Training to Be a Dragon Rider

By Valerie Carsey

My Health Journey

One of the reasons I really took to working in healthcare was to help myself. Over the last four years, I went from a hysterectomy one year, to spraining both ankles (one quite severely) the next, to a cancer diagnosis followed by a thyroidectomy the year after, followed by a long bout of mononucleosis the year after that. My health has been a journey.

Each setback requires a slow, gradual return to my work as a massage therapist. The return is arduous. At first I’m just trying to get through a full day of work (4–6 hours of hands-on time). Then I try to gradually add exercise back in — and that’s only the physical side of it. There are mental obstacles too. I constantly ask myself: Do I feel well enough to keep up? How do I avoid overdoing it so I’m not crippled in tomorrow’s work day?

I carry this image of myself as someone people look up to for knowledge about health and well-being, because of my work. I feel pressure to live up to that, and struggle with insecurities about what I will look like when I start exercising again. All the things…

Hooray for the Win!

I recently got my bloodwork back, and my health is looking the best it has in years. My white blood cell count is back down. My red blood cell and platelet counts are up. All good things. I’m handling heavier work weeks now. So, I have told myself, firmly: enough excuses. It is time to get over myself and get back to working out.

Overcoming Mental Roadblocks Exercise

I decided to tackle my mental hurdles head-on, using an exercise to identify and clear them:

                  1.              Make a list of everything I associate with the idea of exercise (e.g., “youth has more energy,” “exercise makes you stronger”).

                  2.              Write my story with exercise — my emotions, my journey, when I first started.

                  3.              Identify all the negatives and roadblocks in that story.

                  4.              Make a plan to address each roadblock.

                  5.              Re-write the story without the roadblocks.

Uncovering My Root Problem

What I learned about myself is that exercise used to be fun. It was a game. I loved swinging on the monkey bars in elementary school. I loved gymnastics in junior high, swing dancing in high school, dance classes and club dancing in my early college years. I never struggled to make time for the hard work, because the fun factor was so high.

Somewhere along the way, as an adult, I got it into my head that exercise was supposed to be hard work. For example, I needed to lift weights to build muscle. After multiple surgeries, injuries, and illnesses, my body became deconditioned and out of balance. And who wants to make time for hard work when you could be doing something fun instead? That was it! I had been procrastinating exercise because exercise had stopped being fun. That realization was key for me.

How to Train to Be a Dragon Rider

I kept getting Facebook ads for “How to Train to Be a Dragon Rider.” As a fantasy novel lover, that was appealing — but I’d just signed up for a sword-dancing class and wasn’t about to pay for another program when I already had a gym membership. So, I decided to build my own.

What would it actually take to train as a dragon rider? They need to fight — so I started showing up to BodyCombat classes. They need to be strong — so I built a weightlifting routine to do once a week, at home or the gym. They are, agile, flexible, and balanced — so I started going to yoga. There it was: I was officially training to be a dragon rider. Exercise was fun again! Just reframing it in my mind made all the difference. I felt motivated to show up — and now I had a motivational story (my roadblock-free story) to remind me of what I was doing and who I was on this journey.

Keeping My Eye on the Goal

Then reality set in. BodyCombat is fun, but humbling. It is not that I think anyone in class is judging me — but I am judging myself. I am the slowest. I am restricted from running and jumping because of a previous knee surgery. For someone who moves for a living and walks a lot on weekends, it was eye-opening to see where my body wasn’t moving as well as I had assumed.

In yoga, I have core strength and stabilization work to do — my imbalances are obvious, and my balance isn’t where I want it. Self-criticism creeps in. But this is where my roadblock-free story kicks in. I need the reminder, over and over: I’m not supposed to be perfect at the beginning. This is where I have to find some grace with myself.

I Am Not Alone

Why share this story? Every day, I work with people who want to re-engage with their fitness journey, and I know I am not alone in these hesitations, excuses, and insecurities. I wanted to show that I am doing the work too, and maybe help motivate someone else along the way.

Together, we can each start our own journey, at whatever fitness level we are at, with just one small step forward. Health and wellness is a journey — but beginning, and then beginning again, are steps that matter. I believe in positive psychology: just believing I can achieve my goal is half the battle. I believe in positive affirmations. I believe in positive visualization. These are the tools that work for me. I remind myself: I am training to be a dragon rider. What does that entail?

My Roadblocks-Free Story

“I am creative and have always enjoyed playful ways to exercise. I feel proud when I accomplish new goals and show that I have gotten stronger. I feel good when other people recognize the progress I have made in my exercise. I have taken needed rests and breaks when life has demanded this of me. I am tenacious when I keep trying to discover new, fun and exciting ways to exercise. When I am excited to exercise, finding the time to do so is effortless. My support system cheers me on when I meet new fitness goals and excel. I have gratitude that I am healthy enough to exercise. I am impressive and brave for consistently trying again when I get off track. I have never given up. My body is a pleasurable place to be. I am training to be a dragon rider.”

By Valerie Carsey

Edited by AI

My Health Journey

One of the reasons I really took to working in healthcare was to help myself. Over the last four years, I went from a hysterectomy one year, to spraining both ankles (one quite severely) the next, to a cancer diagnosis followed by a thyroidectomy the year after, followed by a long bout of mononucleosis the year after that. My health has been a journey.

Each setback requires a slow, gradual return to my work as a massage therapist. The return is arduous. At first I’m just trying to get through a full day of work (4–6 hours of hands-on time). Then I try to gradually add exercise back in — and that’s only the physical side of it. There are mental obstacles too. I constantly ask myself: Do I feel well enough to keep up? How do I avoid overdoing it so I’m not crippled in tomorrow’s work day?

I carry this image of myself as someone people look up to for knowledge about health and well-being, because of my work. I feel pressure to live up to that, and struggle with insecurities about what I will look like when I start exercising again. All the things…

Hooray for the Win!

I recently got my bloodwork back, and my health is looking the best it has in years. My white blood cell count is back down. My red blood cell and platelet counts are up. All good things. I’m handling heavier work weeks now. So, I have told myself, firmly: enough excuses. It is time to get over myself and get back to working out.

Overcoming Mental Roadblocks Exercise

I decided to tackle my mental hurdles head-on, using an exercise to identify and clear them:

                  1.              Make a list of everything I associate with the idea of exercise (e.g., “youth has more energy,” “exercise makes you stronger”).

                  2.              Write my story with exercise — my emotions, my journey, when I first started.

                  3.              Identify all the negatives and roadblocks in that story.

                  4.              Make a plan to address each roadblock.

                  5.              Re-write the story without the roadblocks.

Uncovering My Root Problem

What I learned about myself is that exercise used to be fun. It was a game. I loved swinging on the monkey bars in elementary school. I loved gymnastics in junior high, swing dancing in high school, dance classes and club dancing in my early college years. I never struggled to make time for the hard work, because the fun factor was so high.

Somewhere along the way, as an adult, I got it into my head that exercise was supposed to be hard work. For example, I needed to lift weights to build muscle. After multiple surgeries, injuries, and illnesses, my body became deconditioned and out of balance. And who wants to make time for hard work when you could be doing something fun instead? That was it! I had been procrastinating exercise because exercise had stopped being fun. That realization was key for me.

How to Train to Be a Dragon Rider

I kept getting Facebook ads for “How to Train to Be a Dragon Rider.” As a fantasy novel lover, that was appealing — but I’d just signed up for a sword-dancing class and wasn’t about to pay for another program when I already had a gym membership. So, I decided to build my own.

What would it actually take to train as a dragon rider? They need to fight — so I started showing up to BodyCombat classes. They need to be strong — so I built a weightlifting routine to do once a week, at home or the gym. They are, agile, flexible, and balanced — so I started going to yoga. There it was: I was officially training to be a dragon rider. Exercise was fun again! Just reframing it in my mind made all the difference. I felt motivated to show up — and now I had a motivational story (my roadblock-free story) to remind me of what I was doing and who I was on this journey.

Keeping My Eye on the Goal

Then reality set in. BodyCombat is fun, but humbling. It is not that I think anyone in class is judging me — but I am judging myself. I am the slowest. I am restricted from running and jumping because of a previous knee surgery. For someone who moves for a living and walks a lot on weekends, it was eye-opening to see where my body wasn’t moving as well as I had assumed.

In yoga, I have core strength and stabilization work to do — my imbalances are obvious, and my balance isn’t where I want it. Self-criticism creeps in. But this is where my roadblock-free story kicks in. I need the reminder, over and over: I’m not supposed to be perfect at the beginning. This is where I have to find some grace with myself.

I Am Not Alone

Why share this story? Every day, I work with people who want to re-engage with their fitness journey, and I know I am not alone in these hesitations, excuses, and insecurities. I wanted to show that I am doing the work too, and maybe help motivate someone else along the way.

Together, we can each start our own journey, at whatever fitness level we are at, with just one small step forward. Health and wellness is a journey — but beginning, and then beginning again, are steps that matter. I believe in positive psychology: just believing I can achieve my goal is half the battle. I believe in positive affirmations. I believe in positive visualization. These are the tools that work for me. I remind myself: I am training to be a dragon rider. What does that entail?

My Roadblocks-Free Story

“I am creative and have always enjoyed playful ways to exercise. I feel proud when I accomplish new goals and show that I have gotten stronger. I feel good when other people recognize the progress I have made in my exercise. I have taken needed rests and breaks when life has demanded this of me. I am tenacious when I keep trying to discover new, fun and exciting ways to exercise. When I am excited to exercise, finding the time to do so is effortless. My support system cheers me on when I meet new fitness goals and excel. I have gratitude that I am healthy enough to exercise. I am impressive and brave for consistently trying again when I get off track. I have never given up. My body is a pleasurable place to be. I am training to be a dragon rider.”

Edited by AI