BlindAlive.com

Accessible Fitness, more choices for more people

Fitness has always been a concern with regard to both mental and physical health regardless of age, gender, or any other variables that make each one of us unique. And for those in the blind community, fitness is every bit as much—if not more—important.

Exercise for the visually impaired is something that should be incorporated into a weekly, if not daily, routine for a variety of reasons that are both similar and different from people within the sighted community. For those with total loss of sight as well as for those who are low sighted, a lack of regular exercise can bring on a host of other issues, including weight gain, sluggishness, and perhaps worst of all for many, insomnia or a circadian rhythm that has been thrown completely off track.

A quality workout done at the right time of day and at the right pace to meet your unique physical and mental needs is just what the doctor may have forgotten to order. For many blind people, fitness has been a challenge: without someone to guide you and without the ability to drive yourself to the gym, it becomes obvious why so many visually impaired individuals give up—but with the BlindAlive line of Fitness Workouts for blind people, you’ll never have to depend on anyone else again.

Yoga and Strength Training with wieghts for blind people along with a variety of other cardiovascular exercises help our bodies stay toned, help us gain muscle mass and lose weight, but most of all, can help lead a blind person away from a sense of helplessness.

Are you ready to sweat? Come get healthy and leave all your notions of not being able to get fit due to your visual impairment behind with BlindAlive!

Do You Ever Want To Scream Loudly?

January 26, 2015  /  Mel Scott

Sometimes I want to scream so loudly the entire universe can hear me. I want to stomp my feet, shake my fists, bare my teeth, and generally throw a tantrum. I don’t want to hold in the frustration I feel because it’s ugly or it might be frightening. The 3 year old still lives in me and she wants to be heard sometimes.

Last week, I was so proud of myself because I search for and ordered on Amazon a stability ball that I wanted to test out before recommending it to others. I was like a kid waiting for my new toy to come. I just knew this ball was going to be the perfect ball and I was impatient to get it. I think the excitement was heightened because it took me so long to figure out Amazon with my screen reader. I felt like a proud 3 year old.

Well, the ball arrived and it was awful! Don’t get me wrong, I know that in the huge scheme of things having to return something to Amazon is trivial and really isn’t worth fretting over for even one second. I am not a small-minded person, but in that moment all the anger, frustration, and anxiety reared up like a dragon. I was triggered in a big way. I was mad at Amazon, the stability ball, VoiceOver, and especially all the people who gave this ball such glowing reviews. I was really being pretty ridiculous. I chose to allow myself to throw a tantrum. I said a lot of bad words and wrote a few panicked e-mails before I told myself to “get over it!”

I am well aware that the tantrum was not really about a disappointing stability ball. That would truly be ridiculous. It was about me feeling out of control. It was about my impatience with the slowness and tedium of being blind. I feel like I could get things done so much faster if I didn’t need to fight the accessibility wars. I just get mad sometimes.

Throwing tantrums is not normally my style and it is never a good idea when other people are around. I do believe that letting the enraged 3 year old have a voice when it is safe to do so is a healthy way to acknowledge the anger and fear that comes with tough life challenges. What helps me the most when I get triggered is to talk to someone I trust, someone who can help me reframe and redirect my thinking. If you do not have a person or group who can hold the space for your 3 year old and your grown up self, I have found many supportive groups on FaceBook and many other groups on the internet. Go find them!

By the way, the ball mentioned here is the ball I mention in the podcast#9, so don’t order that one. Wait until I find the best ball for us.

Mel Scott BlindAlive, LLC Founder and President BlindAlive.com Facebook Twitter LinkedIn

 

BlindAlive - Creator of Eyes-Free Fitness® - Doylestown, PA 18901

COPYRIGHT © BlindAlive All Rights Reserved. Eyes-Free Fitness is a registered trademark of BlindAlive