Health
New Year, New Approach to Health and Longevity:
Fit Brain, Fit Body
ESSENTIAL Naples
By Ildi Varhelyi
WINTER 2022
18
Brain-Based Exercise and Wellness Coaching for Optimal Health and Longevity
“Training the brain is a must if we want to achieve optimal health and longevity.” —Ildi Varhelyi
O
ur inboxes, text messages, and even TV ads bring us promises of good health. But health shouldn’t be just a New Year’s resolution that gets abandoned after a few weeks. Instead, this year why not explore how health and resiliency can be achieved when we learn to harness the power that our brain plays in wellness? Take a minute and look at your body and your health. Where were you five years ago? Where are you now? And most importantly, where would you like to be in five years? Are you maintaining, are you thriving, or are you declining? Be truly honest with yourself. Making a change is never easy, but it’s the only way to get better.
What do vertigo, stiff neck, sciatica, headaches, anxiety and poor sports performance have in common? The brain! You might not realize it, but every problem we encounter in our physical, cognitive, and emotional health originates in the brain. All the health issues listed above are forms of a “glitch” in the brain and the nervous system and are the result of miscommunication and misfiring of nerve cells. When these irregularities continue to reoccur, they will physically and anatomically alter the brain structure and end up reshaping brain function as well. Scientific research shows that the brain and the body work collectively via a constant loop–feedback system using our sensory systems: sight, hearing, balance, smell, taste, and touch. All sensory
