COEUR d'ALENE - When you meet Ryan and Erin Sousley, you'll notice that each is toned and trim, a picture of health.

He's 30 years old, 6-foot-1 and a former college quarterback.

She's 28, 5-foot-8 and a former college soccer player.

They love the outdoors. They love bicycling and hiking. They like being able to tackle life. They exercise, eat right, and get their sleep, too.

"Erin and I live our lives like this and we've seen amazing results in our own health," Ryan said.

Which leads to why they opened Summit Family Chiropractic in Coeur d'Alene in January.

They offer spinal correction, which is key to a healthy nervous system. But there's more involved.

The Sousleys also are part of Maximized Living Health Center, a global wellness organization. They work with clients on exercise, nutrition, detoxification and perhaps most important, mindset.

"Mindset is critical," Erin said.

They want to guide others to optimal health.

"We feel like we should give our patients the same opportunity, because if you get your spine corrected but you go home and eat Cheetos and lay on the couch all day, you're not going to be healthy," Ryan said. "You might not hurt, you'll be an unhealthy, pain free person."

Ryan and Erin both graduated from Western Washington University, where they were involved in sports.

They later moved to Atlanta, Ga., and graduated from Life University, which specializes in chiropractic and health science education. After practicing chiropractic care there for a few years, they returned to the Northwest to pursue their dream of owning a health center.

"We wanted to be able to provide people a complete picture of health," Erin said.

Patients, they have about 50 so far from kids to seniors, are automatically plugged into free programs on nutrition, fitness classes and workshops. They'll explain what the best foods are, how to read labels, and where the "danger zones" are in grocery stores.

They've held workshops at gyms and North Idaho College, and present free dinner programs on the five essentials of health at The Copa restaurant in Hayden.

"The more people we can reach and talk to, even if they aren't a patient in this office, we think is going to plant a seed," she said.

The Sousleys keep a family atmosphere in their office. Baby daughter Elle is usually there, "a doctor in training," Erin said, smiling.

They joke around, too.

"We bicker about who's the better adjuster," Erin said, than looking at her husband and adding, "Just kidding."

Ryan glanced back with a smile.

"We know the answer to that one," he said.

While they try to separate work from home, it's not easy.

"We eat, live and breathe health," Ryan said. "Not that we're perfect. We're constantly working, trying to change things. We're just infatuated with health."

Erin said at Summit Family Chiropractic, a goal is helping people reach their potential. Sometimes, that takes overcoming a mindset that's stuck on "can't" instead of "can."

"It all starts in the mind and they have a hard time believing they can get healthy," she said.

The reward comes when they change their outlook.

"Actually seeing that person come from a place of defeat, they're on a million medications, they're sick, suffering, then realizing they are capable of being healthy and living the life that they want, that's the coolest part," she said.

Ryan said people are often set in their ways and used to doing things a certain way. That's where he and Erin believe they can bring about change.

"But to do that in a loving, caring, compassionate way with a lot of energy and motivation, that's also the most fun, too, to see people break through their old mindsets, their old paradigms of health and wellness," he said.

The results will come.

"When someone is on fire for their health and living out their potential, it's amazing the things we've seen," she said.

Erin's belief in what they do is such that she gave up early aspirations for a broadcasting career (she interned at KING 5 in Seattle), after seeing so many people suffering from health issues.

"It really opens your eyes, being in this business, to what's really out there," she said.

Ryan said they want to move people to take action and be healthy, "whether its chiropratic, fitness nutrition, detoxification or positive mindset."

"Seeing someone get out of back pain is fine," he said. "But seeing someone change the way they take care of themselves, the way they eat, the way they exercise, the way they treat their family, the way they lead their family, so that they're literally changing the health of generations to come and passing that down, that's amazing. And that literally changes lives, and that's what we're in the business of doing."

Summit Family Chiropractic is open Monday through Saturday.

Info: 664-1000