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GET BACK TO ENJOYINGYOUR BEST LIFE3 choices you need tomake today!Medical Fitness Consultingpresents

No matter your age, we all have expectations aboutcertain years of our lives being amazing. It might bethat you want to travel and explore the world. Youmay want to enjoy time playing with fur babies atthe park. It might even be that this year is the yearyou will have the best garden on your block.Here's the problem.Sometimes your body stops cooperating.Every ache and pain keeps you up at nightand away from all the activities you want to do.There are many demands which we don’tplan for which results in a life we no longerrecognize.Life is tough.We can get stuck in thinking that being physically active is not in thecards for us. But it's not just your body. There's actually other things at play. It is in the thoughts we layer on to our experience that block us fromour best lives. All together, our physical and mental self become obstacles forenjoying the best years of our life.Here are the three choices you need to make to overcomeblindspots that can stop you from flourishing.

A mother and her daughter came in together one day to talk about the mother’s arthriticknee pain. The daughter was concerned that her mother was in a lot of pain and not goingto be able to walk long term, especially on an upcoming trip overseas.The mother, who did not speak English, moved gingerly around the gym and her facialexpressions told it all - I’m in pain. Although not stated, I had a sense that the motherthought that this was ‘just going to be the way it is’.I assessed her movement patterns and they left the appointment with a handout in handof movements the mother could work on.When I greeted both the mother and daughter at our second appointment, the motherlooked like an entirely different person. She started the exercises the day after our initialappointment and has had no pain since. She walked with ease and confidence that thedaughter could hardly believe that her mother had no pain.They expressed their gratitude through and through where I responded, “you did the work”.While away on her trip, her mother did not do her exercises at all and had fallen back intopain. The daughter looked at me and said, “my mother just needs to start her exercisesagain”. In agreement, we decided that yes, in fact, the exercises will keep the pain away!Start where you are today.Are you choosing to continue to be sedentary and progressively get weaker OR are youready to change and start moving your body to regain your vitality?It is a choice. You can choose to let yourself go. You can choose to take care of yourself by moving more. It's never too late. Recognize that it’s NEVER too late1

Don't blame yourself. Don't blame the system. Don't blame your doctors. Don't blame anybody because it doesn't help anything. Just make a choice to start moving today. Because exercise is the best medicine.When you know better, you do better…sometimes, but not always. Because we all know that we should be moving more. But we don't do better. It takes effort. It takes support. Move from where you are and make the choice to be better.An example of this would be a program like Movement Rx where I make it easy for myclients to make better choices as I guide them through options for movement that relievetheir pain. Change is possible when you have support just like the mother had to help herget out of pain.Let me tell you about Paul*. He was an anomaly…of sorts. Paul was eccentric, loud, joyous and full of energy not typical of how cancer patients feelwhen they came to exercise. He was slightly older than me and during his sessions, hewould regale his weekend adventures of what a young, single male would do.However, one day he walked into the center, his face was white as a ghost. And I knewsomething was wrong. Decide that your health conditionswill not drain your vitality2

The moment I began my assessment, even before I could get the blood pressure cuff on, hecompletely broke down, face in hands sobbing.I have never seen someone sob like this before. And he looked at me with tears streamingdown his face, his eyes wide and glistening and said, "I'm dying". He had just come fromthe cancer centre and was told "there's nothing more that they can do". All I could do wassit and listen.Paul showed up to exercise on the worst day of his life. Why? I can only guess thatexercising made him feel normal and alive. He forgot that he had cancer. Shortly after this session, Paul finished his program. About 6 years later, I was at the grocery store, walking up and down the aisle when whodid I see, but Paul.Paul didn’t see me. I simply kept walking.I headed to my car, put my head down on my steering wheel and cried. He was still alive. Iwonder about the impact that the exercise had on his life. We may never know the power of our choices.Now you may not have cancer. You may have another chronic health condition that isweighing you down and bringing on strong emotions. How can you be like Paul? Are you willing to move your body on what might feel like theworst day of your life? Set an intention to make time foryour health3Keri* was referred to see me by her doctor. She had high blood pressure and prediabetes.The doctor also wanted her to lose some weight.

Keri did not want to have an appointment with me. Her body language said it all. Crossedarms and crossed legs and fully closed body position. She wanted to have nothing to dowith a conversation about exercise. Keri, a fifty something mother and wife, had no time for exercise. She'd been physicallyactive a lot in the past with playing sports in her youth. But that all came to an end as shestarted her career in nonprofit and became a mother. She had given up herself to her workand to her family. There was no time.Speaking about the past, her voice longed for her past physically active life. She truly didmiss being physically active.When we were wrapping up our first conversation, I was shocked that she booked a followup appointment to meet with me. I truly did not believe that Keri was interested at this time in pursuing physical activity. She was a giver and she gave to everyone. Keri always put others’ needs and wants beforeher own.Keri came back for follow up and she joined one of our exercise programs with herhusband. To see her start to exercise was like seeing a whole new person. She began tolaugh and smile and looked completely different from the women I first met. She relayed to me that the exercise group not only got her to move her body, but it alsogave her time with her husband…alone. They had perfect attendance to the group and hertransformation was obvious. She was becoming a physically active person again.Keri is a success story, who was able to recognize that if she didn't take care of herself, noone else would. And by being physically active, she was able to make time for her and herhusband to enjoy active pursuits again. Keri became the priority.Do you always put others’ needs and wants before your own?Are you lost in the doing of life?You fill your life with helping others and you're doing it to the detriment of your ownphysical health. You are at the point where your body is rejecting how you have been living;you know it is asking for help. It makes you stressed and overwhelmed to even think abouthow you are going to fit this in. How am I going to take care of myself? It is time to take care of you.You are only as capable as you let yourself be.*Names have been changed for the purpose of confidentiality.

What can you do to take yourself from black and whiteand turn back on the technocolour of life?Whether you're someone who is suffering in pain andthinks it may be too late or you're someone whose energyhas been drained from chronic health conditions or maybeyou're filling your days with things that take your energy,the choice you want to make is to take care of yourself.And that's why working with me is for you! So that youhave the support to help you move in a way that will benot only helpful, but take you where you want to go andnot hurt you either. You don’t have to do it alone. Let me help you get back to the version of yourself youused to be so that you have the energy and vitality to dothe things you want and need to do. And feel fantasticwhile doing it!There's still room for vitality!ConclusionRevitalizing your life is a choice youmake day after day!

Master’s degree in KinesiologyAccredited Clinical Exercise PhysiologistIAYT Yoga TherapistOver two decades of clinical experience working with peoplewith a variety of chronic illnessesLisa specializes in working with her clients to reprogram theirbodies so they can move through their lives enjoying everyaspect.Her biggest gift to clients is to make the work fun – it’s notinstantaneous, and not always easy - but when you have thesupport of someone who is committed to your success, you getresults 10x faster than doing it on your own.Let’s do this together and find a way that you can live your bestlife.Just a little bit about Lisa’s background: info@lisaworkman.comwww.lisaworkman.comCONTACT Lisa: