Happiness can be found in a lot of things, or non-material things.

As an example, I am happy simply from the fact that the sun is up and I can get up without needing any help. Or it is the weekend which also means my bubble tea date time which equates happy for me. Or when my clients achieve their goals from my knowledge shared with them on pain, Pilates, exercise, normal tissue healing time and the human anatomy.

Hence, I have decided to write on the happy found from movement because I think this also makes me happy, simply by sharing my opinions to the world if it can make a difference.

For example, the freedom of movement. How incredible it is that most of us are gifted with the ability and freedom to walk, to pick up a pen from the floor, to learn, to play footy or netball. It is the little things that are truly miracles in life. Whereas there are some of us who are not as fortunate, to not have the freedom of movement, and may need help with walking, eating, talking (with assistive devices) and so on.

Or happy from painless movement. It is ridiculous the amount of people living with chronic pain. According to Australian Institute of Health and Welfare (AIHW) 2020, approximately one in five adults aged over 45 experienced chronic pain in 2016.

Pain is good when it works well, telling our bodies to respond to avoid perceived danger.

But when pain comes on overdrive and constant long past the acute stages of an injury, pain is not good.

You stop doing certain things because of the pain. Sometimes in more severe cases, people end up in hospital due to chronic pain. Between 2017 to 2018, 105 000 hospitalisations involved chronic pain in Australia (AIHW 2020).

What if I said pain experiences can be changed with a change of mindset?

Retraining our brains to think of pain differently.

Of course, it is not just the mind we need to train.

We also need to build on the de-conditioned muscles and the stiff joints that have gone through a cycle of non-movement for fear of pain.

And we need to practice on the neuromuscular facilitation for appropriate timing of muscle activation and muscle switching off.

Even a car needs to be serviced. Our minds and bodies also need the constant attention and stimulation to perform at the best.

Practice makes perfect, but practice in the correct direction.

Towards getting back to being able to do something you LOVE doing.

If this sounds like what you are interested to find out more about, stay tuned to hear bits and pieces on this blog.