There is a lot more to being well than the numbers on a bathroom scale or LDL and HDL cholesterol levels might suggest. That’s what RxWellness, an event on the evening of Saturday, June 6, is geared to get people thinking about.
Four keynote speakers will present at the event, each from a different perspective. Erinne Willock, an Olympic cyclist and mother of two, will talk about physical wellness. Brad Stokes, of the Kindness Crew, who is also a leading expert on kindness in the workplace, will speak about social wellness. Dr. Lara Lauzon, a University of Victoria professor and world leader in the study of wellness, will talk about emotional wellness. And John Louie of Tla’amin (Sliammon) Nation, a gifted counsellor with a deep understanding about wellness and healing, will speak about spiritual wellness.
Additionally, three local speakers will each talk for a few minutes about their own inspirational journeys, and representatives of local non-profit organizations that contribute to wellness in the community will take part in the evening by circulating and engaging with the crowd before the event and during the intermission.
Chris Bratseth is one of the organizers and a Brooks Secondary School teacher. “This is an opportunity to learn from an amazing line-up of world-class speakers who have a depth of knowledge about health that we can all benefit from.”
RxWellness was inspired by the idea of starting a conversation in Powell River around holistic wellness, and by the desire to motivate the next generation of youth to take control of their health, said Bratseth. “My interest in wellness has come from working with youth for 15 years and seeing the great need to support the holistic well-being of the next generation. I have witnessed increasing levels of mental health issues and students challenged to connect and feel a sense of belonging.”
But the event is not just about or for youth—it’s for people of all ages in the community who are interested in preventative healthcare and well-being.
Dr. Leta Burechailo, a local family physician, is another event organizer. She said that as a parent and an educator she sees great value in identifying different dimensions of wellness in helping people to truly understand the concept of holistic health.
“Health is often defined by our healthcare system in terms of measurable things: normal blood pressure, weight within specific guidelines, cell counts on a blood test, and so on,” she said. “[These measurables can be] very useful, but it’s often challenging for patients to understand and connect to all these numbers, and to make changes to improve their ‘health’ as defined by these numbers. Wellness is more of a feeling, it’s a much richer, more personal experience. I think a wellness framework helps people understand and connect to their goals, and helps motivate them, because they see many more avenues by which they can improve their well-being.”
Getting children off to a good start is how it all begins, Burechailo added. It’s much easier and more powerful to point a child in the right direction from the get-go...It’s more difficult to find them when they’re lost, rescue them, and get them back on the right path.
“Healthy habits at an early age set in motion a predictable series of successes for kids in all the dimensions of wellness,” she continued. “And these healthy habits build on one another to create strong kids and, subsequently, healthy adults. What we might think of as healthy habits under one wellness dimension, say the dimension of physical wellness—consistent nutrition, enough quality sleep, lots of exercise, for example—can support opportunities for healthy habits that we might categorize under other wellness dimensions, for example having the energy and focus to engage in a homework assignment, join a club, or participate in church or community events.”
Tickets for RxWellness are $20 and available at Ecossentials, Breakwater Books and Brooks Secondary School. The evening will include music by Walter Martella, healthy snacks and a wellness fair with local health providers. Money raised by the event will help fund youth wellness initiatives, including providing bikes for youth in the community. For more information about the event, readers can visit the Facebook page.
