We received this fantastic email testimonial from Christopher W. about his Indian clubs rehab story. With his permission we’re sharing it here with you.
Personally, I find his story a testament to the strength that resides in everyone. It is a subject that has always fascinated me. Why do some people accept the health verdict they’re being told, and some people just refuse to accept it?
You might also have heard stories of people who were told would never walk again, or never be able to do the things they used to after a life threatening accident.
My partner in crime at Heroic Sport, Ron Bader is one such person. If you haven’t watched the story behind Heroic Sport, and have 10 minutes, give it a go!
Another such person was a sergeant who had a paragliding accident when I was doing military duties. And during my days of working ski seasons in Australia, I even met Janine Sheperd a few time.
The will and determination of these people is simply inspiring, and when I feel like whining, I think about them. It’s like a kick back into reality…
We have had reports of people swinging our Pahlavandle and avoiding shoulder surgery, or reporting reduction in neck pain. We are not therapists, but movement can sometimes be therapy, and heal us.
Maybe the story will resonate with you, or someone you know who find themselves in such a difficult and painful situation.
Have you got an Indian clubs rehab story?
Please let us know!
It’s the kind of stuff that gives us motivation to carry on with what we do.
Here is Chris’s unedited testimonial. Good reading!
“I’m literally doing the 14 exercises from 103 and Double Club Combinations 1 on a daily basis now. Sometimes the alternate swing transitions mess me up (when I’m mentally tired) but I wanted to give you a testimonial. I’ll try to keep it brief but I wanted you to know:
I was hit by a car in the spine when I was 8 and developed chronic pain and stiffness that prevented me from being the athlete that I had the spatial and kinesthetic awareness to be. I grew up in chronic pain and had advanced sciatica by 21. I used to climb stairs sideways in college. I’ve spent over $30,000 over the last 25 yrs on specialists, massage, physio, chiro, osteo. I’ve tried every contraption and device on the market. I’ve done yoga, tai chi, some basic pilates (all I could do was basic!), bodyweight exercises, weightlifting, kickboxing and always succeeded in injuring and reinjuring myself. I have been an EXPERT in living in pain all my life. It has affected every single area of my life.
On bad days I couldn’t walk more than half a block before I needed to rest and repeat to get where I was going. I’d been depressed but somehow never lost my resolve. I think I knew that if I gave up I’d be in a wheelchair eventually. My mother offered to buy me a walker when I was 21! Finally, I got rid of sciatica (from 2 yrs of expensive work with one talented chiropractor who literally changed my spine as per x rays), after 22 years of almost constant pain. I eventually got past another thick layer of pain using a particular school of yoga that is very extension (not stretch) based. But my shoulder blades were dead, frozen, useless. I didn’t even have the beginning of mobility.
So I got past sciatica, and have spent the last year doing this yoga and it has helped my pain tremendously, but it would take years if not decades to restore shoulder mobility to a healthy level since they’ve been compromised since at least 10 or 11 yrs old (35 years). Enter Indian clubs. I bought your pahlavandle 2.5 weeks ago and I have never had such a massive shift in strength, stability, mobility, and awareness in anything resembling such a short period of time. I could write volumes on the amount of change and health returning to my shoulders and back. The nerve to my biceps was compromised such that I couldn’t consciously flex them fully for the last 20 years. My shoulder clicked and popped painfully with almost any use. That was normal. My core was not connected to my shoulders in any useful way at all.
Progressing to your Transitions 103 and doing everything quite slowly (to learn the patterns and to make sure my core is strongly engaged and my breath is matching my movements) has given me back my ability to flex my biceps consciously, after 20 years. Right now they (and every other muscle above my knee, lol) are sore but NOT tight at all. Very mobile. I can’t say enough about the amount of shoulder and back health and even hip health (inward and outward swing squats are FANTASTIC for connecting tricky hips to tricky shoulders in a functional way) I’ve regained in the last 2 weeks. It’s like 10 years of progress. When I lift my arms now my core starts to automatically engage! This is after 2 weeks! It’s almost a miracle.
I am super motivated to continue progressing my practice and breathing and feeling better and stronger on a daily basis. These shoulders are so thankful for your work – both the affordable club option as well as your fantastically explained videos. The Pahlavandle is literally giving me back my shoulders and biceps as well as full body health.”
