Women of Pittsburgh, listen up!! There is an annual event going on in town that you MUST attend next year. Arrange a baby sitter, figure out a way to get off of work or ask your work to send the women of your department (I saw a bunch of companies that did that this year!). Dr. Vonda Wright, a local orthopedic who’s on a mission to help advance women’s health, has created an amazing event called Women’s Health Conversations. Last year I really wanted to attend, but was unable to, so this was my first year.
Women of the World, listen too!! Even if you’re not in the Pittsburgh area, you can follow along with all of Women’s Health Conversations and HOT for Health online. AND, I challenge you to look for opportunities in your neck of the woods (and online!!!!) to carry out the following tips I have. These tips are universal and should be implemented in each one of our lives!
So, what is Women’s Health Conversations?
It’s a whole day devoted to spreading information to Women about health. “We are the CEOs of our families, of work, of play… Women are key influencers at the center of every decision” – @DrVondaWright And guess what, it’s so important that we’re making healthy decisions for ourselves and our family!
Being in the midst of so many amazingly, inspiring women was exhilarating. As I sat in the sessions, all I could think was, man, I want to be up there presenting to these fabulous women. Maybe next year??
After attending this year’s event,
these are my top 5 reasons that you NEED to attend next year:
1) Health is Wealth.
It doesn’t matter how much money you have sitting in your bank account, if you don’t have your health you really don’t have anything. Of course each situation is different, but as a whole, women in this country are making the food decisions, making the cleaning products and beauty products decisions and are helping to grow our future leaders. If one by one women decided to take a proactive role in health, and choose the best quality products for our families, it would have a profound affect on this world! This wonderful day was founded in helping create conversations to get women focused on taking a proactive role and to focus on wellness.
2) Resilience is an important trait to strengthen & having a positive attitude has a ridiculously amazing effect on your entire life.
Emotions play such an important role in our health. Your body hears every thought your mind has. All the emotions we experience create chemical reactions within our body which can help or hinder us. By focusing on the positives in our lives, by using difficult times to help propel us into the future, and by learning all the lessons life offers us, we can impact our health for the better. Want to know more about how emotions affect us? Check out this past blog post.
Emotions can end up manifesting into physical symptoms! By stopping the horrible cycle of negativity, we can help promote health and wellness in our own lives. Two of the sessions I went to focused on building resilience and empowering yourself to empower others!
From the resilience session, I believe the top take always were:
– Be accountable. Successful people own their actions and you must own yours.
– Collaborate with others. We need support from one another! It truly takes a village and it’s important to make meaningful relationships in your life.
– Take initiative. If you don’t step up to the plate, who will?
– Celebrate your wins. Look at all the contributions you make – however big or small.
You have the ability to change things in your life or else you’ll get knocked over – REMEMBER THAT!!!
3) Genetics are only part of the equation.
Did you realize you hold the key to turning on and off certain genes in your body? Well you do! And to be able to use this key, you must be managing what you’re eating, what you’re exposing yourself to and what you’re thinking.
So many of us receive a chronic illness diagnosis and are told that the only way to manage it is through medications for the rest of our lives. Most of those medications allow us to participate in everyday life, but the majority of those medications aren’t helping to address the root problem or cause. We need to have the information to make educated choices on what foods to feed ourselves and our families. We need to understand how emotions play a key role in our health and healing. And we need to understand all the environmental triggers we’re exposed to on a daily basis. The different sessions that WHC held during the day hit upon all these topics! We need to be eating REAL food, avoiding toxins and focusing on wellness.
Jen Groover presented the empowering to empower session and I loved an equation that she show:
“The choices we make change our brains.” @DrVondaWright
4) There is so much health information out there, which can you trust?
If you walk down the health and wellness section of Barnes & Nobles, you’ll be inundated with 97 different diet books all claiming to be the solution, 48 different exercise plans to follow to get you that 6 pack and 83 resources on how to restore your health. How do you know which to choose? By empowering yourself with knowledge, you’ll be more apt to navigate the healthcare landscape out there! The wonderful break out sessions of WHC provided opportunities to learn from leading experts, to interact with women just like you and to start peaking your interest in new subjects. (Side note: If you do want to know the “perfect diet” check out this post!)
My favorite part of the day was when we were given the opportunity to sit and chat with different doctors from different disciplines in the health field. It’s not often that you have the chance to sit down and have a full on discussion about health with a doctor. You usually only get 7 minutes!!! Attending events like WHC gives you the chance to start to hear all sides of the story and allows you then to choose and implement what works before for you. Dr. Vonda diligently worked to curate the best of the best to speak to the Women of Pittsburgh. Events like these open you up to a world of opportunity. It’s giving women a platform to ask questions, try new things – truly get the dialogue going.
The foundation of my health coaching practice is that you truly know exactly what you need to heal yourself. I just help coach it out of you! Events like these offer another level of that coaching too. It gives you the ability to immerse yourself in knowledge that you didn’t know before, bounce ideas off of other women who are in the same boat as you and learn more about yourself than you knew before! The conference is so perfectly named!
“We all have an internal compass that we need to stop & listen to!” – @KDMarieMD
5) Being an advocate for your own health is ESSENTIAL!
Whenever people ask me for advice, my biggest tip is to be your own health advocate. In fact, I’m so passionate about it I go around speaking at conferences about why it’s SO IMPORTANT!! If you’re not advocating for your health (or your family’s health), who will be?
It’s so important to arm yourself with as much knowledge and information as you can. Empower yourself to make the best possible decisions you can and build a support system around you that you can rely on. Even though we may be super women, we still need to have support and help to lean on. With our current healthcare landscape, you will get lost in the shuffle if you don’t stay on top of your health. It’s important to realize that the relationship between you and your health care practitioners needs to be one of a partnership. Go in your appointments with a plan and lots of questions, don’t be afraid to speak up and make suggestions, if something doesn’t feel right question it!
Be aggressive in pursuing your healthcare!
Empower yourself!
You must be relentless.
YOU are the expert of your own body.
Women’s Health Conversations was an amazing day for me! It’s so important to get out there and learn about Women’s health. If you’re not in the Pittsburgh area, start asking around to see if there is an event like this in your area. And if not, take the initiative to start to learn on your own and start discussions with your family and friends.
Now is the time to focus on the health of yourself and your family. Taking care of yourself is the LEAST selfish thing that you can do. When you spend time taking care of you, then you’re able to fully be present for everyone else in your life. Make yourself a priority today and everyday.
“YOU are a powerful force in your own health!!” –@DrVondaWright
Wishing You A Pain Free Day!
