My Scoliosis Journey
This is What Scolio-Pilates Has Done For Me
My scoliosis journey starts in a typical way. I was diagnosed with scoliosis when I was eight years old. My gym teacher saw me walking at recess and told me to have my mom take me to the doctor to check my back. Over the next 4 years, my life was doctor and chiropractor appointments, paired with a plaster cast, a brace, and finally, spinal fusion with Cotrel-Dubousset instrumentation. I have always said, surgery was the best decision for me at that time, I went through a lot as a child, and the surgery stopped it. When I became an adult, I always had pain of some sort, some days worse than others, but the pain was always present, and I learned to live with it.
I turned 40, and suddenly my pain was no longer manageable, I was in so much pain. I would wake up screaming at night with pain. It was radiating through my back and seizing my neck and head. The headaches were unbearable, all I wanted to do was bang my head to the wall to make it go away. Pain medication couldn’t stop it, nothing could stop it, and it seemed nights were the worse. I saw a lot of doctors who could not understand why I was suddenly in pain. Their only solution was to send me to another doctor. Then my osteopath suggested I look up Scolio-Pilates. She had heard of it but knew nothing else. She said, “I can’t find a way to help you, and it can’t hurt to try.”
That is how I discovered Scolio-Pilates and Karena. She came into my life at a moment when I was so low I could not even imagine a future. I walked into her studio, not knowing what to expect, and walked out with a new love of life. She taught me exercises that I took with me and did daily. I was able to take my pain away as well as create a strength I never had. Scolio-Pilates gave me the tools to live my life fully.
My Scoliosis Journey
Scolio-Pilates changed my life in different ways
Before I met Karena, a doctor told me I was 5’6. I have been 5’7 ever since I had my surgery. One day I was measuring my kids and decided to measure myself, I was 5’7 and a half!!! An inch and a half taller! That is Scolio-Pilates for me!
One day I was playing with my children in the pool, and we were creating waves by bringing our arms back and forth for a while. I thought nothing of it. That night I felt my right arm seize, and I couldn’t move it anymore. I was used to that pain, the one where I couldn’t lift my right arm and would have me reaching for the extra-strong pain medication. But this time, I knew what I had to do; I didn’t panic, I got my wedges, lied on my back and got into my alignment, and took one breath; as I inhaled, I felt a nerve move, and the pain was gone. Completely. With only one breath. I could move my arm, and nothing was pinched or hurting. I couldn’t believe it. Before Scolio-Pilates this type of pain would have put me in bed for a few days and led to two weeks of pain. Instead, it was just a moment. That is Scolio-Pilates for me!
My Scoliosis Journey
New Path
Being helped how Karena sparked my desire to help other people. I contacted Karena and asked her how I could become a Scolio-Pilates instructor because I wanted to help people the way she helped me. Scoliosis taught me a lot, and Scolio-Pilates helped me deal with it. In September 2022, I became an authorized Scolio-Pilates instructor. That is Scolio-Pilates for me!
Ultimately my scoliosis shaped me into the person I am today, and Scolio-Pilates allows me to be the person I always wanted to be!
What is Scolio-Pilates for you?
Are you ready to start your journey? Whether you are someone living with scoliosis or a professional helping those with scoliosis, join our Scolio-Pilates On Demand here. You will have two weeks of free scoliosis-specific exercises with a live class every Thursday at 3 pm ET (New York, USA) and access to over 100 classes. It’s time to take control. Be a Scolio-Mover!”
Are you a professional looking to serve those with scoliosis? Learn the steps towards becoming an Authorized Scolio-Pilates Practitioner.