SJ responds to readers’ concerns in the Ponsonby News Healthy Living column.

SARAH–JANE ATTIAS: HEALTHY LIVING

Maintaining a healthy, happy, sustainable lifestyle

This month, Ponsonby News is focusing on maintaining a healthy, happy, sustainable lifestyle – a subject close to my heart. I would like to invite the readers to my regular Ponsonby News Health Expert column in for a free assessment over the month of June. Please phone us on T: 09 361 1147.

Can you believe it was 23 years ago when Forrest Gump, the slow but sweet character played by Tom Hanks, entered theatres, and our hearts, with this quote “Mama always said – life was like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.”

No truer words spoken. You really do want to be healthy and happy; ahead of your game because I’m not sure about you but my world is full of surprises, good and not so good.

So, as we are a complex mix of emotions and physical body, how do we find, optimise and maintain that ‘feel good’ factor for body and mental health?

Feel good, life-enhancing experiences come in many shapes and forms. For instance my partner and I have just returned from the Venice Biennale, celebrating with New Zealand artist Lisa Reihana her amazing installation Emissaries. Lisa has garnered huge praise for her technologically groundbreaking and visually exquisite installation.

The whole four-day event gave a huge boost to our year – alive, buzzing along with 150 other New Zealand Patrons and the Governor General, Dame Patsy Reddy. All that high energy excitement and walking 7km-plus a day, had us super fit! Okay, there was a fair bit of congratulatory revelry mixed in but, I have to say, that combination of stimulating company, elation, walking and fun was perfect. This is a good example of the lifestyle balance that I am talking about.

Let’s be clear, mental health has a huge effect on our physical wellbeing and there is plenty of scientific evidence to endorse this fact.

I chose to become an osteopath because I have a philosophy that we are more than just muscle groups, tendons and bones. My treatment approach is a multi-layered model. As you my client are a complex being, my aim is to have your mind, spirit and body working well as one. Over the past 22 years I have treated thousands of clients using this approach with excellent results.

How can this complex link between body and mind reveal itself in your body?

A good example is during osteopathic treatment. Some clients experience results that confirm this phenomenon. This can happen during or after treatment; as we work on releasing tight areas of your body there maybe a spontaneous release of emotions, often to the surprise of the patient. This can manifest in many ways – a sense of euphoria, sadness, tension release and a ‘rush’ of energy or a sense of needing some good rest. Mums’ report back with news of baby being much calmer and experiencing that much needed first, real sound sleep.

We use the medical model for assessment, diagnosis and treatment decisions. Then we look at the other layers that make up the total you.

If appropriate, we ask questions about work, time out, diet and simply: Are you happy? Physical goals – a yoga practice, improving your sports game or simply being able to run along the beachfront and keep up with the kids.

What I aim for is a ‘feel good’ factor for body and mind. It’s important to have a trusted health professional, such as an osteopath, to check in with for treatment and advice. If you know you’re coming back for treatment, you will do your exercises, even if it is only the night before! Regular health maintenance catches the acute situations before they turn into chronic dis-ease.

I have mentioned before about how important it is to look after ourselves now, so that as we get older our bodies are in a stronger position to cope if a serious illness hits us.

I think I’m fairly fit and supple, until I have to climb many stairs or head to a yoga class.

What you want to avoid is your body starting to stiffen up. Your joints become less mobile and this places stress on joints, leading to deterioration within that joint. If there is less movement of the skeleton then it adversely affects all your inner organs.

As an osteopath I work to mobilise and lubricate your spine (improving fluid dynamics within the joint) improve blood supply and drainage, optimising the health of your nerves, muscles, ligaments and tendons. A key quote at Living Osteopathy Clinic is ‘if you don’t move it – you lose it’.

(SARAH-JANE ATTIAS)