with Deb Karpek

Hello!

Welcome to Reflections on Wellness. Each month I'll write a short piece on a chosen topic and then ask for your input. The idea is to have the column written by you, the reader, our providers and members.

Our first topic is "How do you define wellness? What does it mean to you?"

It is our intention to make this column informative, inspirational and fun! Keep it short, don't think too much and write from your heart! Let's share our thoughts and habits and learn from one another.

Deb Karpek, Reiki Master/Teacher

As I get older, my idea of wellness has changed as I change. When I was younger I never really thought about wellness. I just was. I took my unlimited energy for granted and lived my life. I was rarely sick. I was a strong, energetic child.

This pattern continued until my 30s. At that time I began using substances outside of myself to help myself feel better. I didn't realize or understand at the time that I had anything to do with my health and wellness—it was more of something that just happened to me. And I lived like this until my mid 40s.

Now I am almost hyper aware of wellness—wellness on all levels—mental, physical, spiritual and emotional. I see how they are all intertwined and need to be balanced. When one area is off it affects the others and I am out of whack.

Wellness has become a way of life. I've developed habits and use all of the resources and tools that are available to me. I eat well because I want to, not because I have to. I exercise daily, along with mediation, prayer, affirmations and writing. I make time for these daily practices. And while I know that I am my own healer I use my wellness "team" to help me achieve optimal performance. Monthly I get a massage, Reiki, chiropractic and breathwork sessions. All of these keep me in the best mental, physical, emotional and spiritual shape—my idea of wellness at this point in my life. And because it has become my practice I've gone back to that little girl, who lives her life in wellness, almost without thinking about it. Once again, it's become the norm, my way of life. Live well and prosper! Onward! &smiley;

Deb Karpek, Reiki Master/Teacher

Wellness is a combination of good physical health and fitness plus authentic happiness - mental and emotional stability and the ability to be in the present moment, beyond fear of future and regret from the past.

I focus my work in the area of emotional intelligence. The awareness of our emotions, management of our emotions, awareness of others' emotions and management of our relationships are the skill sets of emotional intelligence. The more emotionally intelligent a person is, the more likely they are to have authentic happiness, mental and emotional stability.

Those are my thoughts for now.

Patricia Clason, Your "Everyday EQ Coach"

Wellness to me is the process of living on purpose. By this I mean consciously choosing the physical, emotional, mental and spiritual means, which keep me aligned with a life of joy and meaning. More and more I care-fully monitor my food, exercise, relationships, entertainment, spiritual practices and daily habits to keep me "in the zone" of well being. Activities that used to give me a rush of momentary pleasure are weighed against their effect on the steadily growing satisfaction of continuous gracefulness. Wellness connects me to community of like-spirited companions because that is what I have found supports me staying in my zone most effectively and enjoyably. Wellness is becoming more than a temporary state feeling good. It is evolving a lifestyle with a purpose to it, a lifestyle with which I identify as my best vehicle possible on the road of life. As such it is regularly being maintained and occasionally upgraded as opportunities and inspirations present themselves.

Above all wellness is a choice to live consciously and grow daily. Wellness is my gift of self-love.

Jim Morningstar, psychologist, IW Coordinator

How do I define wellness? In pondering this question, I realize that there are many aspects to consider; yet I feel this one to be very important. I look at being well as essential as being right with myself, I can then be right with all others. How do I do that? I work with my conscious mind 24/7, I'm forever watchful of my thoughts. I imagine a filter of sorts surrounding me; I decide which thoughts or energies from myself and others I want to allow in—discernment. This definitely affects my physical, emotional, mental and spiritual self—it's all about maintaining this synergistic balance.

Blessings in Light,

Lee Ann Baum, WLMT

Wellness for me means "My willingness, to work with myself on all levels to bring about change."

Anna Rychner, RN, CYI
Life Waves Yoga

Hello! My name is Dr. Arthur Rapkin, OMD. I am a Doctor of Oriental Medicine and an Herbologist. My purpose is to help as many people as I can to achieve optimal health and personal vitality. I believe health is the most valuable asset we can have. If you lose your health, nothing else matters! Yet, people typically don't pay any attention to their health until they lose it. Then it's off to the doctor to fix, repair or replace. I believe we are an over-medicated culture. Our current state of health is a result of years of making poor choices in our diets and poor lifestyle habits. We have turned over our responsibility to doctors, who insist that we begin a regimen of medications that cause dangerous side affects.

It is time for change. Lets work together. Join us each week and gain insightful tips to create optimal health. Let's begin to focus on our health and the health of our communities. Let's not wait for others to fix our health for us.

Dr. Arthur Rapkin, OMD

Wellness is a life long movement toward becoming more whole in body, mind, emotions, and spirit. It is a movement, always fluid, always changing. In a wellness lifestyle, one chooses to live his/her healthiest options as a routine, always open to information and the potential to create greater health or wellness in all aspects of life. This means that no matter what is happening in my life or someone else's, no matter how many times we fall into "dis-ease", there is always hope for wellness.

The vision of my wellness practice is to honor and mentor self-knowing, self-acceptance and self-compassion in myself and others. This movement invites us to acknowledge, accept and love our whole self. That means the parts we already love, as well as the parts that we have not liked and may have a hard time accepting. As we come more and more into self-compassion, energy spreads out from us in a light vibration that increases the compassionate light for all of us.

For me, this movement begins with a physical, emotional or spiritual discomfort that invites and sometimes demands my full attention. As I am challenged to stay present to this discomfort, to let it be whatever it is, an awareness develops. Meaning appears with a teaching for me, and the discomfort can be released. I appreciate this new freedom, and begin to live in this world in a new way. Sometimes I can manage this movement toward greater wellness by myself. Frequently I seek support from another wellness practitioner who can witness and guide me. I appreciate that the InWellness practitioners are here to do just that!

Arleen Hollenhorst RN, HN-BC, CEH

Wellness: A word chock full of interpretation.

Physical wellness. Emotional wellness. Spiritual wellness. Mental wellness. Wellness in relationships, on the job, in the family. Financial wellness. Being aware. Being healthy. Being your best. Being energetic. Being smart. Being mindful. Being balanced. Getting enough sleep. Getting enough exercise. Getting enough down time. Getting enough social time. Drinking enough water. Watching calories. Maintaining a "normal" body weight. Meditating. Going to Yoga. Getting a massage. Eating organic. Flossing twice a day. Standing up straight. Breathing through the diaphragm. Avoiding caffeine. Surrounding yourself with positive people...when does it end?

My idea of wellness continues to evolve each moment. I've done all of the above, and more, and it's all worked. But it can be exhausting and anxiety producing to try and "keep up with it all." If there's one thing I have learned about wellness, it's that our needs change on a constant basis. What worked yesterday might not work today. What we NEEDED last week might not be what we need this week. What looks good in theory doesn't always flow easily in real life. Continuing to pay attention to my body is number one. Everyone's inner voice tells them what they need, if they will just listen. From there, we can seek the most fitting modality of healing, whether it be a book, an afternoon at the spa, a session with a therapist or a trip to the acupuncturist.

As someone who struggles with mental disorders, I know what it's like to "appear" one way and feel another. Over the years, I've realized that the more I take a look at myself, listen, ask questions and reach out for help, and the more I am open to possibility and opportunity, the more "well" I feel. It is in those moments, when I treat my body as its own individual, that I am reminded that I not only CAN be well, but I DESERVE to be well. That I'm NOT perfect, and I can forgive myself, over and over again. And when I really own that, everything that I need to be and STAY well, becomes clearer.

Laughing is the best medicine. Love is the greatest form of healing.

Be well.

Jodie Niles, Spiritual Life Empowerment Coach