My Blog

The Path To Wellbeing

Taking a Pause to Reflect, Redirect, and Reinvent painfreeathlete sabbatical self-care self-compassion thepainfreeathlete May 25, 2023

In January 2022 I listened to the Wellcoaches’ continuing education (CE) class–“The Urgency of Sabbaticals” by DJ DiDonna, founder of the Sabbatical Project. I recall that before I took the class, I had recently talked with an excited client about his sabbatical and was...

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Breast Cancer: A Lesson in Self-Care cancer hope self-compassion the pain free athlete thriving Dec 19, 2018

What did I do wrong? 

This was the first question I asked myself when I was diagnosed with breast cancer. Next, I soon asked, How could this happen to me? I have dedicated my personal and professional life to wellness. I am not supposed to get cancer!

Then came the self-doubt: My career has...

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Healing is Possible! heal yourself healing an injury healing and injury healing chronic pain pain free athlete pain free body self healing self-compassion the pain free athlete Sep 28, 2017

Please enjoy the beginning of Chapter 1 from my book, Winning the Injury Game, available on Amazon. Download the entire chapter.

Your body is wonderfully resilient. It wants to serve you and make possible all the sports and activities you love. However, I know this is hard to hear right now....

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What is Athletic Toughness? character strengths heal yourself pain free athlete racing self self-compassion self-discipline the pain free athlete May 23, 2016

Is athletic toughness pushing through the pain and possibly compromising your body for future sports participation to compete in a race?

OR

Is athletic toughness having the integrity to listen to your body, make self-respecting choices and think beyond today’s game? 

Depending on when...

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Practice Self-Compassion for Better Health heal heal yourself health self healing self-compassion self-discipline Feb 16, 2016

Ah, February. The month of love and hearts. Here in the US, we recently celebrated Valentine’s Day. On this day, we express our affections for others. Of course, this is a wonderful thing to do! But what about giving ourselves love and compassion?

Why does it matter? Well, research has...

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Pain is Your Ally In Healing chronic pain freedom from pain heal yourself healing an injury healing chronic pain pain free athlete self healing self-compassion the pain free athlete Sep 08, 2014

“Pain is part of the body's defense system, producing a reflexive retraction from the painful stimulus, and tendencies to protect the affected body part while it heals, and avoid that harmful situation in the future.”

This is the evolutionary and behavioral role of pain as described...

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Knowing When to Let Go of a Sports Goal athletic injury character strengths health goals pain free athlete racing self-compassion the pain free athlete Jun 17, 2014

Balloon Letting go is hard. In my experience, it is much more difficult to coach someone to postpone participation in an event than to continue ahead with strenuous training. I've also struggled with this personally. Consider this . . .

July 15, 2011 - It is the day before cross-country...

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Keep Race Results in Perspective pain free athlete pain free body self-compassion strength training the pain free athlete training Feb 20, 2014

It's ski season, in some parts of the country anyway, which means Nordic ski racing for me. As I am about to embark on the biggest ski race of my career this weekend, the American Birkebeiner, it is good to remember to keep perspective. Please enjoy this piece I previously wrote on the topic.

...

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Love Your Body Today and Everyday heal yourself self self healing self-compassion self-discipline Feb 14, 2014

When was the last time you showed appreciation for your body and all it does to support and move you? If you are like many, you've had a ore negative tone during recent conversations with your physical structure. Perhaps you've heard yourself expressing resentment for your pain. Or, you've...

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Enhance Your Self-Worth in 2014! body awareness heal yourself self self healing self-compassion Dec 18, 2013

Do you ever feel like you're not enough? That you should be doing and giving more? I do!

Where does this come from? Why do we feel inadequate despite our achievements? Perhaps we have bought into the beliefs spread through our society in the self-sacrifice or self-esteem handbooks... 

...

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Transitioning Through Loss exercise heal yourself self self healing self-compassion Oct 31, 2013

Two weeks ago my mother passed from this life. It has been a difficult period and a dramatic transition that has been defined by changes like helping my Dad pack, sell and toss over 50 years of life together. This blog contains advice that I wrote after my beloved dog, Coral, passed. As I deal...

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Injuries are Opportunities - Making the most of your time off the bike bike heal yourself healing and injury mountain bike mountain biking self healing self-compassion the pain free athlete training May 15, 2013

Please enjoy this re-print of an article I wrote for mountain flyer magazine a few years back, original article.

 Lying on the couch with fresh stitches in my thigh, as the ice pack begins to drip, my head is spinning from the pain medication. The sun is shining and I can see the...

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