/living with chronic pain

I don’t talk about it much, being careful not to create attachment or give ego a new identification. I’m speaking of living with chronic pain. Yes, my body has not been the same since the dengue virus worked its way through it in 2017, but I also lived a very fast paced, active, multi-tasking, creative life. My body is a good one - it tells me when I’ve done too much. In many ways, it’s been a blessing in disguise, causing me to slow down, embrace the moments, and retire from multitasking. It’s shown me what is truly important in life and what is not. Living with chronic pain is no fun and those of us who live with it know what it’s like to be frustrated with self. Yes, the pain is invisible but God knows and is so proud of our fight. Yes, we get frustrated bc we can’t do what we see others doing. Yet we might remember a day when we could. Health is wealth. We forget it’s value until it’s dwindled. But the truth that I hold onto is a very different one than my rheumatologist would tell me - this is not permanent. This is what I choose to believe and I pass that belief to others. Born out of this comes “GentleFIT - Back to Health”, an exercise and lifestyle program for everyone but especially for those who suffer with chronic pain. If seeing others do these expansive and fast exercises and living the high road exhausts you just by thinking of it, this program will be for you. I am taking my many years of fitness and natural living knowledge, giving myself to research and experiments and forming a program that is nourishing to the senses, especially restorative in body. We do not need to give up on living with zeal bc of pain. I’ve been able to accomplish so much while having pain. Gentle does not mean weak or easy, but it means strong. I am proof of a life well lived amidst chronic pain, and I will be your biggest cheerleader. Our fight is not our pain, but our mind. Depression is a form of chronic pain, in my opinion, and this program is centered with that in mind. Learning to tune into our own body, and accepting self every day, is where this gentleness in living will grow. After all, life is meant to be lived.

Journeying together,

Kari