{"id":333,"date":"2019-01-31T07:55:33","date_gmt":"2019-01-31T07:55:33","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/localhost\/wp\/?p=333"},"modified":"2019-01-31T07:55:33","modified_gmt":"2019-01-31T07:55:33","slug":"if-i-couldnt-walk-the-paralympics-are-here","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lisajohnsonfitness.com\/if-i-couldnt-walk-the-paralympics-are-here\/","title":{"rendered":"If I Couldn\u2019t Walk (The Paralympics Are Here)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\t\t\t\t\n

When I was a kid, I read the book Pollyanna<\/em> by Eleanor Porter. The main character, a young girl, has a very sunny outlook on life, which she shares with everyone else in her small town. But her disposition is tested when she gets hit by a car and loses the use of her legs, unable to find anything positive in the situation. Buoyed by the townspeople she helped, Pollyanna is able to turn her initial anger and bitterness around, finding a way to fight through it and make her way in the world.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The story has always stayed with me, but at the time when I first read the book, my thought was, \u201cI\u2019d become a wheelchair racer.\u201d  That was the only sport I knew of where paraplegics could participate; now I know there are a lot<\/em> more \u2026 a whole Olympiad\u2019s worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

In my time as a Pilates instructor, I have worked with clients dealing with serious injuries and it makes me think again about how I would handle a life-changing injury. Would I mope and become bitter? Or would I rise above my obstacles?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I also had the honor of working with an Olympic figure skating hopeful this past year. I saw his drive, his utter focus on his sport. It was awe-inspiring. His body could micro-adjust to any teaching cue I gave him. His physical strength was amazing to me, not just in one area of his body, but throughout. And his sense of balance and timing? Impeccable. Just wow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now imagine this same grace and presence and strength, but on someone with a limitation. A limb not functioning properly or missing entirely. These athletes move with the same fluidity, the same power \u2026 it\u2019s humbling and inspiring. Just wow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So if, heaven forbid, something happens and I wind up partially paralyzed, or blind, or something else, I\u2019m going to try to roll with it. I\u2019m going to try to set an example for my son and my community that you can rise above. That there is still plenty of life to be lived and enjoyed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"<\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

Honestly, I think I\u2019d still want to be a wheelchair racer because the whoosh of the wind through my hair just seems like a whole lot of fun.  For the Winter Paralympics, though, I\u2019d go for curling \u2026 it\u2019s just such a geeky and cool sport, how can you not love it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What about you? Do you have a friend or loved one who has struggled with a physical disability? Have you thought about the \u201cwhat ifs\u201d?  What sport would you do? I\u2019d love to hear your stories.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This post was created in partnership with Citi\u00ae. All thoughts and opinions are my own.<\/p>\n\t\t","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

When I was a kid, I read the book Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter. The main character, a young girl, has a very sunny outlook on life, which she shares with everyone else in her small town. But her disposition is tested when she gets hit by a car and loses the use of her legs, unable to …<\/p>\n

If I Couldn\u2019t Walk (The Paralympics Are Here)<\/span> Read More »<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":336,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_is_tweetstorm":false,"jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false}}},"categories":[19],"tags":[],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\nIf I Couldn\u2019t Walk (The Paralympics Are Here) - Lisa Johnson Fitness<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.lisajohnsonfitness.com\/if-i-couldnt-walk-the-paralympics-are-here\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"If I Couldn\u2019t Walk (The Paralympics Are Here) - Lisa Johnson Fitness\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"When I was a kid, I read the book Pollyanna by Eleanor Porter. 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