyond the limited vision of special interests that are not in the common public interest. Our government must put out a clear and positive message about health and wellness and take the food, medical, pharmaceutical, and other industries to task when their products present a public danger and threaten public health.
Corporate America needs to step up to the plate and begin
to direct their R&D efforts toward creating products that support health and wellness and do not increase the strain on our overtaxed health care system. Corporations must recognize that their advertising campaigns can either enhance the emerging culture of wellness or support the culture of illness—fast food, alcohol, cigarettes, sugar, processed foods, and chemical additives that lead to epidemic obesity, diabetes, heart disease,
fatigue, and stress-related illnesses. For an average individual to pursue a wellness-based lifestyle in the midst of a culture of illness promoted through TV, radio, print, and Internet advertising, it is an uphill battle.
Although there has been some positive movement at government and corporate levels, it is far more realistic that we will begin to see more support occurring on the grass roots community level—in churches, YMCAs, hospitals, employee wellness programs, yoga centers, and fitness centers—since the whole community can directly benefit from a higher level of health and wellness of its members.
The real focus of change, however, will need to be on the
individual level, as the increasing level of motivation from upwardly spiraling health care costs and failures of our health care system will lead people to continue to take more and more responsibility for their own health and well-being.
Making a Long-Term Wellness Strategy
Medical insurance premiums continue to rise beyond the
affordability of ordinary consumers, and today a family may spend
$1,000 per month in health insurance. Over five years that equals
$60,000, a sizeable investment with little to show for it. A good
question to ask is this: What does this $60,000 buy me? Will
my general level of health and well-being improve or diminish in
5 years? Am I basically buying emergency protection and still having
to pay out-of-pocket for most medical services?
Here is a new idea. What if we were to create a five-year plan
to improve our general level of health and well-being? If we
explore this idea, it might look something like this:
Commit to Working with a Wellness Coach
Wellness coaching has made great strides in the last year
and appears to be poised to play a prominent role in the new
culture of wellness. A wellness coach will help you determine
the areas of your lifestyle, attitudes and behaviors that you are
most motivated to change, help you create a wellness action
plan to create the necessary change, and then motivate you
and keep you accountable for reaching your goals of increased
health and well-being.
After you have worked with a coach and feel a level of comfort
and compatibility, explore the idea of setting up a long-term
coaching program. If you are ready to make an investment in your health, consider a five-year program for high-level health
and well-being. The program may call for more intensive work
at the beginning of each year (January–March) with two coaching
sessions per month. After that time you may choose to
have one session a month or one every six weeks. The idea is
to create the framework that enables you to receive ongoing
coaching to help you reach your health and wellness goals.
(To find a wellness coach, contact
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.)
Use an Online Wellness Program
Many wellness coaches are now working with the Wellness
Inventory program, a whole person assessment program
designed to help individuals gain personal insight into 12
dimensions of physical, emotional, and spiritual wellness in
their life. The program offers guidance and tools to transform
this new awareness into lasting changes in their lives through
use of the personal wellness plan, my wellness journal, e-mail
reminders, and the wellness resource centers. Working with a
wellness coach who can keep you motivated and accountable
for your agreements to reach your wellness goals amplifies
the power and effectiveness of the Wellness Inventory many
times over. (To experience the Wellness Inventory go to: www.WellPeople.com and enter the promo code “totalhealth.”)
 12 Dimensions of Wellness
Practices to Promote Health and Well-being
Your personal wellness plan may include a range of lifestyle
and mind-body practices to support maintaining a higher level
of health and wellness and it will change over time to focus
on the areas of your life you are currently most motivated to
change. Some of these practices carry little or no cost, while
others carry heavy costs. For example, paying attention to how
you breathe, move, eat your meals, process your feelings, communicate
with others, and taking daily walks, carries no costs.
Other practices, such as yoga, Pilates, qigong, tai chi, and
some fitness routines, can first be learned in class and then
later practiced on your own (or with video instruction). These
have small up-front instructional costs and sometimes some
ongoing costs if you enjoy the class environment.
Finally, there are practices with heavy associated costs, such
as fitness club memberships and dietary supplements, as well
as trips to your massage therapist, acupuncturist, nutritionist,
energy healer, naturopath, chiropractor practices, or holistic
physician to help monitor your state of health and wellness and
help bring you back into balance if necessary. Most of these
costs will be in the first 12–18 months of your plan as you are
learning and choosing the wellness practices that you would
like to integrate into your life.
The beauty of this approach is that you are investing time
and money in your health and well-being by creating a longterm,
strategic wellness plan which allows you to see the
holistic health practitioners you most trust to guide you to a
higher level of health and well-being, and to pursue the wellness
practices which address the areas of your life you are
most motivated to change. Your greatest reward will come
from the wellness practices you pursue on a daily basis until
they become part of the fabric of your life.
The idea of a five or ten-year wellness plan may first seem
extreme to some—a six month plan may seem more reasonable.
However, as health care costs and insurance premiums
continue to rise out of sight, the wisdom of taking our health
and well-being into our own hands through enlightened selfcare,
wellness practices, and holistic health care may prove to
be the most prudent investment we make in our lives. Health
is your greatest wealth, and it is worth cultivating.
James Strohecker, a pioneer in e-health, is president and
co-founder of HealthWorld Online (www.healthy.net), the
first Internet network focusing on wellness, healthy living,
mind/body health, and integrative medicine. He was executive
editor of Alternative Medicine: The Definitive Guide (1st ed)
and has been a frequent contributor to totalhealth. He can be
contacted at
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or 310.823.9553.
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