Have you ever noticed that most people only make a lifestyle change after a warning sign appears — a diagnosis, a pain, or the feeling that something is “off”? It’s almost as if the body has to shout before we finally stop and listen.
In our modern world, we’ve been taught to look for symptoms rather than signals. The medical model has shaped our thinking to wait until something is wrong before we seek help. But in that waiting, we miss the quieter, more subtle communications that tell us where our energy is blocked or where we’ve lost connection with ourselves.
In Episode 2 of the Be Well Podcast — “Body Maintenance: Living Wellness”, I sit down once again with Dr. Kate Montgomery, ND, and Dr. Denise Cambiotti, DHC of Muscle Tuners International, to explore how we can shift from reacting to imbalance to living in ongoing awareness and energetic flow.
🌀 Why We Wait
We wait because we’ve been conditioned to separate the physical body from the emotional and energetic self. When we’re tired, we push through. When we feel discomfort, we reach for a quick fix. When we sense that something is wrong, we hope it will simply pass.
And sometimes it does — for a while.
But the habits that create imbalance are deeply ingrained. They serve emotional purposes as well as physical ones: comfort, distraction, identity, or even belonging. The late-night snack, the skipped walk, the overloaded calendar — these patterns fill a space. Changing them requires more than willpower; it requires awareness and compassion for why we developed them in the first place.
When the body finally sends a louder message — pain, fatigue, brain fog, digestive distress — it’s often been whispering for months or years. Those whispers were the body’s request for attention, not punishment. The shift to wellness begins the moment we choose to listen.
🌿 The Illusion of “Starting Over”
When people decide to “get healthy,” they often think they’re starting from scratch — a new diet, a new exercise routine, a new mindset. But wellness isn’t something we start or stop. It’s something we return to, moment by moment.
Just like the breath, wellness is cyclical — inhale, exhale; rest, rise; release, renew.
The key to living wellness isn’t about striving for perfection. It’s about maintenance — gently supporting the systems that already know how to function in balance. Bioenergetic wellness reminds us that our body is intelligent. It knows how to heal. What it needs most is our consistent partnership.
When we use simple energy balancing techniques, we remind our body how to flow. We begin to sense tension before it becomes pain, fatigue before it becomes burnout, and emotional unrest before it turns into anxiety. These subtle corrections keep us aligned, resilient, and open to joy.
💫 Rituals, Not Routines
A routine is something we have to do.
A ritual is something we choose to do with intention.
In Body Maintenance: Living Wellness, we shared a tea ritual with Playtime Tea — a blend of hazelnut chocolate, peppermint, and apple blossoms. The aroma alone brings playfulness and clarity, reminding us that joy and care can coexist.
When we turn our habits into rituals, we transform the energy behind them. Drinking tea becomes a moment to breathe and reconnect. Stretching becomes a conversation with our body. Breathing becomes a release of tension. Even washing our hands can become a mindful act of renewal.
Wellness lives in those small moments — the pauses between doing. That’s where we meet ourselves most truthfully.
🌸 Choosing and Staying in Wellness
So how do we stay there?
The truth is, balance is never static. The work of wellness is not to hold still but to remain in motion with awareness. Some days, we fall back into old patterns — and that’s okay. The power lies in noticing and returning.
To choose wellness daily:
- Start small. Choose one ritual that brings you peace — a cup of tea, a breath, a stretch — and make it non-negotiable.
- Acknowledge your wins. Every moment of awareness is a success, not a failure.
- Check your energy. Notice your mood, your posture, your breath. Where are you holding tension? Where can you let go?
- Surround yourself with support. Community and conversation reinforce intention. Share your journey.
- Stay curious. Instead of asking, “What’s wrong?” ask, “What’s my body trying to teach me?”
When we build these patterns, we create a foundation that supports every system of the body — physical, emotional, mental, and spiritual. Over time, these choices become who we are.
🌞 Living Wellness Every Day
Wellness is not a project or a destination — it’s a practice of being in relationship with your energy and your choices. It’s listening before the whisper becomes a shout.
As you move through your day, consider: what would it feel like to live wellness — to treat your energy, your habits, and your time as sacred?
The answer begins with one conscious breath, one sip of tea, one gentle moment of awareness. That’s where transformation lives.
As always, please check out the offerings at the Greenwell Center. In our calendar is the Tai Chi Cape Breton regular in-person classes. Wine Country Tai Chi Society in West Kelowna, BC offers in-person classes from West Kelowna to Peachland. Our online classes offer weekly Movement with Music sessions for optimizing a wellness formula, as well as workshops, trainings and more. Support is right at your fingertips for learning and growing with wellness at the forefront.