Jane's Recovery from a Stroke
The Feldenkrais Method, NLP and Bones for Life make a positive difference in recovery from a stroke
The web of life. The 6 degrees of separation. The art of knowing each other but then realizing you may not know each other as well as you thought.
This may seem like a non-sequitur, but we need to set this story up a bit.
We have been told we need more Google Reviews. To be fair, we had only 1 from 10 years ago, so we have neglected this aspect of our online life.
Anyway, we began asking people here and there if they would write us a Google review for us. One of those people was Jane.
Now, we thought we knew Jane. And considering how many things she had done with us, we thought we knew something about the impact on her life we have had.
Yet, we truly never grasped its depth until Jane took the opportunity to write a review. For her, it was a story that needed to be told.
A the end of this moving story, Jane offers 7 potent observations. Don’t miss those!
From Jane:
In 2003, I had a stroke at age 50. I experienced hemiparesis on my right side. This meant my right foot, ankle, leg, knee, hip, hand, wrist, arm, shoulder, chest, and glutes lost a percentage of my strength, endurance and range of movement in those areas.
My voice, emotions, decision-making, and energy were also impacted. My sense of balance since my stroke always required my full attention and several walking aids. Despite my heightened awareness, hours of exercises, and helpful walking aids, I fell twice in 2011, fracturing my fibula and collarbone.
I was 17 years post-stroke when I attended the 2020 Move Better, Feel Better Summit. I was exposed to new ways to improve my well-being.
In 2021, I decided to participate in Future Life Now’s Bones for Life Immersions. Here, I discovered the added benefits of taking classes with their instructors and being part of a truly learning community.
This was a game-changer for me. I gained a different approach to movement. I was sensing more freedom and gains by incorporating smaller and slower movements.
This generated an expanded awareness of improvement and confidence. I sensed a powerful change in my movement, posture, pain level, balance, endurance and self-awareness.
It was a welcomed surprise that changes happened with gentleness and ease versus grit, force and sweat. This pleasant change occurred despite my mobility limitations, i.e. using a walker, cane, or rollator.
Often, Bones for Life participants spoke of “gifts” discovered while doing a movement. The Future Life Now teachers and staff worked hard to make this environment conducive to quality learning for all body types. Improvements appeared in each new series.
I am deeply impressed with Future Life Now’s commitment to their calling. What they have done for me … they created an experience that has:
- Expanded my body’s capabilities,
- Altered my thoughts to be more open and accepting and
- Lifted my personal sense of purpose.
I now dwell in possibilities in movements, decisions and life choices.
In 2022, while studying Bones for Life, I experienced meaningful changes, e.g., reduced knee pain, improved sleep and less stiffness.
Larry Wells presented a preview to NLP during the very dark days of COVID. I liked what I heard and signed up for. I could see that NLP and future pacing could benefit me as I needed to reframe a major loss (my mother’s passing) and prepare my future life now.
It helped me immensely. We explored how to remove our obstacles and retain resilience with various strategies and techniques. The NLP series has brought together a great community that will continue to support participants in 2025. This is a unique personal growth program that I highly value.
Now I am in my 70’s, 10 years retired, and 21 years post-stroke. I am happy to say that I possess more energy and hope than I have over the past 13 years.
I am thankful for my involvement in each of the three of the Future Life Now programs: Bones for Life, Your Learning Body and NLP. They have been opening my heart to new places to explore.
It is now 2024, and I have participated in many online experiences provided by Future Life Now. Each has brought forward strategies that have positively changed my body, thinking and spirit.
I am understanding how and why my body heals. I have more hope. It has been hard at times to persevere to get better. Challenges arise when you have a decades-long chronic condition, the effects of aging and the overuse injuries of limbs and joints taking their toll. But these three years has given me a foundation of less pain and more gain.
It is a wonderful community to heal with. We tap into Super Powers!
How have I changed during my time with Future Life Now? It can be summarized in these seven observations. I know this list will continue to grow.
- Now, I move better, feel better, and live better.
- I tap into the wisdom of my learning body.
- I know I am not alone on this path. Rich resources resonate.
- I dwell in possibilities and connections instead of judgment.
- My heart senses more abundance and less scarcity.
- Traveling along a path of growing empowerment, I feel ready for the fullness of myself and others.
- Reframe my challenges by moving toward the next thing, not running away from the last thing. Same direction. Completely different energy.
Thank you, Jane, for letting us be a part of your life!
May we all find partners in our health and healing that lead to this kind of support and possibility. If you need this, start penciling in our 2025 programs.
