ONE PRACTICE, ABUNDANT RETURNS

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“A discovery is said to be an accident meeting a prepared mind.” —Author Unknown

AN UNEXPECTED PAYOFF 

Obstacle-course creator Joe De Sena is well known for his extreme endurance events. For example, at his farm in Vermont, he put a small group of Olympic-class wrestlers through a weekend of special athletic training at their coach’s request. This “training” consisted of grueling farm work, steep mountain hikes, and unexpected problems. Unaccustomed to training outside of cutting-edge facilities, the wrestlers were confused, frustrated, and outraged.

But Joe was unfazed. He had recognized that the wrestlers were already in top physical condition and knew that investing their time and effort honing other capabilities would bring them the best returns. Still, he was thrilled when one of the wrestlers called later to thank him. The wrestler reported that at a pivotal point in the hardest match of his life he realized that the levels of confidence, creativity, and tenacity he’d reached during Joe’s training weekend would enable him to win the match.

Similarly, our own health-building efforts return both obvious and not-so-obvious benefits to our mind-body system’s multiple layers. Numerous research findings confirm that three of these layers—our immune, neurological, and DNA systems—yield positive short- and long-term returns as a result of routine health-building practices.

EVERY PRACTICE HAS BUILT-IN MULTIPLIERS

Most of us know that physical activity builds strength. Many of us also may be aware that having contact with nature improves mental focus and attention. Yet, beyond the benefits we can see and feel from these practices, multiple levels of our mind-body systems are also benefiting.

On a visible physical level, we understand how patterns of food consumption increase or decrease body size. What may be much less familiar is knowing that eating nutrient-rich foods builds strong immune systems and also improves brain function. Referring to her experience on the MIND diet, Anisa Purbasari Horton writes, “I felt more motivated to eat for my brain than my body.”

We know we feel more calm and centered when we practice meditation, but we may not know how activated our brains are at that time. Paradoxically, functional MRI scans reveal that previously inactive brain regions become highly activated when our minds are still. Known as “resting state networks,” these regions are associated with creativity, self-reflection, and personal meaning-making, and when activated they build both mental and emotional capabilities.

THE ULTIMATE MULTIPLIER EFFECT

A great deal of our healthiness stems from activities at the cellular level. The physical energy we rely on to live is generated by mitochondria—tiny oval structures located inside the human body’s thirty trillion cells. A single cell may contain 1,000 to 2,500 mitochondria organelles. Keeping our mitochondria well-nourished with nutrients from food and well-conditioned through physical activity lengthens the lifespans of multiple related systems, including the mitochondria, the cell’s DNA, and the cell itself.

When our thirty trillion cells have longer lifespans, our lifespans will be longer, too. To me, this is the ultimate multiplier effect.

GIFTS THAT KEEP ON GIVING

Like compound financial interest, a single health-building practice compounds benefits through gains at multiple levels. For example, eating nutrient-rich foods strengthens our immune system, brain function, mitochondria, and cell lifespans. Other health-building practices do the same. We can think of this as our mind-body system’s version of buy one get four free.

The bottom line is that our health-building practices have bigger payoffs than we know. Not only is there no downside to incorporating them in daily routines, but we also get automatic multipliers for every step we take.

THE MULTIPLYING EFFECT OF COMMUNITY

We can also multiply our efforts by joining with like-minded practitioners in a community. Like other advanced health-building practices, information and practical methods are hard to find, but the High Health Network makes it easy and affordable. If you or your company want connection, belonging, and other extraordinary health-building approaches, contact us to find out more.

Joyce M. Young, MD, MPH
Managing Director, Advanced Wellness Systems
Lead Expert for the High Health Network

“Understanding is like the Sun, which gives light to all the thoughts.” —Margaret Cavendish

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Your colleagues at Advanced Wellness Systems