Saturday, November 05, 2011

Exercise Success

(I wrote this post about 3 months ago - and thought I would share today, to support my continued healing)

As many of you know - I was a Certified Personal Trainer (through Mount Royal College -now University) and an AFLCA Fitness Leader for 19 years;  I let my certification lapse in 20th year.  At any rate, fitness, health and wellness were always a big part of my life.  My private clients were primarily post rehab clients - supporting people to get back to a functioning and wonderful life and it was so rewarding - it was fantastic.  As a fitness leader I saw the trends come and go. My classes ranged from step, interval (step/aerobics -we called it high impact ;-) in the 90s), slide/sculpt; step/sculpt and then ball classes -- always moving forward, staying current. Most people were looking for the body 'beautiful'.  I was looking for a balanced functioning body, to stay out of physio clinics etc.    What I really loved was any class that had us using less and less equipment and classes that challenged our balance; and when ever possible working in your bare feet! I had for the past 10 years been teaching in my bare feet, and leading step class in flat bottom shoes, really the high tops with the purple peace sign.   When I left instructing I was leading a class called balanced strength, bare feet were encouraged!  Loved to train the small balancing stabilizing muscles-- let your foot, ankle and knee have fun and come alive! So you can imagine my delight when during the last fitness conference I attended they were encouraging bare foot training, for non impact movements and classes.

I loved and still love connecting mind to muscle and not be distracted from what the body is doing, rather to engage with the body - having a conversation through movement.  Karen Voight was a proponent of this concept, she encouraged her clients to pay attention, connect with the work -- not be distracted with music or TV...know the movement, let the mind contract the muscle first then do the movement - so powerful.  Love it!

The whole point of this?  Well, yesterday for the first time since my back injury (Easter 2010) - I went back to the basics of what I love -- lunges, squats, balance work (standing on one leg), all in my bare feet. I felt fantastic while doing the exercises and today, feel great -- no problems - am ready to move forward.  So my back was great and my ankle was great too -- I am currently moving with tendinitis in my ankle and wear high tops when I walk (for now).

I trusted my body would let me know when it was ready to get moving - to start back.  Since I hurt my back I had been doing some things, mostly supported movements, chest press from the floor as opposed to a ball for example - now I know my back is ready to support itself and me again.  I honoured where it was, daily assessing its state of health and acting accordingly.  I did not fight or resist the injury -- what we resist persists.

I was so excited to be back to my basics -- it was the basics of exercise and moving in my bare feet, connecting with my body with my mind is what kept me healthy as I dealt with symptoms from MS, the loss of balance, the numbness, the fatigue, the burning feet - the walk around my block took about 45 minutes or so, a walk that I can now do in 10 minutes. I really felt the way I was exercising, natural movements, through varies planes or directions and with my mind connected throughout the whole process is what helped me come back to a healthy state. I would say to my doctors that I considered myself at the top of the 'food chain' sort of speak when it came to my body connection.  When they asked me to do something - I could; just needed a bit of time to visualize the movement then to re wire the movement and presto!  Done!   Now, for the past 5 years have been dealing with fibromyalgia and pain and fatigue associated with that -- the deep muscle pain is exhausting and I KNOW that exercise is perfect for this; how much is the secret and everybody is different.  Last year I weaned myself off the 8 extra strength Advil I would take/day; as I felt I was actually having rebound pain -- and it was actually worse when the medicine wore off.  So I meditate, visualize and journal.  Visualization was actually the number 1 way for me to heal; see how it is suppose to be, and focus on that.  Not on the pain, the injury on the dis-function.

So I am glad now and excited to reconnect with my brilliant body. My muscles and my mind working in unison to create a strong fit and healthy body.  There is incredible evidence to suggest that the mind is the master, when we master our minds - we can master our bodies...and once again I am on the journey of perfect health -- perfect health for me!

This is huge for me to share this -- because I prefer to energize what IS working and leave what is not out of the picture; and what is working?  My ability to connect to my mind, to visualize a brilliant future full of health, a life where pain is a distant memory and only comes to visit occasionally.  My ability to visualize this brilliant future and to put it into action.  What do I see? Healthy functioning vertabrae, muscles that fire - contract and relax when necessary, pain being washed down the drain -- literally as I need to be in hot healing salted water daily - sometimes twice/day to relief the pain.  I see movement, dancing, exercising, maybe running again one day?  Hmm, running?  It has crossed my mind...even though when I WAS running, I could power walk faster ha ha. I see and feel a day where when I am in yoga postures I am pain free - there are no sharp shooting pains -- no tender spots, no residual soreness.  I know this day is here.  I am moving toward it with every decision, with every thought and with every choice I make.

Remain Brilliant my friends.