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The Be Well Now Method™️

 The whole-person approach to exercise that eliminates the barriers of pain, stress and motivation

There is great hope in the overwhelming scientific evidence that a healthy lifestyle of exercising regularly, eating healthy, and managing stress prevents disease and extends life.  

 

The fact that the vast majority of people struggle with making these a habit, begs us to ask, what is missing?  

​"We cannot solve our problems with the same thinking we used when we created them" Albert Einstein

 

The Be Well Now Method™️ is the simple, triple science-based solution to transforming exercise into a sustainable habit that supports whole-person health.

The Exercising Stress Mindset

The word exercise means "to practice".  Our cultural messages about exercise, whether one is exercising or not, have made exercise a practice of using stress states to motivate, perpetuating chronic stress.

exercising distracted

Distraction

The "Flee" State of Stress

Promoting future benefits and risks of diseases uses stress as a motivator.  The mindset is to 'get it over with', practicing distracting the brain from the body.

'Get to a goal' mindset 

 
exercising stress

Distrust

The "Flight" State of Stress
'Motivate me' mindset

The overreliance on external motivators such as the scale, trainers, and steps reduces trust in one's spirit level, passion-driven intrinsic motivation. 

exercising pain

Discomfort

The "Freeze" State of Stress
'More is better' mindset

Misinformation about caloric expenditure and the influence of the athletic mindset promotes ignoring pain and fatigue, to get 'results'.    

The Hingepoint of Health

The Hinge Point of Health Stress to Well

Stress is the state in which the body is ready to move to fight, flee, or freeze against a threat.  Movement is essential to get back to the opposite state of being well. 

Without movement science, exercising or moving is a cause, rather than a cure for stress.  The cure for chronic stress is moving well with mindful, science-based movement. 

How to Be Well Now

The Solution. Simplified through Synergy of Sciences

The Be Well Now Method™️ seamlessly blends three sciences to restore the healthy connection between the body, brain, and spirit.  Exercise is transformed into a resource for sustainable health especially when life gets stressful!

Movement Science

 

provide a guide to move the way the body is designed so exercise feels good from day one.

Mindfulness "You Science"

 

provide access to the personalized internal guide that turns healthy habits into sustainable whole-person health.

Motivation Science

 

and other evidence based models provide strategies that restore confidence in ones ability to be self-motivated

Redefining Exercise

Moving for whole-person self-care

Physical activity is all movement. Most are tasks, done to take care of someone or something else. Exercise is moving to take care of yourself. The Be Well Now Method embodies this mindset and that changes everything!

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The New Exercise Mindset

The Be Well Now Method™️ uses exercise to treat the root cause of challenges with being healthy

The Be Well Now Method™

The 3 step solution to sustainable whole-person health

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This method is unique because it is EMBODIED.  

Knowing what to do is not enough because mindsets and habits are changed by what the body tells the brain.  The three steps described below realign the body, brain, and spirit to work together to turn information into sustainable habits. 

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Step 1: Be

To be healthy, one must first learn how to 'be'. This allows one to restore energy by knowing how to rest well. However, the 'get to a goal' mindset and 'disease risk' discussions use stress as a motivator, making the body something to fear or work against. This first step of the Be Well Now Method integrates evidence from

  • mindfulness

  • self-compassion

  • mindset

  • mind/body connection

  • biomechanics, and

  • physiology

to embody presence from the moment one thinks about exercising. 

Step 2: Well

Well is the physiological state where energy goes into healing, growing, and learning. Stress is the opposing state where your brain is focused on a threat and your body is ready to move.  Motivation that is fueled by this reactive state does not last so it does not support lasting healthy habits.​  The second step of the Be Well Now Method integrates:

  • self-efficacy

  • motivational interviewing

  • appreciative inquiry

  • positive psychology

  • transtheoretical model

  • physiology

  • gut-brain axis

  • heart-brain research, and

  • kinesiology

This ensures motivation is fueled by intrinsic sources and the whole person is ready to move in the Well State. 

Step 3: Now

Exercise takes on a whole new meaning when it starts with this embodied foundation of presence, kindness, and trust in one's internal source of information and motivation.  However,  the 'more is better' messaging can cause one to still push through pain and fatigue to 'see results', and your body tells your survival brain to avoid exercising. ​ The third step of The Be Well Now method applies

  • biomechanics

  • physiology

  • clinical exercise physiology

  • kinesiology

  • neuroscience and

  • pain science 

This ensures exercising feels like self-care right away.  By mindfully using templates to do enough exercise for mobility, strength, and stamina, exercise becomes a resource to Be Well Now even when life is stressful.  

Exercise that supports eating healthy and managing stress

The Big Three for being healthy often work against each other.  This whole person method reconnects them so exercising reduces emotional eating, chronic pain and chronic stress.  The result is greater ease with all health habits

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The Big Three Health Habits

Are you a Health Care Professional?

Give your clients the Start Well advantage

Wouldn't it be great to have a clinical exercise physiologist and health coach right in your practice? To feel confident your clients are getting evidence-based advice that translates into lasting exercise habits? 

 

Now you can, with Exercising Well! 

™️References for the Be Well Now Method 

The Be Step

Mindfulness. Self-compassion. Mindset. Biomechanics. Physiology

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  • Crum, A. J., & Langer, E. J. (2007). Mind-Set Matters: Exercise and the Placebo Effect. Psychological Science, 18(2), 165–171.

  • Zahrt OH, Crum AJ. Perceived physical activity and mortality: Evidence from three nationally representative U.S. samples. Health Psychol. 2017 Nov;36(11):1017-1025. 

  • Pascoe MC, Thompson DR, Jenkins ZM, Ski CF. Mindfulness mediates the physiological markers of stress: Systematic review and meta-analysis. J Psychiatr Res. 2017 Dec;95:156-178.

  • Schuman-Olivier Z, Trombka M, Lovas DA, Brewer JA, Vago DR, Gawande R, Dunne JP, Lazar SW, Loucks EB, Fulwiler C. Mindfulness and Behavior Change. Harv Rev Psychiatry. 2020 Nov/Dec;28(6):371-394. 

  • Bowman, K. (2017). Move Your DNA: Restore Your Health Through Natural Movement Expanded Edition (2nd ed.). Propriometrics Press.

  • Seppälä EM, Bradley C, Moeller J, Harouni L, Nandamudi D, Brackett MA. Promoting Mental Health and Psychological Thriving in University Students: A Randomized Controlled Trial of Three Well-Being Interventions. Front Psychiatry. 2020 Jul 15;11:590. 

  • Ludwig, V. U., Brown, K. W., & Brewer, J. A. (2020). Self-Regulation Without Force: Can Awareness Leverage Reward to Drive Behavior Change? Perspectives on Psychological Science, 15(6), 1382–1399.

  • Kleis RR, Hoch MC, Hogg-Graham R, Hoch JM. The Effectiveness of the Transtheoretical Model to Improve Physical Activity in Healthy Adults: A Systematic Review. J Phys Act Health. 2021 Jan 1;18(1):94-108. 

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The Well Step

Self-efficacy. Motivational Interviewing. Appreciative Inquiry. Positive psychology. Transtheoretical Model. 
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  • Aggarwal M, Ornish D, Josephson R, Brown TM, Ostfeld RJ, Gordon N, Madan S, Allen K, Khetan A, Mahmoud A, Freeman AM, Aspry K. Closing Gaps in Lifestyle Adherence for Secondary Prevention of Coronary Heart Disease. Am J Cardiol. 2021 Apr 15;145:1-11. 

  • Morris LS, Grehl MM, Rutter SB, Mehta M, Westwater ML. On what motivates us: a detailed review of intrinsic v. extrinsic motivation. Psychol Med. 2022 Jul;52(10):1801-1816. 

  • Lee W, Reeve J, Xue Y, Xiong J. Neural differences between intrinsic reasons for doing versus extrinsic reasons for doing: an fMRI study. Neurosci Res. 2012 May;73(1):68-72. 

  • Turner, AR, Reed, SM.. Intrinsic Motivation in Exercise: A Concept Analysis. Nurs Forum. 2022; 57: 136- 143.

  • A. Wasserkampf, M. N. Silva, I. C. Santos, E. V. Carraça, J. J. M. Meis, S. P. J. Kremers, P. J. Teixeira, Short- and long-term theory-based predictors of physical activity in women who participated in a weight-management program, Health Education Research, Volume 29, Issue 6, December 2014, Pages 941–952,

  • Hill, P.L., Burrow, A.L. & Bronk, K.C. Persevering with Positivity and Purpose: An Examination of Purpose Commitment and Positive Affect as Predictors of Grit. J Happiness Stud 17, 257–269 (2016).

  • Ahmed Jerôme Romain, Catherine Bortolon, Mathieu Gourlan, Marion Carayol, Emmanuelle Decker, Olivier Lareyre, Grégory Ninot, Julie Boiché, Paquito Bernard, Matched or nonmatched interventions based on the transtheoretical model to promote physical activity. A meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, Journal of Sport and Health Science, Volume 7, Issue 1, 2018, Pages 50-57,

  • Okada, Tomoko; Huxel, Kellie C; Nesser, Thomas W. Relationship Between Core Stability, Functional Movement, and Performance. Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research 25(1):p 252-261, January 2011. | DOI: 10.1519/JSC.0b013e3181b22b3e 

  • Komal, S & Siddhi, V & S, Anandh. (2021). Correlation between Core Strength and Stability with Body Mass Index among Postmenopausal Women.. International Journal of pharma and Bio Sciences. 11. 10.22376/ijpbs/lpr.2021.11.4.L23-28. 

  • Kara G. Margolis, John F. Cryan, Emeran A. Mayer, The Microbiota-Gut-Brain Axis: From Motility to Mood, Gastroenterology, Volume 160, Issue 5, 2021, Pages 1486-1501, ISSN 0016-5085,

  • Brewer J. Unwinding Anxiety : New Science Shows How to Break the Cycles of Worry and Fear to Heal Your Mind. New York: Avery an imprint of Penguin Random House; 2021.

  • Seligman, M. E. P., Steen, T. A., Park, N., & Peterson, C. (2005). Positive Psychology Progress: Empirical Validation of Interventions. American Psychologist, 60(5), 410–421.

  • Moore SM, Charvat J. Promoting health behavior change using appreciative inquiry: moving from deficit models to affirmation models of care. Fam Community Health. 2007 Jan-Mar;30(1 Suppl):S64-74. 

  • Nikos Ntoumanis, Johan Y.Y. Ng, Andrew Prestwich, Eleanor Quested, Jennie E. Hancox, Cecilie Thøgersen-Ntoumani, Edward L. Deci, Richard M. Ryan, Chris Lonsdale & Geoffrey C. Williams (2021) A meta-analysis of self-determination theory-informed intervention studies in the health domain: effects on motivation, health behavior, physical, and psychological health, Health Psychology Review, 15:2, 214-244,

  • Rick Hanson, Shauna Shapiro, Emma Hutton-Thamm, Michael R. Hagerty & Kevin P. Sullivan (2023) Learning to learn from positive experiences, The Journal of Positive Psychology, 18:1, 142-153,

  • Pirson, Michael and Langer, Ellen J. and Bodner, Todd E. and Zilcha, Sigal, The Development and Validation of the Langer Mindfulness Scale - Enabling a Socio-Cognitive Perspective of Mindfulness in Organizational Contexts (October 8, 2012). Fordham University Schools of Business Research Paper, 

  • Silvio Maltagliati, Philippe Sarrazin, Layan Fessler, Maël Lebreton, Boris Cheval, Why people should run after positive affective experiences instead of health benefits, Journal of Sport and Health Science, 2022,

 

The Now Step

Biomechanics. Physiology. Clinical Exercise Physiology. Kinesiology. Pain science.
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  • Octavia H. Zahrt, Alia J. Crum, Effects of physical activity recommendations on mindset, behavior and perceived health, Preventive Medicine Reports, Volume 17, 2020

  • Betancourt-Núñez A, Torres-Castillo N, Martínez-López E, De Loera-Rodríguez CO, Durán-Barajas E, Márquez-Sandoval F, Bernal-Orozco MF, Garaulet M, Vizmanos B. Emotional Eating and Dietary Patterns: Reflecting Food Choices in People with and without Abdominal Obesity. Nutrients. 2022 Mar 25;14(7):1371. 

  • Dasso NA. How is exercise different from physical activity? A concept analysis. Nurs Forum. 2019 Jan;54(1):45-52. 

  • McArdle WD Katch FI Katch VL. Exercise Physiology: Nutrition Energy and Human Performance. Eighth ed. Philadelphia: Wolters Kluwer; 2015.

  • Ashdown-Franks G, Firth J, Carney R, Carvalho AF, Hallgren M, Koyanagi A, Rosenbaum S, Schuch FB, Smith L, Solmi M, Vancampfort D, Stubbs B. Exercise as Medicine for Mental and Substance Use Disorders: A Meta-review of the Benefits for Neuropsychiatric and Cognitive Outcomes. Sports Med. 2020 Jan;50(1):151-170.

  • Di Liegro CM, Schiera G, Proia P, Di Liegro I. Physical Activity and Brain Health. Genes (Basel). 2019 Sep 17;10(9):720. 

  • Booth FW, Gordon SE, Carlson CJ, Hamilton MT. Waging war on modern chronic diseases: primary prevention through exercise biology. J Appl Physiol (1985). 2000 Feb;88(2):774-87. 

  • Chen Y, Almirall-Sánchez A, Mockler D, Adrion E, Domínguez-Vivero C, Romero-Ortuño R. Hospital-associated deconditioning: Not only physical, but also cognitive. Int J Geriatr Psychiatry. 2022 Feb 2;37(3):10.1002/gps.5687. 

  • Panagioti M, Khan K, Keers R N, Abuzour A, Phipps D, Kontopantelis E et al. Prevalence, severity, and nature of preventable patient harm across medical care settings: systematic review and meta-analysis BMJ 2019; 366 :l4185 

  • Fedarko NS. The biology of aging and frailty. Clin Geriatr Med. 2011 Feb;27(1):27-37. 

  • Walston JD. Sarcopenia in older adults. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2012 Nov;24(6):623-7. 

  • Santy-Tomlinson J. The musculoskeletal implications of deconditioning in older adults during and following COVID-19. Int J Orthop Trauma Nurs. 2021 Jul;42:100882. 

  • Emiel O Hoogendijk, Jonathan Afilalo, Kristine E Ensrud, Paul Kowal, Graziano Onder, Linda P Fried, Frailty: implications for clinical practice and public health, The Lancet, Volume 394, Issue 10206, 2019, Pages 1365-1375,

  • Travers J, Romero-Ortuno R, Bailey J, Cooney MT. Delaying and reversing frailty: a systematic review of primary care interventions. Br J Gen Pract. 2019 Jan;69(678):e61-e69. 

  • Crofford LJ. Chronic Pain: Where the Body Meets the Brain. Trans Am Clin Climatol Assoc. 2015;126:167-83. 

  • Bray NW, Smart RR, Jakobi JM, Jones GR. Exercise prescription to reverse frailty. Appl Physiol Nutr Metab. 2016 Oct;41(10):1112-1116. 

  • Schoenfeld, Brad J. MSc, CSCS, CSPS1; Contreras, Bret MA, CSCS2. Is Postexercise Muscle Soreness a Valid Indicator of Muscular Adaptations?. Strength and Conditioning Journal 35(5):p 16-21, October 2013. 

  • Walston JD. Sarcopenia in older adults. Curr Opin Rheumatol. 2012 Nov;24(6):623-7. 

  • Miller WR, Rollnick S. Meeting in the middle: motivational interviewing and self-determination theory. Int J Behav Nutr Phys Act. 2012 Mar 2;9:25.

  • Weyland S, Finne E, Krell-Roesch J, Jekauc D. (How) Does Affect Influence the Formation of Habits in Exercise? Front Psychol. 2020 Oct 23;11:578108. 

  • Santy-Tomlinson J. The musculoskeletal implications of deconditioning in older adults during and following COVID-19. Int J Orthop Trauma Nurs. 2021 Jul;42:100882. 

  • Pontzer H, Durazo-Arvizu R, Dugas LR, Plange-Rhule J, Bovet P, Forrester TE, Lambert EV, Cooper RS, Schoeller DA, Luke A. Constrained Total Energy Expenditure and Metabolic Adaptation to Physical Activity in Adult Humans. Curr Biol. 2016 Feb 8;26(3):410-7. 

  • Helene M. Langevin, Connective tissue: A body-wide signaling network?, Medical Hypotheses, Volume 66, Issue 6, 2006, Pages 1074-1077,

  • Król, M.; Kupnicka, P.; Bosiacki, M.; Chlubek, D. Mechanisms Underlying Anti-Inflammatory and Anti-Cancer Properties of Stretching—A Review. Int. J. Mol. Sci. 2022, 23, 10127.

  • Bordoni B, Marelli F. [Emotions in Motion: Myofascial Interoception]. Complement Med Res. 2017;24(2):110-113. German. 

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