#chronic illness pos
Support giant clunky loud mobility aid users!! I see a ton of positivity for cane users, which is good cause y’all rock, but people who use bigger ones that don’t really come in easily hideable/foldable options rock too!! Fuck the part of your brain that tells you that if you’re not discrete as possible then you’re doing something wrong!! Be big and loud!! Be indiscrete!! Take up a much space as humanly possible!! If people don’t like it then they’re more than welcome to send their concerns to the trash!!
I figured out the secret life hack that the ableds don’t want you to know about.
My fellow chronic pain and limited mobility bitches, if you’re looking for ways stay active and get some exercise while working around your issues instead of against them, look up “[Thing you want to do] for seniors.”
Before i learned i have fight or flight bones i always said i had old people bones and yknow somehow i never thought of this
I’ve been trying to keep my core muscles toned enough to stop my skeleton from completely falling apart for years and I only figured this one out like yesterday
Bonus: the local YMCA often has gentle fitness courses designed for seniors to keep fit, and my experience is that if you are the one young person gamely showing up and being friendly, you will immediately be adopted and get to give advice on what the Youngs think even if you are like thirty two.
Plus water aerobics is literally the most fun physical exercise I’ve ever done and the coaches give you instructions tailored to your body’s actual abilities, not the abilities of some way more athletic kid, and no one gives a shit if you show up in wildly gender variant swim shit.
Going to a “gentle water exercise” course was a major part of my journey towards exercise that actually benefited me. I find that instructors who came from the “fitness” world and just added it as an additional class on their schedule were not nearly as useful as ones who came from the “rehab” world and were very aware of how exercises could injure people with different conditions.
The other early stepping stone for me was Restorative Yoga, in a studio that actively discouraged competition and pushing your body too far. It was a shock to go to Restorative classes elsewhere and be asked to do a headstand or back bridge with no alternatives. At the studio I learned the most at, sometimes I would just fall asleep during class, and the instructor would gently wake me up when it was time to go. She understood it wasn’t lack of respect, it was me giving my body what it needed.
I should absolutely sign up for gentle exercise courses
But this is also absolutely true for accommodation devices. Especially ones that don’t have a “name”
They will often have something to make things easier for you
