The Importance of Proactive Health Maintenance: Listening to Your Body and Taking Action



 *How are you?* “I’m fine.”


*Where do you hurt?* “Oh my neck is bothering me, my low back is tight, my left shoulder is acting up and my digestion is off.”


Western medicine defines health as an absence of disease. We wait until there is a problem before we take time out of our busy lives to fix ourselves. More often, we become disconnected to how we feel and reach for cravings like sugar, alcohol, and comfort foods in order to feel better. We have little time to pay attention to what our bodies are trying to tell us. We end up pushing through our day and our pain. It is only when problems become big enough that we can’t ignore them any longer that we are forced to take action.


A while back I was asked, “what do you do to be healthy?” My answer was I really work on my diet. I eat plenty of organic vegetables and healthy proteins. I stay away from sugar, gluten, processed foods, alcohol, and never eat fast food. I take whole food supplements every day in order to give my body what it needs to run body systems and repair tissue. I take medicinal herbs to enhance energy, guard against disease, and remove toxic burdens. I try to get a massage once a week, acupuncture once a month and a chiropractic adjustment once a month. I practice Tai Chi and meditation several times a week. I continue to study and learn to keep my mind clear and sharp. He then said, “but you are so healthy, why do you do all that?”


I believe health is doing the things necessary in order to remain disease free. It is the prevention of disease. My first mentor told me what we do today affects us tomorrow, what we do this week affects us next week, what we do this season affects us this season, what we do this year affects us next year and what we do this decade affects us next decade. We start to address these issues when we begin to pay attention to what our bodies are trying to tell us, and what symptoms we have on a regular basis. Knowing that health requires maintenance is half the battle. The other half is putting down our screens and taking action to feel good.


- Chris F. Aul, Columbus, Ohio

Location: Columbus, OH, USA

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