Health is About Building Capacity

When we think about health, it’s easy to think about it in terms of what’s wrong, what hurts? What isn’t working? What do we need to fix? 

But there’s another way to think about health, What do you want to have more capacity for? Because ultimately, we don’t look after our health just for the sake of being healthy. We do it because of what our health allows us to do.

For kids, that’s growing, learning, moving, playing, connecting with their families and friends, trying new things and navigating all the demands that come with being a kid.

For adults, it might be working, exercising, keeping up with kids, being present with the people you love and still having something left in the tank for the things that make you feel like you.

And this is where the idea of building capacity becomes interesting.

Looking beyond what hurts

Of course, pain matters. If something hurts, I want to know about it. But as a chiropractor, I’m also interested in how your body is functioning.

And particularly with kids, I’m looking at the bigger picture. How are they moving? How are they coordinating their body? What happens when we challenge their balance? How is their brain receiving and responding to information from their body?

These things give me information about how the nervous system is functioning and help me determine if chiropractic care is the right type of support

Build capacity for the life you want to live 

Life is supposed to ask things of us. Kids are supposed to run, climb, learn, play, make mistakes and experience new things. Adults are supposed to have lives beyond simply getting through the week.

So when I take care of people, I don’t only think about what we might want less of. I’m interested in what we want to have more available for.

By Dr Kate Mainwaring