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The Couples Guide to Wellness

Have you ever seen those couples that workout together in the gym and look so happy while breaking a sweat? Or have you ever been driving to work and seen that same couple running or biking down the road together? Heck they even dress alike.

You may have even seen them shopping together in the supermarket comparing labels and having fun while doing it. The great news is you can be one of those couples!!

Living a wellness lifestyle can be easy for couple. The key is to find what level of comfort your mate has with fitness, exercise and nutrition. If you were a marathon runner and your mate decided they wanted to start running with you for the first time in their life you certainly wouldn’t push them to do a 10 k with you on the first run. Discuss common goals that you can both easily attain. You want this to be a partnership for the future. Once you are both onboard with a common goal, the journey will be easy and all fun.

Living a lifestyle of wellness can be easy once both parties are committed to it.

Speaking from a husband’s standpoint, “I find when both my wife and I agree on common ground then reaching the goal is easy. I came into our relationship the fitness and nutrition expert. Carol Ann came into our relationship the wellness expert. When we combined both our belief systems it was a match made in heaven. This was the perfect case scenario I described before. I came into our relationship as a competitive Tri and Bi athlete. Carol Ann was your average recreational exerciser. Being a competitive person by nature, she tried jumping into my normal routine of working out 1 _ to 2 hours a day. This was a recipe for disaster. After sitting down and having a discussion of what our goal as a couple should be in wellness, than the expectation of having to compete with me went away.”

Speaking from a wife’s standpoint, “I found myself all of a sudden in a world unfamiliar to me. Practicing wellness in the definition I knew it to be, from a Chiropractor’s standpoint was always one that I related to. Here I was a saving lives my entire life through chiropractic and never really understood how everything I did complemented everything that Doug did. It was such a natural fit. After all how could I possibly preach to my patients about wellness if I didn’t practice the entire lifestyle as well. The great thing about this is, it was a great education. Cooking now became fun and easy. Food shopping became a game. Reading labels took on a whole new meaning when Doug explained the differences in ingredients. I also never new just how much food manufactures were allowed to get away with in regard to labels.

I find doing this as a couple has added to our relationship. We now do yoga together. We have explored many different styles of exercise that we probably would not have explored if we weren’t together. You really take the other persons needs and wants into consideration. You sort of take care of one another through the journey.

We have seen many couples grow apart because either one or the other did or didn’t believe in wellness. Trying different philosophies such as meditation, acupuncture, yoga, aromatherapy and massage therapy just adds so much more to your relationship. It also adds an amazing amount of value to your vacations. You now look for places that offer all these things. Now weather isn’t the primary reason you choose a place to go to however what services they offer also plays a large part in the decision.

The wonderful thing about doing this together is that you literally have an in house support system and coach. On the days you don’t feel like doing anything your partner encourages and motivates you. You have someone there to help with the menu planning. Your significant other now becomes your training partner. You both begin on a path towards optimal health and well being.”

The future benefits far outweigh the present ones. Immediate gratification is certainly a trap we all fall into however the benefits your body and mind will reap from this type of lifestyle will be invaluable.

If you have children or pets they also will benefit from this type of lifestyle. We have a white German Shepard named Dakota who is 10 going on 2. He also lives our type of lifestyle. As silly as that might sound he does. All his food is organic. He receives massages and exercises on a regular basis. Believe me Jack La Lane has nothing over on our family.

The bottom line is simple. Develop a plan together and implement it together. A little focus and discipline will give you a lifetime of health and happiness.