Empowering People to live their lives with Vitality on Purpose

About Dr. Mark Rowe

Dr. Mark Rowe has been a practicing family physician for over 20 years, having graduated from Medical School (UCD, Ireland) in 1991. He is the founder of the Waterford Health Park, which has become both the base for Dr. Rowe’s medical practice as well as the ‘Lifestyle Medicine Be Well Clinic’. The Healthcare Facility was a short listed finalist for World Building of the year at the World Architecture festival awards in 2010.

In 2013 , the Waterford Health Park received the Global Health Improvement Award, ‘A Place to Flourish.’ Dr. Rowe is the author of two books – ‘A Prescription for Happiness: The Ten Commitments to a Happier, Healthier Life’ and ‘The Men’s Health Book’. Mark is also a regular contributor for a number of publications including the Farmer’s Journal, where he shares his thoughts on positive health and wellbeing practices.

As a Keynote speaker, Mark regularly delivers events and workshops for organisations around the world. His TEDx talk titled ‘The Doctor of the Future: Prescribing Lifestyle as Medicine’ took place in University College Dublin in 2017. Notable engagements to date have included UCD Smurfit Executive Development, the American House of Representatives and a number of Fortune 500 companies. Mark is among the first medical professionals globally to be certified as a Diplomate of the International Board of Lifestyle Medicine. Lifestyle Medicine is defined as an evidence-based ‘lifestyle first’ approach to prevention and treatment of chronic disease. Mark has always held a strong desire to change the culture of ‘a pill for every ill’. Instead he advocates lifestyle change as the best medicine for lasting wellbeing.

Purpose & Passion

Hi there,

I’m Dr Mark Rowe, I’m a practicing Irish Doctor, Author and Vitality Expert. My website is the base from which I talk, write and post about

  • health and human potential
  • lifestyle medicine & longevity
  • happiness & burnout prevention.

The key question I’m interested in answering through my work is, ‘How can we live with more vitality?’

As an experienced family physician of a thriving practice, developed over almost three decades, I know just how priceless health is. Good health is the greatest gift there is. If you have your health, then everything is possible. Lose it and little else matters.

Experience with my patients coupled with a curious mind led me on a path to develop the VitalityMark™ and the Living with Vitality Programme™.

I was motivated to marry the teachings and traditions of the great Eastern and Western philosophical and scientific minds of the past; from Lao Tsu to Leonardo DaVinci with our own exemplary 21st Century current medical practices.

Studying the great philosophers has taught me that those ideas, habits and values have stood the test of time. These are the Foundation stones for self-improvement and timeless principles for living well. Combining this wisdom with positive psychology, allied to evidence from modern medicine, provides the Vitality Programme framework which answers the question of ‘How to live with more Vitality?’

At heart I’m a scientist, I’m won over by evidence. I value the art of human experience. Learning by doing, reflecting and repeating the cycle. From personal experience I know that making changes that stick isn’t easy. It’s hard. But having the courage to change yourself is the best starting point of all. As a doctor, for me, there is little point in advising others about a healthier lifestyle unless I am willing to walk the walk myself, to be the change that encourages others to change. Actions do speak louder than words.

Right now, there is a tsunami of people suffering from chronic health conditions from diabetes to depression. So many struggling with anxiety, or addiction to distraction. From my experience, if you’re like most people then you will know someone right now who is struggling with symptoms of negative stress or anxiety. Emotionally exhausted, even burning out. Burnout is so prevalent nowadays, perhaps as many as one in every three people are affected. Perhaps that person is you? Perhaps you feel burnt out, stressed out or simply worn out? Perhaps you have done so in the past? Perhaps your current lifestyle habits are leading you down the path to chronic disease and eventual ill health? Perhaps not moving or exercising enough? Perhaps eating the wrong foods at the wrong times? Perhaps suffering from ego depletion or short-changing your sleep. So many people simply neglect to take good enough care of themselves.

Or perhaps you are the someone who is healthy, who exercises, eats mindfully and generally is feeling good but you are quite interested in strategies to support you in optimising your energy, transforming your epigenome, and boosting your longevity.

More than anything else over my medical career to date, I’ve learned that when it comes to your health, everything is connected. That improving physical health requires you to consider

  • your mindset or mental wealth
  • your emotional contentment or degree of inner happiness
  • your relationships your spiritual wellbeing
  • the environments you live and work.

These elements are all underpinned by a strong sense of purpose, knowing that what you do and who you are really does matter. In other words, looking at the overall picture rather than simply your blood pressure or cholesterol level or mood on any given day. If you want to Live with Vitality for your own well-being or that of your organisation, stay curious and commit to exploring VitalityMark™ and Living with Vitality Programme™ with me.

What does ‘Living with Vitality’ mean?

As a practicing medical family doctor for over 25 years, more than anything else I’ve learned that when it comes to your health, everything is connected. That improving physical health requires you to consider your mindset or mental wealth, your emotional contentment or degree of inner happiness, your relationships and spiritual wellbeing in addition to the environments you live and work in. These elements are all underpinned by a strong sense of purpose, knowing that what you do and who you are really does matter. In other words, looking at the overall picture rather than simply your blood pressure or cholesterol level or mood on any given day.

  • Do you want to ‘Live with Vitality’?
  • Are you curious to learn, and to be attentive?
  • Do you want to be more self-aware and build your resilience?
  • Do you recognise that you need a more grateful heart that is open and kind?
  • Would you like to develop your emotional agility, growing a rich emotional bank account?
  • Do you crave a serene spirit, imbued with a strong sense of purpose?
  • Do you want physical wellbeing, a healthy mind and body that radiates powerful energy?

Commit to Change

Once you commit to change you will begin to reap the benefits from even small incremental positive changes. Everything is connected!

Put your Success Strategies in place

  • Know your Why? Why are you doing this?
  • Strengthen your willpower with practice.
  • Stay committed and emotionally engaged with your decision.

Commit to building a successful exercise habit

Everything is connected so Repeat, Repeat, Repeat! This will bring multiple benefits.

  • Mentally recharge and be emotionally more positive as you benefit from the brain boosting biochemical cocktail of brilliance that exercise brings.

VitalityMark™

Once you decide that you do want to ‘Live with Vitality’ it helps to know what your current level of ‘Living with Vitality’ is. By completing a VitalityMark™ survey you can measure your current level of Vitality and then benefit from bespoke activities and resources to guide you forward. VitalityMark™ has been created to measure and support you to improve your VitalityMark™ by working on closing your ‘intention gap’ – the gap between where you are today and a better version of you in the future. Close your personal intention gap by following prescribed activities resources provided to you by VitalityMark™ upon completion of your first survey.

What does ‘VitalityMark™ achieve?

  • Enhancing energy, breaking free from old habits, enabling you to think, feel and be closer to your creative best.
  • Potentially adding more years to your life as well as more life to your years.

Part of my purpose is to encourage and support you to reach more of your human potential, to simply become a better version of you in the world. I trust that is why you are here too? I don’t claim to have all the answers. Far from it, I’m far from perfect but I am committed to deepening my progress in understanding how you can live with more vitality. This is a lifelong journey of exploration for me and while there will always be more learnings to discover or rediscover, I’m more than happy to share what I’ve learned so far. Furthermore, optimal vitality as an idea is not about being perfect, simply being committed to progress. As I like to say, to never stop starting.