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Women In Wellness: Dr Aman Dhaliwal On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s Journey Towards Better Wellbeing

An Interview With Candice Georgiadis

Being proactive vs reactive: If we can get ahead of risk factors that cause disease, we can live a healthy active lifestyle and not burden the healthcare system for health conditions that can be easily prevented by small daily changes.

As a part of my series about women in wellness, I had the pleasure of interviewing Dr. Aman Dhaliwal.

Dr. Aman Dhaliwal is a doctor of physical therapy, single mom, and bodybuilder attune with the needs of the human body. During her 15 years as a physical therapist, Dr. Aman has experience in helping shoulder, neck, back pain and her speciality pelvis and visceral treatment. Her latest journey has been creating the Soles Posture Roller to help patients decrease pain, increase mobility and enjoy a deeper relaxation.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Our readers would love to “get to know you” better. Can you share your “backstory” with us?

I, Aman Dhaliwal, migrated to the US in 1998, when I was 14 years old. Growing up, I wanted to be a Doctor and specialize in Dermatology. I was the youngest in my family and arts was my main hobby.

After high school, I enrolled into an undergraduate program (pre med) Biological Science at U.C. Davis. During that period, I came across a “Doctor of Physical Therapy” program at a random seminar. I was intrigued by what Physical Therapy offers to their patients and their fascinating treatment methods, without harmful side effects. I admired that P.T. treats patients without medication or surgery, and gets them back to the highest function level.

Out of curiosity, I applied to the DPT program at University of Pacific and was accepted. So, I said goodbye to Med school, and started my D.P.T (Doctor of Physical Therapy) journey.

Since then, I have specialized in Pelvic Health and completed several orthopedic courses. I love what I do and always try to find ways to treat patients more effectively with hands-on techniques. Being a nerd at heart, I was missing school, so during my PT career, I decided to go back to school for MBA in health care management, and added it to my list of accomplishments.

After working for a large corporation for almost a decade, I got the itch to try something new, and decided to start my own cash based physical therapy clinic. After two years, I had a new vision about creating a new approach towards health and wellness. I wanted to offer my clients a “retreat style complete wellness” program in the mountains. So, I decided to close my clinic and move towards the mountains. However, due to the pandemic, that endeavor is at a stand still.

Currently, I work on all my projects and maintain my focus on finishing writing my book about women’s health. I am so proud to say that my profession is very rewarding and humbling. I have helped so many amazing patients get back to their life & fully enjoy it with their family and friends.

Can you share the most interesting story that happened to you since you started your career? What were the main lessons or takeaways from that story?

The Invention of Solex was an interesting turning point in my career. During my practice, I treated patients on a daily basis that suffered from neck and back pain. Restoring the natural curve and alignment of the spine is an essential part of rehab. The curves are designed for shock absorption and for optimal function of the delicate nervous system that controls the vital functions.

However, treatment is typically provided on flat mats, flat treatment tables, or flat foam rollers. In order to emphasize a neutral spine, I would always find myself using a towel roll or pillow to tuck under the neck and lower back, to help improve restore natural curve formation, while they were simultaneously strengthening their spine. The goal was that the spine strengthening takes place, while it’s in its optimal positions, so it can perform better during activities and decrease discomfort/tension, thus alleviating pain.

An issue that was and is a concern to me, is the rising trend of people being on electronic devices in all settings (home, office, restaurants, schools, gyms, walks, etc). As we are all guilty of excessive screen time, poor posture due to the tendency to look down, creating a slouched posture, and reducing the curvature, and leading to more neck/back problems, i.e. “text neck” “head horns”, etc.

So, the problem I wanted to solve: How to restore & maintain the natural spinal CURVES (that we stress out and flatten out daily) during rehab and exercise in the most SIMPLEST and EFFORTLESS way, anytime/anywhere without the need of a medical professional or special setups.

I put the pen to the paper and started doodling different designs & shapes that came to my mind. I wanted to use my art skills and medical background, did tons of research in order to create a simple to use and an effective device, for everyone, everywhere.

Another interesting leap in my career that has pushed me to where I am today was starting the very first “all cash based” business focusing on women’s health and wellness. In the county where I resided no one believed that it would succeed. Being part of a large corporation, treatment times were very limited and quality of care was suffering. Patients seemed to be rushed through treatment and the Physical Therapy profession was losing its reputation. Therefore, I took a major leap by quitting my corporate job and moved on to my own adventure for starting a practice, where I had the freedom to treat patients with the dignity and empathy they deserve. It was a great learning experience and word of mouth marketing helped make it a success.

Can you share a story about the biggest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

Self doubt was the biggest mistake. I believe the mistakes were that I did not launch Solex or my business sooner and did not take my projects seriously, due to self doubt that it was going to not be useful or help people or I was not good enough. I believe the problem was that I got in my own way and slowed the progress in all areas of life, trying to be a perfectionist.

The lesson that I learned was that we do not have to be perfect to start and if we do not believe in ourselves, then no one else will. We should give ourselves the permission to make our dreams come true and enjoy the process.

Let’s jump to our main focus. When it comes to health and wellness, how is the work you are doing helping to make a bigger impact in the world?

Mental health awareness is a rising topic globally. I would like the same in regards to pelvic health and visceral health. Why? Because our pelvic floor reacts to all our thoughts and daily activities as well as our viscera. Everything in our body is connected but we prioritize our outside looks more than our inside health, due to social trends, etc. Let’s look within and focus on improving mental to viscera to pelvic health, so our engine runs smoothly, which allows the physical body to function optimally without the needs of medication, drugs, etc.

Additional information about why good spine health and posture is essential:

A good posture is the first step to good spinal health. And we need it to function properly. Spinal curves can either diminish or exaggerate as a result of systemic or physical anomalies, leading to improper posture and deviation from a normal-looking body. This can disrupt body language and affect a person’s confidence in themselves.

  • Kyphosis (increased thoracic curve) can cause breathing problems and induce stress on the heart.
  • Reduced lumbar lordosis causes back pain and is linked to pelvic prolapse.
  • Reduction in the cervical curve leads to fusion of the vertebra thus restricting neck movement and cause headaches.
  • The Sacrococcygeal curve is mostly fixed but even the slight movement may be disturbed by abnormal movement patterns or injury and can cause immense pain and dysfunction.

The body’s natural weight distribution and muscle pull are pretty self-regulatory and keep the curves in shape. However, it is also programmed to adjust to the environment. This is why prolonged use of the computer, mobile phone, slouched sitting, and recurrent movement patterns that are mechanically inefficient cause changes in spinal structure and create muscle imbalance.

“Proper alignment creates a healthy spine so the rest of the body can function well. Solex alleviates symptoms by addressing the root of the problem, which is the misalignment and poor proprioception (kinesthetic sense) of the spine. Solex allows us to preserve and re-align with our memory of healthy spinal curves and therefore, with daily use, it can provide us with all the benefits of a healthy neutral spine.”

SOLEX retains the cylindrical nature of the classic rollers while ensuring proper spinal positioning, allowing for greater relief of the spine during use and training our body to recognize this position when not in use. SOLEX can be used to correct posture, relieve pain, and ensure a neutral spinal alignment with exercise.

Benefits of a NEUTRAL Spine include:

  • Reduce/Relieve pain
  • Reduce/Relieve strain on muscles and ligaments
  • Reduce/Relieve pressure on discs
  • Improve/maintain good posture
  • Prevent injury/degeneration of spinal structures and nervous system
  • Maintain/restore Spinal Height/overall height
  • Prevent Nerve Compression
  • Improve effects of proper Breathing
  • Disc Health

Benefits of SOLEX during exercise:

  • Pressure feedback/posture awareness
  • Proprioception/Kinesthetic sense in space
  • Spinal/Posture Stability (head to pelvis)
  • Balance Control
  • Strengthening & Stretching
  • Maintain/Preserve height
  • Improve Longevity of Spinal structures

Conditions Improved by preserving a Neutral Spine:

  • Degenerative Disc Disease
  • Intervertebral Disc Herniation
  • Spondylosis and spondylolisthesis
  • Compression Fractures
  • Facet Joint Dysfunction
  • Visceral Problems
  • Pelvic Health
  • Breathing Dysfunction
  • Muscle Strains

Can you share your top five “lifestyle tweaks” that you believe will help support people’s journey towards better wellbeing? Please give an example or story for each.

1. Breathing: Breathing can help us switch our sympathetic system (fight/flight) response to parasympathetic system (rest/digest). We need to learn how to consciously create this change, so it becomes a daily habit and we get away from pharmaceutical options to sleep or stay awake.

2. Being proactive vs reactive: If we can get ahead of risk factors that cause disease, we can live a healthy active lifestyle and not burden the healthcare system for health conditions that can be easily prevented by small daily changes.

3. Listening to the body: Pain has a purpose, and numbing the pain or masking it, just makes it worse for the body’s ability to communicate with us. It’s like our own check engine light, we will have to address it, now or later, the choice is ours.

4. Thoughts: Mental Hygiene: Thoughts can create various psychological and physiological responses within our body. So, why not spend time on clearing the mental clutter and give our mind some time to clean up daily.

5. Daily Gut & Pelvic Health: Gut brain is our other brain, so feed the good gut bacteria and give it an environment to thrive, since it creates more healthy habits for the bladder and bowel as well as sex!

If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of wellness to the most amount of people, what would that be?

Pelvic and Visceral Health Awareness to be part of the Mental Health Movement.

What are your “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Started” and why?

Marketing: How to use various marketing strategies before launching business and educate yourself about the power of digital platforms and social media to be more successful before launching.

Networking: Believe in your community and create a local network. Joining clubs and creating a strong network with other local businesses is a great way to start business before going big.

Budget: Set a budget, and try to keep all your options open to keep the overhead low. Try being more mobile than brick and mortar, try free organic options rather than paying for marketing, etc. Volunteer and give away free service as a trade, to educate and help others.

Develop a Niche: Se a speciality in your service, so people seek your advice and look up to you as an expert. They will value your service and time!

Giving back & Building a Brand: Volunteer and give back as much as possible, anytime or any chance you get, because I have learned that is the best way to raise awareness in the community about your service and the benefits. It also helps serve our purpose. Take your brand everywhere and people will recognize your brand, so one day if needed, you can have an exit strategy and pass the brand on.

Sustainability, veganism, mental health, and environmental changes are big topics at the moment. Which one of these causes is dearest to you, and why?

Mental health and Environmental Changes are the biggest for me, because if we feel good and thrive in a good environment, we can make big changes happen that can benefit society and the future generations. Being healthy promotes more healthy options and helps nurture good things.

What is the best way for our readers to further follow your work online?

IG @doctoramanpt

IG @getsolex

Soon to be launched website www.doctoramanpt.com and www.getsolex.com

Thank you for these fantastic insights! We wish you continued success and good health.

Women In Wellness: Dr Aman Dhaliwal On The Five Lifestyle Tweaks That Will Help Support People’s… was originally published in Authority Magazine on Medium, where people are continuing the conversation by highlighting and responding to this story.