Welcome to Life With Lisa!!! Thank you for taking time to stop by and read my post.

Heading into the Lenten season, I had been contemplating what I was going to do during this season of prayerfulness, fasting, sacrifice and good works in order to deepen my faith and relationship with God. My daughter, Katy, & I headed to Mass on Ash Wednesday. The Mass was quiet, somber and powerful start of the day.

I brought my heavy mind with me to yoga that morning and things only got better. The teacher, Nichol, began the meditation with

“What do you want to welcome into this season, and what do you want to refrain from?”

It’s amazing in the meditative state of a yoga studio, solitude on the mat, yet sense of community, how easy the answers come. Immediately, the word “healing” came to mind.

I welcome healing into this Lenten Season.

That one word has many layers. Healing of mind, body, soul and emotional pain. In addition, I had been preparing my body for my arthroscopic knee surgery which was scheduled for March 3rd. I already knew that the month of March was going to be dedicated to physical healing. Taking everything to the mat, the current and what was to come, along with Nichol’s powerful meditation, it was one of my best classes ever. So deep and profound, it took several days to completely digest.

A little back story: March 11, 2011, I tore my ACL when skiing in Crested Butte, CO. Well, not technically skiing. No fun story here, but I was on the slope. OK, the base of the mountain. It was our last day of skiing, gorgeous day, and as I pushed off to slide on over to the lift, the tips of my skis got stuck and I ended up belly down opposite direction. OUCH!!! ACL reconstructive surgery followed, along with physical therapy. When my progress hit a wall, my doctor bluntly told me that that was it. My range of motion wasn’t going anywhere, and neither was anything else. GOODBYE!!!

Fast forward to 2012, when I found a proactive doctor. Surgery #2 was performed by manipulating my knee and cleaning out the scar tissue. This was followed with a new physical therapist who took things to a whole new level. I was now in the solution. Proactive doctor + Proactive physical therapist = RESULTS!!!

Feeling like I was on “borrowed time” with my knee before it blew out again, I FINALLY went back to my wonderful surgeon. An MRI showed that my ACL was still intact, no new tears, just a lot of wear and tear. Which brings me to surgery #3, EIGHT years later.

I had my arthroscopic surgery last Tuesday, March 3rd to clean up my knee. I was “just” getting my knee scoped. I’m in the best shape of my life. I’ve got this.

Honestly, this has been harder than I anticipated – both emotionally and physically.

Surgery day arrives, and the waiting begins…

Of course everything was a blur from that point on. I was finally taken back, and surgery was a success. Let the recovery begin… Physical therapy began the NEXT DAY 😩. Grateful for my Bayou Yoga tribe for offering to help, driving me to my first session.

Physical therapy was absolutely exhausting. Small exercises to rebuild strength by firing up my quads and working to lay my leg flat is the focus. And it takes all of my energy.

Physical therapy #2, I brought my Orangetheory attitude with me, wearing my ALL OUT socks that I earned during the 12 Days of Christmas. I gave my session everything my little engine had to offer. PROGRESS!!! My physical therapist is very pleased.

In the meantime, I was struggling emotionally. I had assumptions on how easy this was going to be. I forgot how frustrating it would be to be limited and totally dependent upon others. I did my best to practice patience, to voice my needs and allow others to do for me what I couldn’t do for myself. Talk about a humbling experience.

I wasn’t prepared for how exhausting this was going to be – emotionally and physically. I also had to remind myself, I JUST had surgery. I was only days in. PATIENCE, LISA, PATIENCE. Give yourself time.

Last year was a big year for me in terms of personal growth, and physical fitness. I’ve gained so much stamina from my dedication to Orangetheory, yoga, and walking. My commitment to fitness took me to the top of the Summit in Crested Butte, and rock climbing. My fear was hitting the pause button in order to have surgery and rehab my knee back to health. I didn’t want to lose all of my progress. While I am taken aback by how exhausting this past week has been, I’m also filled with gratitude that I am in the best shape of my life. I can’t imagine how much harder my recovery would be, if I wasn’t already on top of my fitness and nutrition.

I absolutely love my new physical therapist and optimistic about my results. I’m going to continue to dig deep and give my recovery everything I have, because I KNOW that I will come back STRONGER than EVER!!!

Today, I went to physical therapy on crutches, and left without them.

My goal for the month: Listen to my body and give it the rest that is required for recovery, give my physical therapy 100%, continue to fuel my body with excellent nutrition – living my WW lifestyle.

I could not do this alone, and I am beyond grateful for all of the love, support and encouragement from my family and friends.

Imagine with all your heart ~ Believe with all your mind ~ Achieve with all your might 💕

Life With Lisa