Ask the unstoppable 66-year-old, Dr. Leigh Erin Connealy how she remains vibrant, youthful, and vigorous, and she’ll tell you, “It takes work and discipline; it is a decision; it is a state of mind.” This family practice physician walks her wellness talk daily as the medical director of two integrative and functional medicine clinics in Irvine, California.
The core of the centers’ methodologies addresses the failure of our existing medical model. “If the medical paradigm that exists today was working,” she contends, “then why is every age group so outrageously sick?”
Statistically, she is right. Although medical advancements in treatment and diagnosis exist, killer illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and diabetes are rising. She believes that veering from the laws of nature is to blame. “We have gotten disconnected from what is natural. We will hit a wall if we don’t follow those laws.” Dr. Connealy believes motherhood opened her mind to the marvel of the human body. “I didn’t really understand the miracle we are all privileged to live in and enjoy. We take this human being/ doing for granted and must keep saying how truly honored and blessed we are to be here on this planet. We need to respect this body we have been given.”
Beyond the part we take in our own health, Dr. Connealy believes the medical profession needs to take responsibility. “There is no healthcare delivery,” she states, “because it has become pure sick care. If a patient is lucky, they see their doctor for five to seven minutes, just enough time to dispense medication.” In her practice, she chooses to deliver healthy medicine, addressing the patient’s existence, their lifestyle, the way they sleep, the water they drink, the foods they eat, and the movement they do or don’t do. She also addresses her patient’s stress, which she describes as “the extreme stress of the world, in their lives, and what they endured in their childhood.”
In the over 30 years of service to her patients and constituents, Dr. Connealy remains steadfast about prevention, wellbeing, and self-care, offering her golden jewels … the keys to longevity. “First and most important is your state of mind. Everyone has had trauma,” she states, “and you need to be working with someone to unravel the trauma in your life.” An avid believer in trauma as a trigger for disease, Dr. Connealy underwent several types of treatment to understand the process and better serve her patients. She believes our emotional/ psychological/spiritual journey is crucial for resilience. “If you are not in peace, tranquility, love, and joy,” she states, “your cells cannot care for you. This is something you need to be conscious of every single day.”
The second golden jewel is to be surrounded by like-minded people. “We heal in community and connection,” she says, “and the people we allow into our inside and outside groups need to align with us.”
Third on her list is food. “What goes in your mouth,” she contends, “is like a QR code. You must eat the right biochemical information for your cells, or your mitochondria cannot work for you.”
This is the same for water, which is next on her list, acknowledging that pharmaceuticals, parasites, bugs, and chemicals taint all drinking water. “Invest in a filtration system of some kind. Invest in your health,” she says, “because if you do not spend time, money, and energy on your wellness, you may end up spending it all on your illness.”
The fifth golden jewel is about physical activity. “You have 800 muscles that need to be moved,” she states. “Exercise increases oxygen, helps with lymphatic drainage, and brain to brain, neural growth factor. It increases muscle mass, which you need to build a strong body, so enjoy washing dishes, doing laundry, and going up and down stairs. Find every opportunity to move, move, move!”
Dr. Connealy makes the sixth jewel about our slumber, stating that fifty percent of the population doesn’t get enough sleep and restoration. “Each day starts when you go to sleep. We don’t truly understand the magic of slumber and the detoxification, repair, and regeneration process our body undergoes when we rest.” She also believes everyone has to cleanse their system every day and recommends detox baths and saunas. “Even the animal kingdom uses baths to detox. Be cognizant of the fact that over 200 chemicals have been found in the placenta, the blood, and breast milk. Even organic milk contains heavy metals and chemicals, which are terrible DNA disrupters.”
Dr. Connealy also cites electromagnetic frequencies (EMFs) as one of the most significant toxins humans are exposed to each day. “Glioblastoma, a used-to-be rare brain tumor, is now being diagnosed at record highs. We are electrical beings inundating ourselves with EMFs and radiation. How do we believe our hearts and brains can continue to function normally with all this man-made interruption?”
After covering the physical, emotional, and mental aspects on her list, she ends with the spiritual need to consistently express gratitude. “Before I get out of bed,” she says, “I do affirmations… Thank you, God, for perfect peace, harmony, and homeostasis throughout my entire body… thank you for delivering the great reveal. Thank you for putting peace, love, joy, and compassion in everyone’s heart and for bringing me patients so that they can be appropriately taken care of and guided… every day, all day long.”
Donna Martini is a wellness coach, activist, writer, and student of psychology with over 35 years of experience teaching mindfulness and healthy lifestyle practices. She is the author of several books, including The Ten Commandments of Divorce, and My Mini Book of Mighty Mantras, as well as the creator of Positive Manipulation® and MantraMouse®. Donna can be reached at donna@donnamartini.com. To view more of her writing, visit mantramouse. com and follow her on https://www.facebook. com/donna.martini.7
