Neufeld Coaching

The views this past weekend hiking were phenomenal. I’ve been focusing a ton on self-reflection and improvement lately which is why I’m not present here as often. There is something to be said about how hard it is to take your own advice- I advise people daily about exercise and wellness but then tend to neglect my own. It’s still a struggle some days, but it has definitely improved!

If you feel that you struggle with pain or finding an exercise routine that feels good for you- I work in an amazing practice where I can work together with other professionals to have you feeling strong and capable.

DM me if you’d like to chat!

I am so very proud of my clients. They’ve got pain but they keep moving 👍🏻.

Clearly I need to go on more adventures since I don’t have many recent photos of myself on one. Anyways….

What you might not know about me is that I’ve been managing life in the last three years with chronic headaches/migraines. I’ve ended up in the emergency clinic a couple of times with numbness on one side of my face (turned out to be terrible auras if you know/have had migraines before). I’ve tried many different medications which have greatly affected my appetite and I’ve gained/lost weight many times over the past couple of years. I haven’t exercised as consistently in the last three years because some days, my headaches and my pain wins. I’m now not utilizing any medications, and while I still have headaches, they are managed and much less severe. No known cause, but definitely not a brain tumour so that’s good.

If you’ve stuck with me this long on this long post, my point to all of this is, sometimes pain wins. Sometimes you stay in bed. But if you choose movement more often, and choose to keep going (which in my case I’ve done) it will absolutely help. It’s not an easy choice, believe me I know, but it’s the good choice for your mind and your body. Especially if you suffer from chronic pain.

I remind my clients of this often. It’s so easy to get discouraged when progress is not readily seen. I always try to find a way to highlight the progress that has been made, because if you are consistent, you will make progress ☺️.

Feeling fortunate I got out to the mountains for some free therapy before I was stuck in my house for 5 days.

Time to get back on the grind this week and keep people moving (including myself lol).

Oh hey, just me standing on an old avalanche site.

How did you conquer your mountains today?

I’ve been thinking a ton about how I want to be portrayed on here and what sort of “theme” I’d like my training to follow.

If you know me personally, you know I love the mountains. Like I’d rather be in the mountains any day of the week.

I find that mountain hikes often resemble a stereotypical fitness journey. You are excited to get started, preparing yourself with the necessities to accomplish your task. When you start it’s difficult- your pack is uncomfortable as you get used to the weight, that knee or back pain you’ve had lately flares up as you try acclimatize to the effort required. You begin having thoughts like “why did I commit to this” when the incline increases and things become more difficult. This resembles how we often can commit to fitness routines but many fall off (or turn around on the hike) when things get too difficult or it isn’t prioritized to other life commitments. But those who keep pushing and climbing turn around and see how far they’ve come, and that motivates them to continue.

Man, though, when you get to the top of that mountain and see the incredible view (hit a lifetime PR or eliminate pain), you become elated with joy. You determine that all the effort, commitment, fatigue, pain, and sheer mental capacity that it took to get you there was absolutely worth it.

So I ask you, what mountains do you want to conquer? How hard are you willing to work to get to the top of that mountain? Don’t forget to look back and see the progress that you’ve made and be proud of the person that you are becoming, because you deserve it.