Since starting my living with Chronic Illness Journey in 2008 I have been doing a lot of different types of reading and researching about how to live well. Living well is one of my major goals for my life. Living well to me means balancing my mind, my body, and my spirit. With my faith, I know that renewing my mind with Jesus is key to living well. Yes, despite my faith I have been knocked down and dragged through may muddy waters. But my faith and know that all things are possible with Jesus has provided hope and guidance for those trying times.
Is not about my faith, this post is sharing a tool that I have recently discovered to help us with health conditions where exercise is a huge challenge. It is a huge challenge for me with my tracheal stenosis. My care coordinator through my insurance comes and checks on me once a month. She helps me meet my goals and work through my obstacles. It helps to have a team member that knows things about the medical system. This last time she gave me an exercise DVD and booklet that is put out by the National Institute on Aging. I watched the 3 hours DVD and found that there are two great workouts provided and a great uplifting discussion on why exercise is important as we age. The booklet is equally valuable. I want to talk about the booklet right now. The booklet is 120 pages and is chuck full of information. It even has exercises in the pages.
Here are some things that I learned from this booklet:
- On page 23 of the booklet it has a checklist on how to interview and find a personal trainer. What I liked the best, it tells you how to talk to the trainer and find out if they are right for you. I know finding a trainer to help motivate you when you have a physical condition is daunting.
- On page 33 it has a section on high to prevent physical injury while you are moving your body. Such great information. Samples are: stop exercising if you have pain or pressure in your chest. Feel dizzy or sick to your stomach. Break out in a cold sweat. Have muscle cramps. Feel severe pain in joints, feet, ankles, or legs.
- On pages 102 through 108 are charts so you can keep track of your activities and exercise. This would be awesome for those of us who want to track things and who don’t have a smart phone but only have a dumb one.
Currently I’m doing pool therapy and I love it. It is a huge challenge because my trachea is closing up. I feel like I am suffocating. My range of motion and my strength is still good. I’m so grateful for that.
I hope you will take an opportunity to research and get your free DVD and booklet. We are all so valuable. For me, it is time to make exercise and physical activity a part of my life again. What about you?
Here are some links I want to share with you:
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