Dr. Mark Rowe works with you to create a bespoke message for your people, depending on the organisations recognised needs. Using the medium of story, Mark takes his audience through a series of interactive, engaging and thought-provoking topics that challenge people to appraise how they are showing up in life.
Dr Rowe’s keynotes are high energy and high impact, comprising of leading-edge science and medicine; psychological and physiological techniques, stories and exercises which can unlock individuals’ prescription for selfcare and more vitality.
© Copyright Dr Mark Rowe October 2023
Reflection and lived experience as a family doctor have led me beyond wellbeing to the concept of vitality. Looking back to embrace the Eastern wisdom of the TaoTeChing and timeless truths of philosophy. Looking forward at new understandings from Western science of optimal health, wellbeing and vitality. From the West, the term vitality emanates from the Roman word ‘vita’ or life. It implies a feeling of aliveness and alertness, closely correlated with happiness and wellbeing. From the East, the Indian notion of Prana, the Chinese concept of Chi and the Japanese idea of Ki, all refer to vitality as a life force that flows through all living things. ‘Live with Vitality’ uses latest evidence from medical science, along with insights from psychology and philosophy to support what Dr. Mark Rowe calls the ‘golden rule of self- care’. To live with vitality is to have positive emotional energy, radiant physical health, a resilient mind, with a powerful sense of purpose and meaning. Understanding that the various elements of your vitality are deeply interconnected. Live with Vitality is an opportunity to press the pause button and become more present, with a heightened sense of awareness and clarity. By embracing ‘learning by doing’ ‘Live with Vitality’ supports you to make practical positive changes that stick, and become more of an active participant in your own wellbeing rather than a passive consumer of healthcare.
Lifestyle Medicine is defined as an evidence-based ‘lifestyle first’ approach to prevention and treatment of chronic disease. According to the World Health Organisation, two-thirds of all disease worldwide will soon be the result of lifestyle choices. Currently the leading causes of death in the United States are lifestyle related : poor diet, lack of exercise, obesity, tobacco use and overconsumption of alcohol. There exists a tsunami of largely lifestyle related chronic health conditions from diabetes to coronary heart disease and countless others as well as an epidemic of anxiety and mental health conditions. Furthermore, while modern medicine in the right place at the right time is invaluable, the simple truth is that ‘pill-only’ solutions will take us only so far and will not stem the tide.
The World Health Organisation put it well many years ago when they said that health is a state of complete physical, mental and relational wellbeing, not simply the absense of disease. Your physical health, psychological fitness, emotional wellbeing and relationships are all interconnected to your sense of purpose and the environments you spend your time in.
Dr Rowe speaks to this topic delivering clinical insights, inspiring motivation for personal development.
‘You have power over your mind – not outside events. Realize this, and you will find strength.’
In recent times the world as we know it has changed. Covid-19 has not only brought change but a sense of loss – of normality, of diminished human connection, of the little things. In its wake, fear, additional stress and feelings of anxiety for many. Whether due to working from home (parenting from work), or from life in general. Learn about the neurobiology of the stress response. How stress can be good and boost performance, while excess stress that exceeds a tipping point of coping can have negative consequences for your health and wellbeing impacting decision making, resilience and increasing burnout. That negative stress is caused less by external events and more by your interpretation of them. The key is to focus on what you can control, to embrace and recharge from stress rather than trying to eradicate it.
In the current climate everyone is feeling extra stressed as a normal part of the ‘fight or flight’ response amidst the Covid 19 pandemic. Furthermore, feelings of fear can become self-fulfilling as it can weaken the immune system. By choosing to embrace stress, you become more effective at seeing the setbacks, struggles and so-called failures that life brings for everyone as opportunities to grow and learn something useful; to ultimately become stronger. Supporting your letting go, moving on to healthy coping and psychological growth. Appreciating that you need a certain amount of stress in your life to move forward and perform at your best. To embrace stress through resilience and restorative recharge rather than simply trying to eradicate it (which is neither possible nor necessary).
Only one in five people is thriving and living life fully at their best with more people than ever searching for a sense of real purpose and meaning. Perhaps the performance pressures of modern life and always-on environment of relentless distraction play their part.
The result – a tsunami of negative stress and the rise of burnout as an occupational phenomenon (World Health Organisation May 2019).
Burnout has just broken new ground in being officially recognised by the World Health Organisation for the first time. Initially known as a ‘state of vital exhaustion’ they have now reclassified burnout as an ‘occupational syndrome.’
WHO Burnout definition
‘A syndrome conceptualised as resulting from chronic workplace stress that has not been successfully managed.’
It is characterized by three dimensions:
Burnout refers specifically to phenomena in the occupational context and should not be applied to describe experiences in other areas of life. Moreover burnout is increasingly recognised as a modern day epidemic; recent Gallup Poll (US) research highlighting that 44% of workers experience burnout sometimes while 23% report feeling it often or always.
While all sources of excess stress can have a negative impact, burnout is work related and results from long-standing negative stress that hasn’t been managed effectively either by the individual and/or by the organisation. Of course, burnout can be exacerbated by poor lifestyle habits. Particular personality types including the type A, overachieving perfectionist are most at risk. In the medical and healthcare community, those professionals who are more caring and empathic are most vulnerable. Caring is wearing!
Everyone can have stressful times at work and in their career. Nothing is plain sailing. Life brings challenges to each and everyone of us. I’m sure you’ve had a bad day or two when you felt overly stressed and under-appreciated, with everything possible seeming to go wrong. Me too! It’s part and parcel of life.
Burnout is different. Burnout is where bad days become the new norm with prominent feelings of being overwhelmed, disengaged, cynical, emotionally flat and exhausted.
An analogy I like to use is that of a wet sponge. With burnout the sponge is progressively squeezed drier and drier, until there is not a drop of effort left to give. Burnout drains the individual of resilience and depletes their reserves in terms of emotions, mind, body and relationships.
The bottom line – if you are starting to feel emotionally depleted and physically exhausted from your work, detached, disillusioned and cynical, then you may well be on the path to burnout.
This is why self-care strategies to build real resilience while buffering leaders and individuals from burnout are increasingly important.
‘Blue Zones’ are so named after the blue circles that researchers drew on the map to first identify them. These areas are home to some of the healthiest and longest living people on the planet.
In fact, people living in these areas have a three hundred percent higher chance of living a full active engaged life to age ninety or beyond. Furthermore, they have much lower rates of diabetes, heart disease and cancer.
Location of Blue Zones
These ‘blue zones’ include the Greek island of Icaria, Sardinia, Okinawa (an island off Japan), Loma Linda in California and Costa Rica.
In Icaria, residents have almost no dementia, fifty per cent less heart disease and reduced cancer rates and live on average eight years longer compared to the USA. The mountainous areas of Sardinia are home to more male centenarians (over one hundred years old) than anywhere else in the world.
The little island of Okinawa off the coast of Japan has approximately 740 centenarians out of a population of 1.4 million, with the majority of them being women. Family first values and a strong sense of community feature prominently in Okinawa.
While they may be scattered across the globe, you don’t need to emigrate to benefit from blue zone living.
Dr Mark Rowe will share his own research into this Blue Zone Lifestyle. You can begin today to implement some of these health boosting habits that support health, vitality and longevity
Learn lifestyle habits to cultivate more of a ‘blue zone’ philosophy wherever you are living.
Learn how time spent in nature can enable you to recharge from stress, think more clearly and creatively, shift perspective, and inspire new patterns. Boost mood, memory, and connection to the world around you with a stronger sense of self.
Learn about the new science of forest bathing, how a multisensorial immersion in nature can boost your physical health and be so positive for your overall vitality.
In recent years the epigenome has been discovered, the master controller that sits on top of your DNA. It can be switched on or off like a light switch or up and down like a thermostat. What we are now learning is that only about twenty percent of your DNA and genetic expression is fixed and that how your genes express themselves to a large degree is determined by the epigenome which in turn is influenced by your lifestyle choices and behaviours. I see epigenetics in action every day in my surgery as a doctor, when I meet people who not only look much younger than their actual age but are fitter, sharper with more vitality.
I believe you have two separate ages. Firstly, your age based on your date of birth known as chronological age and no one can change that. Secondly there is your biological age which is the ‘miles on your clock’, largely determined by your lifestyle habits. The bottom line is that your genes alone do not determine your destiny. Lifestyle factors, healthy habits and the environments you spend your time in really do matter. Everyday lifestyle choices have repercussions right down to the genetic level.
With Dr Mark Rowe, learn about the epigenome and how you can support a more healthy expression of your genetic potential.
The next meal you eat, the next mile you walk, the quality of your sleep tonight and the degree to which you are able to recharge from stress are all modifying your body in an endless flow of change, regulating which genes get turned on or off, up or down, in turn influencing every aspect of your health, wellbeing and overall vitality.
From the sense of who they really are to the ability to express their unique strengths and talents, many people are feeling lost.
Many people have lost touch with their values. Many people are searching for purpose. I call it soul sickness, a silent epidemic, so prevalent nowadays.
Learn the causes of soul sickness and the ways it can manifest.
Develop clarity around what really matters. Transform your view of stress, as you move to being and radiate real authenticity.
Learn how to close the gap between what you do and who you are, between knowledge and wisdom, ego and higher self.
Appreciate how you can nurture your mind, heart and spirit back to soul health and vitality.
Are you hard on yourself when things go wrong? Do you criticise yourself with negative self-talk? Do you neglect to take really good care of yourself? If you’re like most people, then the answer is yes you do (at least sometimes). Unfortunately, self-care is often one of the first things to fall by the wayside in times of stress. People stop taking good care of themselves at a time when they need self-care more than ever to build resilience, and recharge from stress. Learn to become an active participant in your own wellbeing rather than simply a passive consumer of healthcare. Learn why self-care is a gift to you and everyone that matters in your life. It is so important to remember to recharge, to build your own personal wellbeing buffer that encompasses physical, psychological, emotional and spiritual aspects. I believe in prescribing a strategy of self-care (I call it radical self-care) because it really is that important.
Just think for a minute. How many people in your network do you know that are really thriving and living lives that are happy, purposeful and fulfilling? If it’s 3 in 10 or more, then chances are you’re lucky enough to be in the company of a particularly positive group of people…….. Truth is Research shows only about twenty percent of people are flourishing in life or close to their optimal potential, while the rest of us are plodding along in the middle somewhere or even worse languishing at the bottom.
Let Dr Mark Rowe explain why and more importantly how you can thrive!
The good news is that you can learn simple happiness-boosting habits which not only feel good but can have a big impact on your health and sense of wellbeing. And make you more successful by whatever way you want to define success – whether it’s by the quality of your relationships, career achievements and accomplishments, your creativity, energy or your health.
Learn about the science of gratitude, how plugging into the heart-brain connection can become a powerful antidote to negative stress and toxic destructive emotions. Appreciate how it is simply not possible to feel negative, resentful and grateful at the same time. Learn how a gratitude practice can strengthen your mindset and relationships, boost happiness and fulfilment and even improve your physical health (with positive effects on immunity, blood pressure and sleep).
Empowering Yourself to Make Healthier Choices During Stressful Moments.
Learn the impact of chronic stress on the neurobiology of the brain, how being stressed burns brain energy. As a result, your willpower muscle becomes depleted, decision-making impaired and impulse control reduced with the tendency to avoid healthy choices.
Learn how we are all creatures of habit, and the role of habit in our choices.
Appreciate how the principles of mindful presence can enable you to make healthier choices that support your wellbeing and vitality.
So many people are searching for meaning and purpose. More people than ever want to join the dots in their lives, to connect :
How to make a difference and a real contribution.
With Dr Mark Rowe learn how purpose is not something you pursue or accidentally come across. Purpose is something that ensues from exploring the essence of who you are. An inner journey to reconnect with who you really are. Purpose comes from your values, your inner strengths, from what makes your heart sing. Your purpose is always there, waiting for you to rediscover it.
Just as Picasso once said, I too believe that the meaning of life is to find your gift and the purpose of life is to give your gift away. You build purpose into your own life.
You build it out of your past, out of your experiences, out of your values, out of your own talents and abilities, out of your community, out of the people and causes you care about. These are the raw ingredients of purpose. Only you can put them together in an authentic manner that is your own life. In the words of the renowned psychiatrist and existential philosopher, Viktor Frankl, you are constantly being questioned by life.
Only you can answer for your own life.
‘If there’s no enemy within, then the enemy outside can do you no harm.’ African Proverb
An active ego is part of being ambitious, creative and entrepreneurial. Enabling you to become successful, provide for your family, leave a legacy and be remembered; all good things.
But the downside of ego is what I call the untamed ego. No matter where you are in your life right now and no matter who you are, this untamed ego is your biggest potential enemy, right inside of you.
Discover how the untamed ego can show up in your thinking, from expectancy to entitlement and why nothing fails like success.
Recognise behaviour patterns attributable to the untamed ego from addiction to ‘chronic not-enoughness’.
Learn strategies to tame your ego, from self-renewal and self-care to mindful presence and active appreciation – to keep you on a path to more sustainable success.
Less Ego not ‘no Ego.’ Less self-absorption and more selfless service. Less focus on the external ladder of success and more on the inner journey to build the habits of self-mastery. Less expectancy or entitlement and more openness, courage, & vulnerability.
