Finding health and hope through movement: A nurse’s mission to rebuild community | Viewpoint

As a holistic nurse coach, I’ve spent my career studying how daily choices shape human health—how much we move, the quality of our food, how we sleep, and how we respond to stress.

Over time, I’ve come to recognize another essential pillar of health we too often overlook: community.

Like any vital system of the body, when a person's sense of community weakens or breaks down, the whole person is affected—physically, mentally, and emotionally.

I learned this lesson personally during the pandemic. After relocating from Indiana to Arkansas, I found myself unexpectedly isolated. I was supporting clients in their healing journeys while quietly struggling myself. On paper, I was healthier than ever—moving regularly, eating well, managing stress—but mentally and emotionally, I was at my lowest. That disconnect forced me to reconsider what true wellness really means.

A pivotal moment came from reading The Joy of Movement: How Exercise Helps Us Find Happiness, Hope, Connection, and Courage by Kelly McGonigal. I recognized something I’d experienced but never named: movement wasn’t just about individual fitness, it was about belonging through group exercise.

Science backs this up. According to the U.S. Surgeon General’s 2023 advisory “Our Epidemic of Loneliness and Isolation,” social isolation increases the risk of premature death by nearly 30%—comparable to smoking 15 cigarettes a day.

The hopeful flip side: research published in the American Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry found that older adults who joined group exercise classes experienced a nearly 7% decrease in loneliness and an over 3% improvement in social connectedness after just six months.

That realization led me to found the Whole Health Collective in Northwest Arkansas - a place dedicated to reintegrating movements, community and joy into everyday life. And science supports it: Stanford researchers found that staying connected literally slows aging at the cellular level. What started as a gathering place for people over 50 has become something the Aspen Institute’s Weave: The Social Fabric Project calls “weaving”—the work of rebuilding connections one thread at a time.

We are addressing what I call a "health desert"—places where resources exist but genuine community around wellness doesn’t.

My mother, Gloria White, taught me what this work looks like through Project Compassion, the nonprofit she founded in Fort Smith, Ark., over 50 years ago. It’s still going strong today. Creating community isn’t just about gathering people, it’s about cultivating the conditions for them to thrive.

Building belonging has felt harder these past few years. Trust has eroded, people are more isolated, skeptical, and guarded. Even in strong communities like Northwest Arkansas, the fabric feels frayed. But the Whole Health Collective isn’t just a gym, it’s a gathering place for people who understand that we’re not solo acts.

Times and circumstances may try to pull us apart, but we are biologically and emotionally designed to thrive in community. Our bodies know connection is not optional; it is foundational. I’ve learned that health is more sustainable, more joyful, and more human when it’s built together. Through movement, shared purpose, and simply showing up for one another, we can begin to reweave what has frayed and remember that wellness was never meant to be a solitary pursuit.

Lisa Bell Henson is a holistic nurse and founder of the Whole Health Collective in Northwest Arkansas.