Picture This

When I was leaving physical therapy today, my therapist was walking with me and hesitated. I asked her what was wrong and she said that, if I wanted to, I could have a picture taken for them to put on their website. She said it wasn't a HAVE TO thing, but given that I would be completing my program, it was a step usually taken.

I said yes. Interestingly to me, I said yes without hesitation. 

On the ride home, I thought more about why I'd done this. It really comes down to representation. PT has been fundamentally helpful to me. I have learned the proper ways to exercise my body without harming myself in the process. I honestly had no idea how to do that before. I would work out, but often with injuries. 

I know I am by far not the only heavy (and heavy older) person out there who wants to find the right ways to move. I'm sure there are a lot of people in the same position I was in just a few months prior. So seeing a body that is clearly heavy and clearly older might encourage people to seek out instruction on the best ways to exercise. 

Is part of my brain freaking out about this? Of course. For so long, I have been a thrall to my conditioning, believing I was not worth seeing or being photographed. Or, worse, believing that photos of me would only expose me to ridicule. And . . . that might happen too. But I don't really care. If seeing a body like mine helps someone else find the instrution they need, then it's worth it.