What does it mean to heal your life well? That’s an interesting question, huh? Or how about this this one…why would you want to? And if so, how do you start?

I can help you answer these questions for yourself, but only you know why you’re interested in embarking on such a powerful journey of personal decision, discovery, and healing. This is where it all begins…

In order to heal your life well, you must first define what “well” really means to you.  The words well and wellness have been so overused, and quite simply abused for decades, which has led to toxic amounts of misinformation, confusion, and the opposite of health! When I see corner store pharmacies declaring that they deliver health and wellness, I simply shake my head in disbelief and wonder, “What type of health and wellness are they talking about?


When I say health and wellness, I’m not referring to something that comes from a bottle or pill. I’m talking about the will to see yourself and your life in a new and different way. To connect with your WELL and WILL within you.

Many are the “ill” that can be healed well with a transformed “will.”

During the almost three decades that I’ve been practicing natural health and healing as a chiropractor, I’ve asked thousands of patients how they define “health.” Most say that it’s feeling good, while others talk about eating well and exercise.


While working several years at a renowned cancer hospital I saw first-hand that “feeling good” doesn’t necessarily mean “good.” It also doesn’t automatically equate to great health or wellness, nor does eating well and exercise guarantee great health.

The whole truth is, what’s eating you on the inside has a far more profound impact on your health than eating well and exercise do. The deeper insight is that eating well and exercise are merely an expression of the great health that’s within you. Even if you’re not giving your health permission to fully express itself in this way right now.


As both a Healing Life Coach and Chiropractor I’ve noticed how people are very quick to ask, "What’s wrong with me?” while oftentimes overlooking what’s right with them. It's this "rightness" (the WELL within) that allows your body and life to heal from the inside out. This is the true healer.


I remember a patient boldly declaring to me that since he had been diagnosed with cancer he had become healthier than he had ever been in his life.


What?! While looking at him with a blank stare on my face, and wondering what on earth he was talking about, I quickly recognized that he had tapped into the truth about healing, health, and wellness.


It’s the innate awareness that health is a state of BEING, not merely the absence of symptoms or disease.

“WELL” has more to do with who you are, then with what you do or the symptoms you may or may not have. Why? Because when you’re fully expressing who you are, you DO YOU and LIFE differently. You become both the cause and effect of your own health, wellness, and happiness.


THIS is the key to healing both you and your life well.


For a lot of people a diagnosis may be the start of health…fully living life for the first time in their lives. Although I urge you not to wait to be diagnosed with a sickness or disease before you begin acknowledging and healing your own dis-ease.


Growing up on my family's organic farm in rural Minnesota, I learned so many valuable truths about life, living well, true health and healing.


We used to give our cattle water that came directly from a well deep within the ground. While doing chores it was my job to pump the icy cold water from the well into the stock tank. In order to do so, I had to pour water into the pump, grab the handle, and move it up and down as hard and fast as I could before the water began to flow out of the well. I remember feeling so accomplished every time the water would finally come, and what once seemed so hard would suddenly feel so easy. In fact, it felt almost magical!

The process of healing is a lot like this. Without putting what you want into your well and taking massive action, it won’t produce well.

Is it because your well is dry? No. As long as life is flowing through you, there’s hope for healing.

Is it because there’s something wrong with your well? No. You simply have to know how to help it fully express itself and do what it’s designed to do.


Did I need to put chemicals into the well to make it work? No.

I had to put in what I expected to get out of it, and then do some work. When you do, there’s a natural ease to it. Some may even refer to it as magical. I like to think of it as the miracle of life.

Do you see what I’m talking about? The "well" becomes the source of your well. The WELL that you seek is IN you. AS you.


The well knows how to work well when you care for your well, and you give it what it needs. This includes your undivided love and attention.


You don't have to create "the well” but you must come into agreement with it, and put into it what you want from it. We’ve all heard the old saying, “Garbage in. Garbage out.” And yes, you must take action to receive well from it. Even when it feels hard and you want to quit, you must remind yourself that the life-giving water is about to flow freely from your WELL. That is, if you don’t quit!

When this healing life flows freely from your well, without interference, you heal. Your life heals. You express…you...fully. This is why I define health as “full expression of life.”

So, what if WELL isn’t about what you do as much as it is about who you are?

Imagine if you became more interested in caring for the well within, versus trying so hard to get “well” from the outside in?

What if you focused more on aligning your inside with your outside? Your head with your heart?


I encourage you to ask yourself today, “How do I define health and wellness?"

Think about how you define healing and what it means to YOU to be well.

If you could live your life well, how would you look and feel? What would you be doing? How would you live your day?

Imagine being WELL, living life WELL, doing WELL, and having great WELLTH…which is expressing WELL in all areas of your life — spirit, soul, self, and significance.

How do you begin to do this? I’m so glad you asked.

Answer all the questions I’ve asked you thus far, as well as the ones you’ve asked yourself. They will begin to flow, so grab a journal and record what comes up for you. What are you hearing?

Listen to your inner WELL. Take care of it because it takes care of you. Keep your well sacred, and stay committed to its fullest expression of life.

Begin practicing these 3 healing steps…

VISUALIZE. Give yourself time and space to see what you desire. Those without a vision perish, so it’s vital for you to see a new way of being. See yourself as being well and being THE WELL. Imagine how healing and being well will look and feel. See yourself living the life that you desire. What are you doing in this picture? How are you being? What are you saying? Don’t wait until you get somewhere (or nowhere) to determine and declare where you’re headed. What do you want now and in the future — inside and out? 

BELIEVE. Know that all is WELL within. When you know that you are absolutely powerful beyond your current circumstances, and you believe that your WELL is a source of life that flows from above, down, inside and out…you begin to tap into supernatural healing energy. Truly knowing that you are WELL! You are well made, well equipped, and welcomed into the life that you imagine for yourself. You were designed to be well and designed to be WELLTHY. Your body was specifically manufactured to be self-healing and self-sustaining. As long as there’s nothing damaging your well, the life force you experience flowing through your life is valuable, pristine, pure and refreshing! If it’s not, it’s time to take a look at your well. Then ask yourself, “What’s in my WELL? What have I allowed to poison or block my WELL?” Perhaps it’s the way you speak to yourself or old beliefs speaking to you, and today’s the day to try on some new beliefs. I invite you to do so.


CELEBRATE. Recognize that your WELL is the most valuable gift given to you by the one who made our magnificent body. It and YOU have value! You, dear soul, have been placed on this planet for a very specific mission and purpose. You are not here to waste your time (life,) energy, attention, or money. You’re not here to put deadly pollutants into your well. You’re here to seek and find. You’re here to ask and receive. You’re here to answer the voice that’s calling from deep within your heart. You’re here to dream. You’re here to discover your desired destination, and enjoy the most divine ride of your life. You’re here to HEAL. It’s time for you to see your value and stop permitting toxins into your well — mentally, physically, relationally, spiritually, financially…and any other “ally” word you can think of. It’s time for YOU to become your greatest ally. To cherish and celebrate you and your well. WELL.

This is what it means to heal your life well.

xo Dr. Shannon


I’d love to hear from you and also answer your questions here. Please go to www.healyourlifewell.com to post your comments and ask questions. Each issue I’ll be sharing my answers to your questions. Thanks in advance for asking, receiving, and healing.

Shannon Gulbranson, B.S., D.C. | Dr. Shannon is the founder and CEO of Healing Life Coaching, Inc. and Healing Life Chiropractic, P.C. She is also an international speaker, bestselling author of Date Yourself Well: The 12 Engagements of Becoming the Great Lover of Your Life, and the inspiring podcast host of SHE SPEAKS SHE HEALS (formerly “Women Sipping On Life”) — a daily message of hope, inspiration, and healing in over 100 countries with more than 2 Million downloads in over 100 countries worldwide.





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