What You Told Me: Spicy Vitality Survey Results!

Spicy vitality… what does it mean to you? I recently sent out a survey to understand that, plus what our readers’ interests are so I can better serve you with great information. Big thanks to everyone who completed it!

I felt like a kid at Christmas unwrapping your responses. It really meant a lot to me to hear back from peeps.

Following are some of the nuggets and gems that people sent.

Spicy Vitality: Does the Concept Resonate or Not?

Overall, the phrase “spicy vitality” resonated strongly with almost everyone!

My original definition that I sent out was:

“Having physical energy to do the things you love to do, and the gusto to power you through things you have to do cheerfully. Spicy vitality is being well-grounded and comfortable in your body, and having emotional resilience and joyous involvement in life.”

When I asked if this resonated or not and why, awesome comments came in. Better than my definition 🙂

Here are just a few of them:

• “It’s a positive, fun, uplifting, happy dance kind of statement.”
• “Spicy means fun and every woman wants more vitality in her life!”
• “I like foods that are a bit spicy. Plus I think of spice as enhancing any taste. Vitality is something I want to achieve so I feel like this wording appeals to me!”
• “Spicy denotes sexy. Vitality denotes youth and vigor. Hence vigorous sexiness.”
• “It sounds like something which is delicious, good for my health, and enjoyable in every way!”
• “Indicates a love and energy for life”
• “It gives me the desire to be part of the group that has “spicy vitality”
• “It feels alive, juicy and vibrant!.. Feels Good, God, Grace.”
• “Vitality is great at any age but as I get older the concept is even more precious. Spicy just adds to the zing.”
• “Spiced sounds exotic, hot as in hot and sexy”
• “It expresses a sensual and creative vitality.”
• “Both spicy and vitality bring “vibrant” to mind.”
• “LOVE IT the term resonated immediately. Two perk words together, and alluding specifically to your brand.”
• “Spicy Vitality feels positive and uplifting. I think because both words are positive. It makes me think: “interesting,” “different,” “new experience,” a bit like trying flavorful new foods in ethnic restaurants or travel. Adventure. Well-being.”

This is exactly what spicy vitality means to me, thank you for improving the definition!

Every day, being able to wake up and live, to move forward, and to be happy and healthy is extremely important.  I am so glad that the ideas of quality living, vibrancy, sexiness, fun and happiness came across in the definition.

Another comment was that adding the word ‘spicy’ to vitality lends a precious element to life. I couldn’t agree more.  The life that we have is very precious and we should live our lives with spiciness every day.

Who wants the opposite? Bland, dull, boring….

Several readers mentioned that “spicy vitality” brings forward the idea of food as medicine and using spices and herbs instead of using pharmaceuticals.

That resonates with me, thank you!

If you read the ‘About’ section on our website, you will find that the concept of using holistic means to heal our bodies is one of the big goals of Spice Pharm.  We become our own primary care, staying healthy and avoiding big pharma where at all possible.

When we take care of our bodies using what the earth has already provided, we are engaging in that sensual and creative vitality: we are connecting with what is already designed to heal our bodies from the very core.  Here at Spice Pharm, we want you to enjoy living. To LOVE living!

A few people gave “spicy vitality” the thumbs-down.

They thought the words didn’t go together, had too many syllables or equated the term with hot spicy food they don’t like.

I understand and appreciate your point of view.

For only two words, that is a lot of syllables!

And I know people who don’t like hot peppers or the kind of spicy that scorches your taste buds.

But there’s also nutmeg, cinnamon, cumin, cardamom, coriander, garlic…Golden Goddess Chai and Chocolate Elixirs… Golden Goddess Turmeric Tea….

Spicy doesn’t have to sear your mouth! Spicy can be enlivening without the burn!

And spicy has become a metaphor in our language. As I’m hopelessly mono-lingual, does anyone know if “spicy” in other languages has so many meanings as it does in English? Please contact me, I would love to know!

How often do you feel spicy vitality?

I’m happy to see the majority of folks feel spicy vitality at least sometimes or often. A few lucky peeps are almost always there! The answers here were:

I confess to be in the “often” category, and aspire to “almost always.” I’m on an upward trend and expect to get there this year!

But I remember the days when I was burned out and fatigued, so I empathize and sympathize with you who said “rarely” or “never.”

Hopefully I can provide you with inspiration to feel better in the coming year…and…. I have some new energy products in the pipeline! Stay tuned for more on those later this year!

What gets in your way of feeling spicy vitality?

Oh, the stresses of life. The reasons that we aren’t feeling that wonderful spicy vitality… In today’s world, there are definitely common factors that keep people in the doldrums.

There were some very poignant answers to this. We all face so many challenges and share common humanity. Do any of these sound familiar to you?

• “Too many demands/too little sleep or down time”
• “Physical/mental limitations acquired over a lifetime”
• “Not having time to eat well, not getting good, restful sleep, not spending enough time walking, dancing, and playing outside.”
• “Lack of energy due to stress from work and from the political environment.”
• “The separation and feeling of an absence of Love…pretty much”

I know I’ve felt them all.

Rolling up the responses into categories, the top draining issues emerged as:

• Work/demanding schedule
• Anxiety/stress/fear
• Tired/fatigue
• Pain/joint/back/arthritis
• Politics/state of the world

These issues feed other issues that were mentioned:

• Lack of sleep
• Lack of nutrition and time to eat well
• Lack of exercise
• Excess weight

So know that you are not alone.

We’re in this together. We’ll get through it and dance and feel joy along the way.

While life gets in the way, we need to learn to spend more time on self-care. Even little things like a hot bath, a kind thought, talking a walk, breathing deeply, helping someone… they can all add up in big ways.

This is another reason why I created Spice Pharm.

It started as part of my own self-care from grueling work schedules, sleeplessness and fatigue. I started tapping the wisdom of nature and using herbs and spices to help rejuvenate and repair my body, when it was crashing.  We need to take care of our bodies and souls so that we can live life to the fullest.

Finally, what topics interest you the most?

I was all ears for these responses!  This will guide my efforts this year!

1. Less fatigue/more energy: As I’ve pulled myself out of Stage 3 adrenal fatigue, metabolic syndrome and debilitating joint pain, this is a topic I’m quite familiar with. I look forward to sharing about this in future posts.

2. Food as medicine: Recipes: OMG, this is a topic I love. Expect lots more recipes in the coming year!

3. Improving digestion: This really important as we live in a society that thrives on preserved, sugar filled junk foods. And we’re assaulted by GMOs and pesticides from every direction.  When we eat these consistently, it messes with the good fauna in our stomach – our microbiome. Also, Ayurvedic medicine has some great wisdom to share here.

4. Food as medicine: Science: OMG, another topic I can geek on. So glad you love it too!

5. Natural alternatives to pharmaceuticals: If you’ve read the ‘About’ section on Spice Pharm, you know that this is a large part of what we do here. Our products help with stress reduction, pain management, inflammation, weight loss, and other aspects of health.

Other notable topics of interest are:

• Tips for getting better sleep
• How to lose weight
• Ways to relieve joint/back pain
• Brain health
• Reducing stress
• Beating anxiety and depression without meds
• Pain relief

And the top write-in topic was how to maintain libido! Yes, let’s keep it sexy and fun. Check out this blog on ashwagandha for some initial ideas.

So there you have it everyone.

I really appreciate all of the feedback and wanted to share the results of what you told me.

Also, thank you to everyone that provided constructive criticism on the branding and the term “spicy vitality.” It gives me the feedback I need to always keep improving and to always grow and progress.

If you didn’t answer the survey, or if you want to add additional thoughts — please leave a comment below! Thanks!

Keep watching for new updates and blog posts, and let’s keep in touch.

All the best,

Kitty