Aquatic Therapy Provides Benefits for the Mind and Spirit, as Well as the Body

My husband and I have been overweight most of our adult lives. Somewhere along the way, after numerous yo-yo diets and exercise plans, I think we just gave up. We haven’t even thought of exercising in many years. We were at the point where it seemed unrealistic that we would ever be healthy, able to exercise or to move much at all without pain and shortness of breath.

But all that changed recently. As part of the preparation for bariatric surgery at Martin Memorial, we are enrolled in a 26-week weight-loss management program. Basically, we meet with a nutritional counselor to learn how and what to eat as part of a life-long commitment to being healthy. We also have access to the fitness centers and personal trainer sessions.

Honestly, the word gym doesn’t exist in my vocabulary. Sure I’ve been there before – about 10 years ago, maybe longer – but it’s a distant memory. I even have a treadmill, a bicycle, a ski machine and an ab roller at my house. The treadmill is great to hang coats on by the way! At this weight, I’m terrified to try to exercise because I think my heart would give up after a few steps on a stair climber. My husband feels the same way – as do most overweight people I’ve met.

Despite those fears, we recently had our first session with a personal trainer. No, we didn’t keel over on the treadmill; in fact, we didn’t even enter that part of the gym. Instead, we went to aquatic therapy offered by Martin Memorial.

We put on our bathing suits – the ones we had bought for our cruise last year, but of course never dared to wear them. The training pool was perfectly warm and not too deep. Our trainer, Nicole was a pleasant, skilled professional who understood our special needs.

She made it fun as she instructed us on how to do simple moves that would get our bodies moving again. We felt the movements, but they didn’t hurt because the water doesn’t put a strain on your body, unlike a machine. Thank goodness, because these knees can’t handle any more strain. We trained for about half an hour, then we kept going by ourselves. We even spent a few minutes in the hot tub – we deserved it after all our hard work. Our last half hour was spent in the large pool doing laps and just playing around like kids.

My husband and I felt young again – we even forgot that we were overweight. The water has an amazing effect on the body. I felt like I was weightless, yet strong and powerful. We were superheroes! The pool was therapeutic – for more than our bodies. All our stress just floated away and we were at peace with ourselves and each other. It truly was therapy for the mind, body and spirit.

--Landy Tiffany
Marketing Communications Coordinator