Hi. My name is Lauren. Like many physical therapist's backgrounds begin, I gained an interest in health care through my own experiences with aches and pains that came along with an athletic, active youth. After college graduation and the end of my athletic career (like many young twenty something's fitness journey begin) I turned to running as a convenient method (free) of getting into shape (avoiding getting fat) because cardio was ERRRything. My new-found education in physical therapy coupled with my stellar magazine-fueled health, fitness, and nutrition expertise offered me little in the way of being able to help when I found myself laid up with chronic knee pain whenever I ran. Every. Single. Time. My biggest concern? Needing to find an alternative way to keep exercising for fear of gaining weight.
Over the next few years, my professional interest in becoming a better physical therapist was selfishly rooted in finding ways to help myself feel better (so I could keep running and finally look AHmazing) and motivated me to keep learning the next new trick that would surely be the cure-all. Unsurprisingly, the quick fix never came. Instead, I collected mounds of information and years of experience until eventually I sort of knew what I was talking about. When an opportunity to join a private practice in a sports performance setting came about, I jumped. Here, I quickly discovered that there was a whole world of movement that I didn't really know the first thing about. And then came CrossFit.
I am an avid believer that if I am going to offer an opinion, dole out advice, or contribute in any way that I should at least have SOME experience with what I am talking about. When my practice started including clients seeking relief from ailments attributed to their CrossFit endeavors, I decided to see what the fuss was about (and finally learn WTF a snatch is, besides...you know) and I'm so grateful I did. CrossFit was like a crash course in what our bodies can do and really got me thinking that I needed to learn SO. MUCH. MORE.
Over the last five years, my education has been unreal and continues to unfold as a more complete picture of health comes into focus. Dedicating myself to the practice of moving for health first and for fitness second has been the number one driving force behind my personal and professional growth, enabling me to help others do the same. A close second? The internet. Seriously. Without the world wide interwebs, instant idea sharing, global networking, access to infinite information, and awareness of how much is out there would not be available and I wouldn't have the ability to now share it here. Raise the roof emojis for the internet.
Every day I learn a little bit more, understand a bit better, and gain a greater appreciation for the human body and more specifically, pain. My own ailments set me out on this path and my persistent knee pain (founded by ignorance, perpetuated by stubbornness) ultimately drove me to rediscover my passion for learning and DOING. Much of what "I knew" was wrong and most of the things I avoided doing I just honestly didn't understand. The movement world likes to say that pain is a great educator and for me, nothing could be more true.
#LBS
P.S. I am now able to run without knee pain, although I usually don't in favor of picking things up and putting them down. Sometimes fast(ish).