I did not watch Obama's health care speech in part because I did not expect him to say anything truly revolutionary on the subject of health care. Our current health care debate in America is an emotional one, but I feel our approach is all wrong. Trying to funnel more people into a broken health insurance system is not the way to go. Even adding a public option will still maintain the status quo of people buying "insurance" just to get their basic health needs taken care of.

Health insurance, in my mind, should never be about health maintenance. It should only be applied to those catastrophic events that we would otherwise not be able to pay for: a broken leg, a serious disease.

But paying for health "insurance" for regular check-ups is akin to paying for car insurance for your oil changes. Imagine, instead of paying a low monthly fee for car insurance to cover those very rare (we hope) times you get into an accident, you pay a much higher monthly fee for all things car-related.

For example, instead of paying $20 for an oil change out of pocket, you'd pay your insurance company $500/month for car insurance then end up paying $40 for an oil change with your co-pay.

This is what we're doing with our health care in this country.

The model is entirely wrong. And this idea that getting everyone health insurance is going to fix the system is completely bogus.

First off, let's look at our fundamental philosophy about health in America. It's basically this: Don't take care of your body, get sick, and then pop a bunch of pills to feel better. The pill popping goes beyond colds and flus, it also applies to our mental health: Don't take care of your mental health, get sick, and then pop a bunch of pills to feel better.

Note I said "feel better" but not "get better." Taking pills to manage your high cholesterol or your anxiety does not solve the problem or cure the underlying cause.

As an alternative health practitioner, I am continually frustrated that most Americans are in the dark or downright skeptical about alternative health methods. Let's not call them alternative, actually. What they are actually are lifestyle choices.

I'd say 99% of people's problems with their health, whether physical or emotional, has to do with lifestyle choices.

Here's a simple formula to get sick: Eat too much, exercise too little, and fill yourself up with emotional toxins. Bingo! You've got heart disease, diabetes, anxiety, depression, and possibly worse. If you really want to push it, add drinking, drugs, smoking, and too much caffeine to the mix. Now you're really due for a meltdown!

The holistic approach is really quite simple: Take care of your body and it will take care of you. Yes, there are genetic issues and other things that we can't control but if people just took the time out to maintain their bodies as much as they maintained, say, their cars, we wouldn't even need most of the health "care" we're so concerned about giving everyone in this country.

Exercise is one of the most important components to health and I cannot stress this enough. You want to lose weight? Forget the dieting. Start with moving your body more! Moving your body burns calories. It's a very simple formula: Calories in - calories burned = the calories your body keeps.

Diet is also important. Now, I'm not one of those health food nazis that will tell you to stop eating meat and all refined sugar. I eat ice cream, meat, and yes, sometimes a Cinnabon at the mall. The key is moderation. John Maguire over at the Kinesiology Institute offers the very easy to follow 80/20 rule: 80% of the stuff you put in your body should be good stuff. Then you can enjoy the 20% that's not so good.

Energy refers to your chi or prana (as its called in yoga). If you keep your chi flowing, you will be healthier and happier. Exercise is a natural way to move your chi, or you can also see an energy healer or practice QiGong. One way to make sure your chi is flowing is to manage your emotions in a healthy fashion. Don't stuff them inside - process your emotions in the way that works for you, whether that's through working with a talk therapist (not just one that throws pills at you) or taking a walk at sunset to calm your nerves. Find better coping mechanisms - if you are self-medicating your anxiety with alcohol or marijuana, try meditation instead. (All mind-altering drugs, including pot, clog up the energy system and poke holes in the aura.)

The importance of good energy cannot be understated. Using energy techniques such as acupressure, you can actually cure allergies by working with the various meridians (energy lines) that support the physical system.

We have so many holistic health resources in this country that can support people in actually living healthy lifestyles instead of killing themselves with their poor diets, lack of exercise, and energetic and emotional toxins.

Will you hear about these options in our national health care debate? No. The debate is too clouded by conventional thinking and the needs of Big Pharma and the insurance companies, which actually want health care reform if it is designed to push them more captive customers. All a universal health insurance mandate will do is line the pockets of the health insurers - but it won't ensure you better health.

Until we begin to reframe the health care dialog in this country to include holistic "alternatives" and positive lifestyle choices, we will never see true health care reform. People will still be killing themselves through their lifestyles.

Fortunately, you can take charge of your own health now. We don't need Washington to revolutionize health care. "We the people" can do it ourselves, with our daily life choices.

So...if you're not already exercising, get started today by taking a walk just a few times per week. Even just that little bit of exercise could add years of health to your life.