Optimal Health. Everyone wants to have it, yet very few people are anywhere close to achieving it. Why? Because in all reality, health isn't a high priority for most people. More so, the majority of people don't know how to truly define optimal health. The medical model teaches that health is the absence of disease. This falls extremely short of revealing the real meaning of health. Today, millions of people are walking around with no diagnosable disease, yet they themselves know they are in poor or mediocre health at best.

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Interestingly, many people who do have a disease, even serious chronic illness, are actually in good or excellent health. This is possible when one deepens their understanding of what true health really is. At Calgary Acupuncture Centre, health is viewed as the absence of addiction, not absence of disease. Health involves the ability to experience life spontaneously and fully!

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On deeper examination, individuals who are free of harmful habits and addictions are the same people who exude genuine peace and vitality. These people are free of harmful inner and outer habits. To explain, potentially harmful outer habits might be coffee, alcohol, sex, gambling, food, or TV. Harmful inner habits are the negative beliefs, judgments, emotions, and perceptions that quietly control one's thoughts and actions. These inner and outer addictions allow people to get lost, or stuck, in what they think is true about life and about themselves. It becomes impossible to spontaneously experience the real connection, beauty, and energy that life has to offer. Truly, these harmful daily habits, both inner and outer, are what prevent people from achieving optimal health. To reach a state of deep peace and thriving vitality, it is essential to free oneself of harmful inner and outer addictions.

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As may be coming clear, a deeper understanding of optimal health must include a spiritual component. The ability to see through one's self-limiting beliefs and stagnated thought patterns is a key ingredient in experiencing health and wellness to the fullest. When one leads a spiritually, emotionally, and physically balanced life, the result is boundless energy and vitality and an experience of true well-being. If this describes one end of the spectrum, and at the other end is death, it seems that most people today fit closer to the middle; no "disease" necessarily, but not feeling as great as they would like. It could be a mild nagging pain, ongoing stress, emotional ups and downs, fatigue, or just generally feeling "out of sorts" and "blah." It's not bad enough to do anything about, but the back of the mind always knows that things could definitely be better.

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Fortunately, humankind is fully capable of change, adaptation, and growth. With proper knowledge and support, breaking harmful outer habits and generating healthy inner habits is something that everyone can do! A holistic approach to health should include a focus on nutrition, exercise, sleep, and a deep look into mindfulness and purpose in life. Enlisting the care and guidance of a doctor of acupuncture and Chinese medicine ensures professional support and accountability in all these critical areas.

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In order to initiate lifestyle choices that reflect a higher level of wellness, it is important to take action NOW. People are quite clever with themselves when it comes to putting off this type of action. "It's just not a good time. I'll get to it later. I'll do it when I have more free time." Yet, buried inside everyone is a desire for quality self-care and optimal health. The question is, when will that desire gain it's well-deserved attention? It all starts with one decision. Make a commitment to leave behind the stress, drama, and denial and choose to focus on healthy habits and balanced living. Yes, it's easier said than done, but it definitely can be done!

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Choose optimal living! Call Calgary Acupuncture Centre today at 403.455.0880 to set up your first appointment!

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Mitch Wegmann is a registered acupuncturist and doctor of Traditional Chinese Medicine. He owns and operates Calgary Acupuncture Centre in the city's southwest quadrant, near the Marda Loop district.