by 5dmin | Jan 15, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Welcome to Episode 8 of My New Normal with special guests Amanda Bonham and Movement Rx’s own Dr. Megan Graff! This episode really has it all: we’re talking pregnancy, what it’s like to be legally blind, what it’s like to train pregnant, what it’s like to live in SoCal, and so much more. Without further ado, let’s get into it!
Amanda is from Tennessee, but moved to SoCal when she met her husband. She’s a massage therapist and has been for about 11 years. Megan moved to California from Texas for Movement Rx (yay!!) and the adaptive community and the Challenged Athletes Foundation.
Amanda was diagnosed with her condition (Stargardt Disease) when she was 10 years old, which was a pretty traumatizing experience for her. At the time, no one really knew much about it so no one explained to her that she had a degenerative eye disease. No one explained that her condition would worsen, so she didn’t appropriately prepare herself for the inevitability of going blind.
In high school her vision started to more rapidly change and she needed more visual aides, which is when she realized that things were going to change. She switched to a private school and commuted to school and started to shift her plans for the future.
Amanda’s way of coping in high school was denial and avoidance. She struggled with depression, anorexia, and cutting. She was placed in multiple treatment centers, but none ever took. Her first day of her Junior year in high school she had a major breakdown and was asked to leave and was sent to a lockdown treatment program where she spent 11 months.
During the treatment program, which she credits with saving her life, she was forced to address her condition head-on and finally cope with the anger and emotions that she hadn’t dealt with before.
TRIGGER WARNING: this episode contains conversation about food disorders and suicidal thoughts.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- What it’s like to be blind
- What it’s like to be blind and pregnant
- Training when you’re pregnant and blind
- How movement can help people cope with PTSD
- How to train someone who is blind and pregnant
- And so so so so much more…..
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
by 5dmin | Jan 15, 2019 | Blog
When was the last time you did something without expecting anything in return? When was the last time you did something because you knew it would help someone you don’t even know?
You have the chance to do both of those things right now.
Ask yourself this, if you enjoy receiving something without enjoy giving and love surprises, then imagine doing THIS for someone else. Consider giving to the non-profit we at Movement Rx’s, My New Normal podcast have chosen to support and work with this first quarter, Challenged Athlete Foundation (CAF).
CAF is an organization that gives athletes with permanent loss of limbs the ability to find their fitness and sport again by giving them the equipment they need and the training support they need to be successful. The medical system usually will not cover the performance piece of equipment and training, so someone must. This someone/group is CAF.
Make a Donation Here!
What you will get: A surge of dopamine, and endorphins that make you feel good, because you have given without expecting anything. It feels damn good!
Our goal is to raise $2500 for this non profit by the end of March.
If you want to learn about the athletes who benefit, listen to our podcast.
by 5dmin | Jan 9, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Imagine this: you’re an Olympic sprinter in the final heat of the gold medal race and you are nervous as hell. Not because you are doubting your skill, training or grit, but because you’re worried that you might have an epileptic attack at any moment and lose control of your arm.
Sounds frightening to say the least. Well my friends this is what Jenny LaBaw has dealt with her entire life. Diagnosed with epilepsy at a young age Jenny has battled through all sorts of social and physical issues related to her disease, but because of her resolve has managed to be crowned the 6th fittest woman in America, be a collegiate soccer player oh and run across the entire state of Colorado in a month (531 miles).
Tune into this weeks episode to hear Jenny’s story and learn more about these topics:
- What is epilepsy and how does it effect Jenny
- How Jenny manage her disease throughout playing high level sports
- Why Jenny kept her disease private and why she eventually decided to go public
- Why Jenny got into CrossFit and why she’s not doing it as much
- Moving Mountains: Jenny’s run across Colorado for awareness
- Why Jenny thinks sharing your story is important and what affect others have on her
- How to develop mental grit and not be defined by your diagnosis
To learn more about Jenny head over to her website https://jennylabaw.com/
or follow her @jennylabaw on all the social media
Info on Epilepsy Foundation: https://www.epilepsy.com/
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
by 5dmin | Jan 1, 2019 | Blog, Podcast
Welcome to Episode 6 of My New Normal Podcast! Today I’m joined by the amazingly awesome Sara Olson and David “Chef” Wallach from Crossroads Adaptive Athletic Alliance.
Crossroads Adaptive Athletic Alliance is an amazing non-profit organization that helps adaptive athletes participate in fitness through education, grants, and competition.
Chef’s adaptive story started way back when he was a child and he tried to “stop himself too many times with his head.” He suffered multiple concussions due to his daredevil nature and was consistently trying to push the envelope. Chef had trouble in school and was labeled by some teacher’s as learning challenged or disabled. As he later discovered, the troubles he had as a child were more likely related to the injuries he suffered.
But by his own account, his true adaptive story started when a marine named Nick Tom walked into his gym. Nick was wounded very seriously fighting in Kandahar and was a bilateral, above the knee amputee, among other very serious injuries. Nick was so optimistic and so quickly progressing through his PT at Walter Reed that he was referred to the gym as a higher level of therapy.
When Nick arrived, it really started a conversation about how they should create a coach/client relationship between adaptive athlete and coach and how a set of metrics should be defined to show progress and data, and what are the places that progress should be shown. And not only that, but how do we make it easier for ALL athletes with permanent differences feel comfortable and included.
Sara’s background is in the Navy as an EOD tech, currently reserves, but by nature of her job she has many friends (of results of incidents in the field) are now adaptive athletes. She got a call from Chef and a mutual friend about hosting a functional fitness competition for adaptive athletes and thought “sure, how hard can this be!”
When they really started getting into it, they discovered that less than 50% of the competitors were veterans and that what the athletes needed was a community to get involved in deeper than a yearly competition.
In this episode we’re talking about:
- How Crossroads Adaptive Alliance helps the Adaptive Community
- Chef’s Adaptive Journey
- Sara’s Adaptive Journey
- The evolving nature of the coach/athlete relationship
- How to be a better coach to the Adaptive Community
To Learn More About Crossroads Adaptive Alliance go here:
Homepage
https://www.facebook.com/CrossroadsAlliance/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCqbpB-dkO4HvYvfWjP-xhrg
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
by Theresa Larson | Dec 28, 2018 | Blog
I had the absolute pleasure of being on Steph Gaudreau’s podcast Harder to Kill Radio last week! I cannot wait for you to listen.
Be Adaptive Be Vulnerable, Dr. T
Harder to Kill Radio, Episode #159: Learning to Adapt to Major Life Changes
Trigger Warning – This episode contains conversation about miscarriage and eating disorders.
Or, listen on your favorite app: iTunes (Apple Podcasts) | Spotify | Stitcher | TuneIn| Google Play | I Heart Radio
On this episode we’re talking about what exactly it means to have a “New Normal” in your life and the healing and growth that comes along with that. Dr. Theresa Larson is actually one of my “real life” friends, who lives in San Diego, is a fellow introvert, a physical therapist, a mom, ex-marine, speaker, and so much more!
Without further ado, let’s get into this.
Dr. T actually didn’t discover she was an introvert until she started seeing patients and experienced a pretty significant burnout. She started working with a biofeedback therapist and found out that she was a highly sensitive introvert and started to work on the things the therapist recommended she do to get her energy back.
As she started to work on things more, she started to figure out more about herself and discovered that she needed to do the kind of work where she’d perform/speak and give a big burst of energy and then be able to retreat and heal until giving that energy again. Which has led her to latest endeavor, the My New Normal Podcast.
Theresa was actually one of my first 50 guests on the podcast and has really adapted to find her New Normal since she was first on.
When she first aired, she had just released her book, Warrior, where she talks about being a marine and suffering from an eating disorder and her inspiring journey. Since that episode, she’s become a mother of a healthy baby boy, but not before experiencing the heartache of a miscarriage right when her book was released.
Dr. T’s life is the literal definition of adaptation and I can’t wait for you to hear this full episode!
In this episode we’re talking about:
- How to manage being an introvert on a day to day basis
- Bringing self-compassion and boundaries into motherhood and health and wellness
- What an adaptive athletes workout and training regime looks like
- Educating people on what it is they can do to relieve their worst symptoms and mindsets
- Overcoming invisible and visible injuries to increase representation of all abilities in the fitness space
Resources Mentioned in the Show:
by 5dmin | Dec 18, 2018 | Blog, Podcast
On Episode 5 I sit down with my friend and mentor Dr. Kelly Starrett to learn about dialing in very specific things that will help you where ever you are on the spectrum of human, adaptive, able bodies, injuried, old, young etc. Kelly also keenly discusses the biopsychosocial model of physical therapy and how it is revolutionizing how they take care of ourselves. Listen, apply to your life, and pay it forward.
Here are topics covered on the show
- Most Embarrassing Moment In PT School
- How following the practice act makes you a bad physio
- How coaching changed Kelly’s practice as a physio
- What makes people change behavior
- Working with adaptive athletes
- 1st principles
- The mental health side of improving health
- Embracing being tribal animals
Here is how to reach Kelly Starrett
MobilityWOD Website
Instagram
Listen to My New Normal Podcast here:
