I do not know if you have a similar fear… the fear of slowing down? Slowing down so much that you are trying to get your travel in now because a few years from now you feel like you won’t be able to do it. That a few years from now you are going to be stuck at home in a rocking chair because you feel like your too fatigued, your walking is slowing down and your balance is off. You think this is just what happens and you have to accept it..
Now this may not be exactly you…. But I am sure you understand that fear of having to accept something you feel is just the way it has to be because of your age…
I thought people lied when they said “doctors tell you that is just want happens when we get older..” Until it happened to me… I think I wanted to slap the doctor when he told me that as he did not listen to my story… this scenario happens all the time… the scenario where we are told that you just have to live with it because of your age.. I mean how many doctors tell you it is arthritis that is creating your pain?? And there are not solutions except medications or maybe surgery? Ummmm, all the time!
Well this story above was my mom… I was at a Mavericks basketball game with her and was wondering why she was walking the way she was, small steps, wide stance and a fear on her face. She said with some types of floors she feels like she is going to fall. She was even more fearful that she had a trip coming up and she was not going to be able to walk around to take in the sites.
Of course, I came in to help. I told her she will be able to travel. She will not have her fear of falling and she was NOT going to have to SLOW DOWN! We found some tightness in one of her hip and got down to the root cause of some of her problems. We worked on that and improved her mobility and then told her, she was going to have to come into my office to start doing Pilates on our equipment with out instructor. She was skeptical and agreed to do this for 1 month! I was excited for her to get started knew once she did start, she would not stop!
She started and after her first day she was exhausted. She was so tired and so sore. But by the 3rd session, she was feeling stronger and said she was not going to stop coming. She felt so much better. As she continued not only did her walking got better but so did her energy levels. She no longer had fears of losing her balance on any surfaces. Her posture is so much better, and she Is standing taller. She said the rocking chair is getting farther and farther away and she no longer sees this as an obstacle. She is feeling better than she felt in 15 years!!
We go on trips together and a few times I was amazed at what my mom could do, who by the way is almost 80 years old. For example, when we were boating in the outer banks of North Carolina and she could literally get back into the boat on those ladders without help, which is difficult due to having to take a BIG first step. We also recently hiked up a big rock in Fredericksburg, TX. It is a pretty steep hike up and down the rock and my mom made it up there like a champ…
So the moral of this story is not to give up. It is possible to improve your situation and it is amazing how doing strengthening and balance training just 2x a week can make a huge impact on your life… You to won’t have to slow down and can keep that rocking chair farther and farther away (or what ever you feel like is the obstacle that is holding you back).
Have you tried Pilates?
We have small classes and one on one sessions at our office with an instructor with a physical therapy background. We have a few FREE taster sessions that we open up weekly for you to try it out… Just Email us at info@mpower-pt.com and ask to sign up for your free taster session.
But do not delay as these sessions fill up and our Pilates instructor is in great demand so it also depends on her availability for that week.
