Page 37 - Life In Naples Magazine December 2014 Edition
P. 37
Reaching & Maintaining


Optimal Health through Generations



by Gaynell Anderson
PT, CSCS, CMPT
D uring this time of healthcare chaos where the prominence of cardiac disease, cancer, diabetes, among

many; and declining health in general prevail, we must step back and rethink how we care for ourselves.
How active are we, or should we be, in our own healthcare? How can we improve our overall health by
taking preventive measures and learn how best to care for ourselves physically, so we do not become the
norm - living longer lives but with such poor quality we are unable to enjoy our “golden” retirement years?
At the inaugural women’s wellness conference, “Food, Fitness, and Finance”, the mission was to empower women
with knowledge, providing motivation towards becoming proactive in reaching and maintaining optimal health. My
discussion, as a physical therapist and specialist in the musculoskeletal system, praised the complex design of how
our body works and its inherent strength and built-in healing and wellness mechanisms. Albeit the complexity of
our body’s design, the ways we can encourage these self-healing mechanisms is undeniably simple! If we eat foods
that are natural and biologically familiar to our body and if we utilize our muscles fully to pump these nutrients
throughout our systems, we give our body the tools it needs to produce new cells, dispose of old cells and waste,
and thrive optimally. Our body gives us constant signals of communication regarding threats to thriving optimally.
Physically, our posture is one of the clearest signs of how our musculoskeletal system is working and
where there may be areas of imbalance or threats to a healthy physical being.
This year’s conference, under a new name, “Aging Gracefully”, hopes to integrate the
knowledge between generations of women. Sharing the traditions of holistic and natural
treatments of the elders with the technical knowledge and capabilities of the younger is the
underlying theme. My discussion will touch on stress and how it can actually help us to grow
and thrive by how we respond to it. All lectures will focus on the physical and financial
dimensions of wellness and specialty information booths from independent local businesses
will focus on the social, emotional, leisure, intellectual, and spiritual dimensions of wellness.
By holding this event on Mother’s Day weekend (May 9, 2015), we hope to provide a
plethora of knowledge and introspection of the power of generational expertise among women
of all ages. This will be an event no woman will want to miss!






























Gaynell Anderson is the owner of Absolute Physical Therapy of Southwest Florida and is a licensed
Physical Therapist, Certiied Strength and Conditioning Specialist, and a Certiied Manual Physical
Therapist with over 27 years of experience.
www.absoluteptswl.com
   32   33   34   35   36   37   38   39   40   41   42