I hear so many clients say this during rehab, especially during the early rehab stage.

They will often say:

“Ahhhhhh, I feel frustrated with my body

I can't believe it's taking so long to recover,

It feels like it’s taking forever to see any improvements,

It feels like I'm standing still and everyone is moving past me and the gap between me and them keeps getting bigger,

I feel like I am getting left behind, when I compare myself with everyone else around me

Everything I do doesn't bring me the results I am looking for,

I am working so hard but nothing is changing in my body,

I am exactly the same,

I can't see any change,

Everyone says I'm improving but I can't see it,

What do they see that I don’t see?”

My goals of walking faster and further or using my arm have still not materialised so nothing has changed because my everyday life is exactly the same!

So, what's the point?

It feels so hard!

But here's the thing….. it takes courage to believe that you can improve!

It takes courage to keep believing that things can change especially when you can’t see it yet!

You see it takes Faith and Belief in something bigger that you

The crazy looks that each client has given me over the years when I have said

YES, change is possible for you

You can improve

There is loads of potential for progress

We just have to work at it

They all looked at me like I was crazy at that moment when I say change and improvement is possible,

Their facial expressions say: She has lost the plot or even better! She is crazy!

I can hear what you are thinking now….

You may be thinking, how can she know?

One of my client’s said: “You are saying what you think I want to hear”

But have you considered, what if I am right?

What if you have given up before you have even started?

I would never give someone hope if there was nothing, I could do to help them.

Here’s the thing….My eye is trained to spot potential even when it is only a seedling!

It's trained to know exactly when to push you to that next level.

I know what your potential is well before you do.

• It is my job to know this.
• It is my job to show you the way.
• It is my job to keep the torch burning until you are ready to take the torch from me and carry it yourself.

That's how much I believe in whom-ever I work with!

This is exactly what happened to one of my clients.

The Reticular Activating System in the brain shows you what you believe.

Your brain following your injury will continue to find examples of how your body is staying the same if you believe that you can’t improve

You can retrain your brain to focus on all your improvements rather than what is not working and what has still not shown up

My job is to help you know

• What exercises to do at the right time,
• When to do it,
• When to progress and try new things as well as spotting and showing you how your body is changing even if it's small!

The small changes add up and become big changes over time and so much quicker than you think.

Take one of my client’s for example:  

We met 10 months after her Stroke, and she had been working on her arm and leg in inpatient and out-patient rehab before we met. But there was still no change after all the hard work she had put in.

When I told her that she had the potential to regain function in her arm because she had flickers of movement in her arm and hand. She thought I was crazy. Probably because I was the first one to show her the activity that she had. Even though it was small.  

In fact, she said on multiple occasions our sessions, “You are just saying so”.

Reading between the lines, I get it, I was giving her hope.

Hope not to give up!

Hope not to give into her mind and her belief that she will never regain her arm movement

And now throw gritted teeth, she is finally saying

“I can see now, I have made some improvement, but I still have far to go!”

So today, I am here to remind you that I will protect your dreams. I will shield it and keep it burning by nurturing it until it is strong enough to burn on its own

Remember the road unfolds with each action step we take….

So, I have a question for you…

Are you ready for the ride of your life?

A ride of self-belief, courage and adventure as you get reconnected with your beautiful body!

Love and Blessings 

Natalie x

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