by Martin Collis, Ph.D.

I'm behind in bringing out the next edition of WELL and I think I know why. I haven't been totally well myself. I wanted to write about the success of my New Year's regimen where I get up early in the morning, stretch, meditate, write my journal and go up to the gym for a workout. But, in the words of Robbie Burns, "the best laid schemes o' mice and men go oft a-stray." (I've said that before, because they do.)

It feels less rewarding to write about health reversals than successes. (Do people like Wayne Dyer, Anthony Robbins, and Deepak Chopra ever have health problems? It doesn't seem like it to listen to them.) I've had some problems with my digestive tract in the form of acid reflux, a dull gut ache and occasional nausea; not immobilizing but frustrating (especially for Dr. Wellness). A G.I. specialist had little to offer other than making an appointment for a visual scope of my G.I. tract. The appointment is for July, six months from the time of my examination. (This reminds me of the old Russian joke about a man who sees his doctor for minor surgery.)

Doctor: "Your appointment is for 12 February, 2003."
Patient: "Morning or afternoon?"
Doctor: "Why do you need to know?"
Patient: "Oh, I've got a plumber coming in for the morning."

It does point up a problem with the Canadian Health Care System. The specialist said, "If the pain gets serious, we'll get you in immediately!" In other words, "Give us a crisis and we can respond." I often tell audiences to try not to let crisis be their teacher. There is little room and reward for prevention in the Canadian system. Remember the old poem:

Twas a dangerous cliff as they freely confessed
Though to walk near its crest was so pleasant
And over its terrible edge there had fallen
A duke and full many a peasant.
The people said something would have to be done
But their answers did not at all tally
Some said put a fence round the edge of the cliff
Some an ambulance down in the valley

Author Unknown

We spend about 93% of our health care dollars on ambulances. I could go on about the inadequacies of my appointment but it would not be very instructive.

In his book "High Level Wellness," Don Ardell noted that, "When a system does not deliver your money's worth unless you get sick, something is out of whack. It seems that in today's medical system, you can't 'win' without losing."

I suspect with better use of technicians and equipment the whole process could be much more efficient. For instance I know that there are long waiting lists for MRIs in my community, yet when one of my colleagues wanted to do some research using an MRI he found that the machine was available from 5:00PM every evening, and that for the modest cost of a technician, he could use it every night. To me it makes no sense to have long waiting lists and equipment sitting idle much of the time.

When you look at the system in action there is some degree of truth to the old adage, "Fix the sick. And to hell with the well."

Incidentally, this is not an attack on physicians but a comment on a system that rewards people for emergency procedures and provides little incentive for prevention, let alone high level wellness. I love the concept of doctors giving out green prescriptions with instructions on exercise, lifestyle, and diet, but it rarely happens.

There is a positive benefit from this experience in that I've had to turn to myself for answers. "When you want somebody to trust, trust yourself" – Bob Dylan. I noted in the first issue of WELL, "as a trouble shooting strategy, diet and exercise should top almost any checklist to find the origins of a problem or sickness."

I've paid closer attention to my diet and eliminated foods and fluids that I didn't seem to handle well, mainly coffee, chocolate, and a number of high fat foods (no great loss there). The most helpful professional I've spoken with was a speech therapist who provided some good journal articles and practical lifestyle information for managing acid reflux.

My exercise program was influenced by feeling tired and less than 100% healthy. It was Vince Lombardi that noted, "Fatigue makes cowards of us all." I've also had a rash of minor injuries, achilles tendon, knee, back, and calf muscle, but I've always been injury prone. However, for the past two weeks, I've swum regularly, am riding the exercise cycle and walking and jogging through my beloved Mystic Vale.

I've also paid attention to whether I'm dealing with life's stressors appropriately. I always perceive myself as a poster boy for a laid back type B individual, but people close to me tell me otherwise. The most stressful thing in my life in January was not feeling well. So I have the chicken and egg problem. Was stress a factor in the G.I. discomfort, or was it the other way around? I honestly don't know. What I have done is to control what I can control, I've structured my days so that I'm usually not pressured. A significant part of this is keeping my desk and office organized so that routine tasks are taken care of. I also plan my travel schedule so that I don't arrive at speaking engagements at the last minute. I am doing some specific relaxation exercises from Mike George's book, "Learn To Relax" and lastly I make time for things which bring me pleasure; friends, movies, music, and of course, books.

So that's my story for the past couple of months. I'm not where I wanted to be, but I've felt good for the past week, and I feel the learning curve is pointing upwards.

Wordsworth spoke of us all when he said "When they by tendency of nature, needs must fail." I've failed to accomplish all my goals, most noticeably stretching. I'm not as healthy as I would like which makes me like millions of other North Americans. But as Ringo noted, "You know it don't come easy."

On the positive side I've exercised almost every day, I'm paying attention to my diet and learning a lot about Buddhism and relaxation. I'm walking the talk.

NOTE: I probably shouldn't beat myself up too much about lack of stretching. As in other areas of wellness, knowledge expands and yesterday's truth become today's heresy. In the current issue of the Journal of the American College of Sports Medicine, a major Australian study by Rod Pope finds that, "There is no evidence that pre-exercise stretching reduces injury risk." He monitored 1538 male army recruits for 12 weeks, half did pre-exercise stretching, half did not. There was no significant difference in the injury rate between the two groups.

My best advice (which I should take myself) is to have an easy warm-up before exercise to increase muscle temperature and blood flow.

Do your stretching after or during your exercise (depending on what activity you are doing). Don't force the stretch, just feel a gentle pull in the muscle and hold the position for 30 seconds. Only one repetition is necessary. Remember to use rhythmic abdominal breathing, and don't bounce.

Of course, stretching is not just about injury prevention, it's about maintaining range of motion and fluid performance and this becomes more important as you get older.

I'll let you know how I do.

I intend to live forever. So far, so good.

Steven Wright