Barry Taylor, DC, assistant to dean of chiropractic clinical services and assistant professor

What does wellness mean to you?
 If I could answer this question in one word, I would say that wellness means balance. Wellness means creating balance in your life between the ways you nurture your body, mind, and spirit.

What do you do to stay well?
I really try to eat healthy, exercise daily, and spend a lot of time outside. I take every opportunity to be outside whether the activity is biking, kayaking, hiking, backpacking, or skiing. I enjoy all sorts of outdoor activities in every season, all year long. For me, being outside fulfills my mind and spirit.

How do you work wellness into your day?
It can be difficult to work wellness into your day. But I think it is helpful to be conscious of wellness throughout the day. I try to eat healthy by bringing my own lunch. I also will take walks during the day. I really try to be inefficient, as crazy as that may sound. I will park in the back of the parking lot, I always take the stairs, I go the long way around, and I try not to use my office phone but use other phones in offices down the hallway. If I get really stressed, need some time, or just want to be outside, I will go for a hike on my break. It may be fifteen minutes or an hour, but hiking always seems to do the trick.

What are your biggest struggles for maintaining wellness?
  Time is the biggest struggle for me. I feel that to maintain my personal optimal wellness, I have to be outside as much as possible. Most days are beautiful to me so it can be difficult to sit inside for long periods of  time. It would be perfect for me to be outside for ten hours but I can’t always do that. So I often hike on my break to fulfill my urge. I will be content with any dirt path I can find so that I can work it into my day.

How do you find time to workout?
 To be honest, I don’t find time to “work out” and I actually hate working out. I have never liked it and the whole concept to me is bizarre. However, I am still very active.  I am fortunate that my hobbies and my likes require a lot of activity. Setting aside an hour a day to exercise is difficult for me because I may want to go on a three hour hike. So I try not to put time constraints on my activities unless I have prior obligations. But I do recognize when I skate ski for an hour, I am getting a tremendous work out and promoting body wellness. I just happen to like all these human-powered activities.

I have never been in perfect shape and I am not great at everything I do but I like to try it all. I really like this spin-off of an old saying, “Teach a person to jog, he jogs for two weeks, but teach a person to love the wilderness, he hikes for the rest of his life.”

Why is being well important to you?
 Being well gives me energy, makes me feel better, and promotes happiness. My overall wellness allows me to take care of the people I care about. When I feel great, I treat the people around me better. And it really comes down to respect for your own body and for your loved ones. I strive to live life to its fullest and this can’t be achieved unless I am healthy.

Do you have any recommended resources for wellness?
  Books:

Hiking Minnesota, John Pukite (Globe Piquot Press, 1998)
Great Minnesota Walks, WM Chad McGrath (Trails Books, 1999)
60 Hikes Within 60 Miles of the Twin Cities, Tom Watson (Menasha Ridge Press, 2002)
Twin Cities Winter Recreation, Richard "Fred" Arey (Minnesota Outdoor Press, 1996)

Web sites:

Three Rivers Park District (formerly Hennepin Parks), is a natural resources-based park system located in the suburban Minneapolis/St. Paul metro area of Minnesota that manages more than 27,000 acres of park reserves, regional parks, regional trails and special-use facilities.