What is “Wellness?”

Welcome to the world of wellness!

Wellness.  That’s a popular word these days.  But how many of us have really experienced this lovely and sometimes elusive quality of life?  How could we define it?

Some might say it’s being healthy—not being sick, or diseased.  Others might say it’s a day free of aches and pain.  Or, we could define “wellness” as having a good environment in which to live, or by having a happy and successful love relationship.  A fulfilling professional life perhaps, or having the opportunity to live with purpose, are also potential elements.

What about a person’s ability to care for oneself in a nurturing way? Or something as fundamentally simple as having enough mental, spiritual, and emotional energy to carry out the day’s endeavors with a positive and cheerful outlook?

In the early 1990’s, a group of researchers from University of California, Irvine, set out to define that quality of life we call “wellness”.
This was a landmark study; never before had there been a university-caliber study on this subject.

Network Spinal Analysis was in its early years at that time, not even 10 years old, but practice members and practitioners who had been utilizing Network on a regular basis had individually and collectively noticed specific patterns of  beneficial changes occurring in their lives.  So much so, that this group of researchers chose that early Network practice member population as a basis for this study!

The first study was exploratory.  The researchers compiled a group of markers that could potentially define “wellness” in several broad categories:

—-Physical elements such as generally less pain, fewer headaches, back aches, and women’s periods becoming easier and more comfortable.

— Enhanced benefits people experienced in their daily routines concerning nutrition and exercise, and an increased ability to create and maintain new healthful habits.

—-Reduction of addictive behaviors, such as smoking.

—-More satisfying relationships in all aspects of life, both close family and spousal relationships, but also with social, home and work environments.

—-Improved ability to deal with and manage stress.

These questions were presented as a retrospective study to over 2,500 people.  The results were astounding!  The overall average of change was an exponential increase in the positive marker to the POWER of 2.8!

This initial exploratory study garnered enough attention to warrant  additional research using stronger study methods.  The next effort utilized the same markers, but was a longitudinal study performed over a two-year period.  Different practice members from the original study were interviewed and tracked, beginning with before an individual first began care and intermittently over time.  Approximately 780 people completed the two-year study period.

The second study was even more surprising than the first.  In this well researched, well-documented university study, the designated wellness markers were verified to have improved to the power of 3!

This model has become known as The Epstein Model of Wellness.  Those of us in the Network community cherish this core element, and it has become profoundly life-changing for us.  We commonly expect to live a life filled with positive attitudes and beneficial relationships, increased resilience, excellent mental and spiritual health, greater joy, peace, and less stress.  We are blessed with lives that embody the wonderful benefits of having an energy-rich life!

Are you ready for change?

Come and see for yourself what Network Spinal Analysis can mean for you!