Healthy New Year!

It’s the start of a new year — a new decade.  It’s often a time of renewed energy and resolutions.  Exercise and lifestyle changes are at the top of many of those lists.   Most of us know that “exercise is medicine”.  Yet somehow it is so hard to regularly take that medicine.  Habits, mindset, time and so many other facts of life can hamper momentum forward.  Add to the mix chronic disease, acute illness or injury and the path towards your goals seems even more complex.  It can be hard to know where to start and what works for you and your unique health scenario.

Have you ever heard of health coaching?
Health coaching is a style of treatment and therapeutic communication that helps patients gain the knowledge, skills, tools and confidence to become active participants in their care, so that they can reach their self-identified health goals.  Self-management supports an active role for patients with chronic conditions by enabling patients to learn to manage their symptoms, maintain independence, and achieve a better quality of life. Health coaching has been shown to improve patients’ physical and mental health.

Health coaching with a physiotherapist will see you have focused discussions on what matters most to you, what motivates you and why you are seeking change.  As the patient you bring the expertise in “you".  As physiotherapists we bring the expertise in cardiorespiratory, musculoskeletal, and neurological conditions, in therapeutic exercise, in strength and conditioning, and in behaviour and habit change.  Here at Breathe Well Physiotherapy, we have particular expertise in all things breathing.  We are here to guide you towards the goals that you have identified.  And if your goals are still a bit fuzzy, we are here to help you refine that vision.  Health coaching is a process in change.   Chronic conditions, like COPD, lung disease, arthritis and many others, are not going to be “cured” so the focus shifts to influencing the factors that can be modified.  Exercise, lifestyle, mindset, beliefs and understanding about our health can have powerful impacts on improving physical and mental wellness.  Sustainable change does not happen overnight and often has many hiccups along the way.  When a strong therapeutic relationship is at the core, you are more likely to learn how to overcome those hiccups and continue forward towards what matters most to you.  

At Breathe Well Physiotherapy, we believe that empowering our patients to breathe well, move well and live well is the most meaningful work we can do.

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