Byline: SARAH STACEY
Forget about a new romance or handbag; what most women - and men - really, really want is more energy. According to integrated medicine consultant Dr Rosy Daniel, 70 per cent of us feel 'tired all the time'.
But the cheering news is that, through simple lifestyle shifts outlined in Dr Daniel's proactive Health Creation Programme, we can have all the energy we need - and give ourselves the best chance of preventing and/or treating illness.
Formerly medical director of Bristol Cancer Help Centre, Dr Daniel originally developed this concept of 'health coaching' for people diagnosed with cancer. Now it's available to everyone, including businesses. You assess yourself via a 12-part Picture of Health self-assessment chart ([pounds sterling]10, with free p&p), Tiffany Necklace covering every aspect of your life including diet, stress, relationships and energy levels.
You then have the option of buying telephone sessions with a mentor for three to six months ([pounds sterling]45 an hour, with an average of one hour a month) to support you through the process of change.
One pilot study took place at the Cromwell Hospital in London. Samina Aswan, 28, senior treatment and information radiotherapy radiographer, found the experience life-changing. 'From your chart, you can immediately identify the unbalanced areas of your life.
You then work with your mentor to identify goals that can bring them into balance. Every person in my group had really depleted energy levels.' Samina admits to having been in a black hole of apathy, anxiety and lack of drive when she started Health Creation. 'I was stuck. I'd done a short motivational training course - where I walked on fire and karate-chopped a block of wood - but I couldn't achieve what I wanted in life. I could feel the edges of depression gnawing at me.' The combination of a gentle push and - crucially - sustained support from her mentor brought Samina's 'black-hole' stress levels down within eight weeks. 'Just having someone to talk to and feeling in control helped enormously.' Her goals included more exercise: 'Getting off two tube stops earlier and walking for 40 minutes daily, plus yoga three mornings a week.' The payoff included treats: 'If I exercised for a month, I rewarded myself with a facial.' By the end of the programme, Samina's energy levels had gone from 20 per cent to around 85 per cent. On average with the Cromwell study, energy levels improved by 40 per cent, and stress decreased by 30 per cent.
Stainless Steel EarringsPublishing consultant Amanda Seyderhelm, 45, who did the course when she was diagnosed with ovarian cancer in 2002, says: 'Health Creation was instrumental in my recovery and I still use it. It enabled me to move away from thinking in terms of my disease to committing to vitality and wellbeing: literally creating my own health.' For more information on Health Creation, call 0845 009 3366 (). Health Creation will be at the Vitality Show 2006, Olympia, London, from 30 March to 2 April. NB: for YOU readers advance tickets, until 28 March, are just [pounds sterling]10 (normal price is [pounds sterling]13 or [pounds sterling]16 on the door). Call the hotline on 0870 220 4545, quoting YOU. For details about the event, visit
Our marathon man Hats off to
YOU deputy production editor Trevor Dorrell who is running the Flora London Marathon 2006 (26 miles 385
embroidered patches yards) on 23 April in aid of the charity Sense (), which supports children and adults with deafbl
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