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WELLNESS
BLUEPRINT
The Complete Mind/Body
Approach to Reclaiming Your
Health & Wellness
Maiysha
Clairborne, M.D.
Dr.
Wilkes-Barre, PA
Table of Contents
Foreword
by Dr. Manonmani Antony
Foreword
define that) will we see our patients understand the value of their health and the improvements that come with
that understanding. Is doing this as simple as prescribing
a medication and telling the patient to take two and call
him in the morning? Of course not. The rewards, though,
are greater. The benefits to both you and your patient are
broader and long-lasting. The value, as you will discover, is
simply priceless.
Dr. Maiysha Clairborne will help you reclaim and put
together your health and wellness with her Wellness Blueprint. Take advantage of what she has to offer. While it
may or may not be a matter life and death, it is a matter of
having everything and having nothing.
Dr. Manonmani Antony, M.D.
Sussex Pain Relief Center
July, 2014
viii
Preface
healthier. Whether its the idea that they should eat better or exercise or any of the myriad ways that one defines
healthy, peopleincluding youknow that you should
be doing things better.
Thats all well and good. Theres only one problem:
that one, single, small wordshould.
We know what we should do. The problem is that we
dont know how to go about actually doing it. I should
eat better, all of us have said at one time or another. The
problem is that we dont know exactly what that means
(become a vegetarian? more salads? is fish good nowadays?) nor do we know how to go about it (who has the
time to prepare meals? can I use the microwave? am I still
allowed to have a cheeseburger?)
Even the idea of exercise becomes perplexing when
faced with actually doing it: Is a gym membership necessary? Do I need a weight set? Do I have to awaken at
dawn and train like Rocky?
Yes, here are hundreds (at least) of complicated programs and so-called self-help secrets out there that you
can buy or join. There are books written on everything
from how to make yourself over to how to lose weight.
The truth is that while some of these books and programs
have valid concepts and methods, few have a simpliciix
Preface
If you read the entire book and even do all the exercises,
yet you dont put into daily practice anything, then youll
find that, for the most part, nothing will change. If you
do participate, though, I can guarantee that you will see
changesgood changes. Perhaps even surprising changes.
It all comes down to you, though. I can supply the ideas
and methods and tools; only you can make the choice to
use them.
xii
Introduction
What Is Wellness Really?
xiii
Introduction
2 Broadwell, S.D., Light, K.C. (1999). Family support, and cardiovascular responses in married couples during conflict and other interactions.Int J Behav Med, 6,40-63.
3 Seeman, T.E., Berkman, L.F., Blazer, D., Rowe, J.W. (1994). Social
ties and support and neuroendocrine functions: The MacArthur studies of successful aging. Annals of Behavioral Medicine, 16, 95-106.
Uchico, B.N., Cacioppo, J.T., Kiecolt-Glaser, J.K. (1996). The relationship
between social support and physiological processes: A review with emphasis
on underlying mechanism and implications for health.Psychological Bulletin, 119,448-531.
4 Cohen, S., Doyle, W.J., Skoner, D.P., Rabin, B.S., Gwaltney, J.M. Jr (1997). Social ties and susceptibility to the common
cold. Journal of American Medical Association, 277, 1940-44.
Cohen, S., Gottlieb, B.H., Underwood L. (2000). Social relationships and
health. In Cohen, S., Underwood, L. & Gottlieb, B.H. (Eds),Social Support
Measurementand Interventions: A Guide for Health and Social Scientists.
New York: Oxborg University Press.
xv
practice of mindfulness is increased brain connectivity. Researchers at UCLA compared the brain activity of volunteers who had finished eight weeks of mindfulness-based
stress reduction training with that of volunteers who did
no such training. Functional MRI scans showed enhanced
connections in several regions of the volunteers brains who
completed the mindfulness-based stress reduction training. Similar studies have been done at Massachusetts General Hospital.
Are you beginning to get the picture? Wellness is more
than just physical health. So what is this book about? In
my experience, many people know what they should do,
but dont always know the pathwayor even the starting
point. This book is a practical guide to achieving and maintaining a structure that creates workability in the lives of
even the busiest people. My commitment is that people
live a life they love and live it powerfully. This book is the
blueprint to that life.
This book is divided into four parts. The first part is the
Foundation and deals with taking responsibility for ones
health and wellness. The second part is the Floorplan and
is where we will delve into specific techniques for building
that mind-body connection. The third part, the Structure,
will detail how you can develop a lifeand a lifestyle
that encourages your continued health and wellness. Finally, the fourth part, Pathways, will provide you with tools to
take you both deeper as well as beyond what you discover
in The Wellness Blueprint. Throughout the book, we will go
into specific areas of life such as nutrition, your emotionxvi
Introduction
xvii
The
Wellness
Blueprint
III
I walk down the same
street.
There is a deep hole in the
sidewalk.
I see it is there.
I still fall in ... its a habit.
My eyes are open.
I know where I am.
It is my fault.
I get out immediately.
IV
I walk down the same
street.
There is a deep hole in the
sidewalk.
I walk around it.
V
I walk down another street.
Part I
Foundation
To keep the body in good health is a duty, otherwise we shall not be able to keep our mind strong
and clear.
Buddha
can feel your chest tighten and your head may ache. You
become fatigued. Your muscles become tense, which leads
to frowning and foot tapping. Overall, you feel a sense
of denial and of being closed to everyone and everything
around you.
Im certain that youve felt both of those states. We all
have. There are times when things just seem right in the
world to us and times when they just dont.
Obviously, being in learning mode is far better than
being in protecting mode, but we cant be in learning
mode constantly. Its just not humanly possible.
The key, though, is to notice when you are in protecting
mode so that you can shift yourself back to learning mode.
You accomplish this by consciously relaxing and centering
yourself. Take a few deep breaths and become aware of
the physical sensations in your body. Gently bring yourself
into learning mode, feeling an easier and deeper breathing
pattern and more relaxed mental and physical state. (As
you progress through this book, you will learn techniques
for you to do this. The important thing now is to at the
very least notice when you are in protecting mode.) If you
are unable to make that shift, then it may be a good time
to stop whatever activity you are doing and return to it later. Trying to force yourself into learning mode when you
are physically and mentally unable is just not productive
for anyone.
Throughout this book, it will be beneficial for you to
stop and check-in with yourself to see whether you are
currently in learning or protecting mode. Begin right now:
3
Where are you now? How is your body feeling? Take thirty seconds to reflect on what learning mode or protecting
mode feels like to you. As youll see as you progress, doing
this will prove to be very beneficial and will soon become
almost second-nature to you.
The Dimensions of Wellness
When looking at total well-being, I refer to a system
developed by Dr. John Travis called the Wellness Energy
System. In this system, your body intakes and expends
energy in sixteen different ways, which he calls dimensions. Think of this process like water running through a
pipe: something goes in and something goes out. This is
the foundation of your wellness system.
Your energy intakes are:
Breathing
Touch
Eating
Taste
Smell
Sight
Hearing
My Wellness Inventory
My Energy Intakes
Breathing
Eating
Smell
Sight
Hearing
Touch
Taste
My Energy Expenditures
Feelings
Movement
Communication
Thinking
Working
Playing
Relationships
Life Purpose
Spiritual Interaction
My Core Supports
Self-Responsibility
Self-Love
9
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