Active Health
What is health? Is health the treatment of illness? Or is health part of an active lifestyle that allows us to thrive and connect with others? Both are important. One is a reactive approach—wait until you get sick and then take action. The other is a proactive approach—take responsibility for your own wellbeing through good habits and sensible lifestyle choices. A proactive approach to health reduces the risk of illness, reduces the likelihood of succumbing to pandemic, and helps you and those around you feel great and perform well.
Do-It-Yourself Health Kit
Imagine you announce to a friend that you’ve devised a health plan for yourself. So what’s in your do-it-yourself health kit? What are things you’re already doing that are working for you and which are things you’d like to add or adjust?
Before we get to the list, you might consider the many reasons to want to be healthy. You might want to look better, feel better, think better, have more energy. You might want to take care of yourself to safeguard against illness and pandemic.
One of the goals of our centre is to build community around a pro-active approach to health. Not just maintaining health, but optimizing the way we feel, the way our bodies perform, to make life full and rich for ourselves and others. Here is a checklist of positive actions.
Good Relationships 
Daily Exercise 
Positive Mental Habits 
Sensible Diet 
Community Support 
Care of the Earth 
A Good Night’s Sleep 
Reduce Stress 
Spend Time in Nature
Each item by itself is simple enough; the trick is to consider how each step reinforces the other practices. For example, exercise might help us sleep better. A positive state of mind might lead to better relationships. Care of the earth produces healthier food and improves our diets. It’s hard to maintain a diet without a support network. Communities build fitness centers and create parks for everyone to enjoy. Social relationships, nature, fitness, peace of mind–everything is connected.