Movement Is Healing: Strong for Myself Now

In this episode of New York Girl Again – The After, the Movement Is Healing series continues with a different kind of movement: strength training.

After exploring dance, joy, body image, and the courage to be seen, this episode turns toward strength — not as something intimidating or complicated, but as a way of caring for the body that carried us through survival.

For caregivers in the after, strength is complicated. We already know how to be strong for everyone else. But now comes a different kind of strength: the kind we choose for ourselves.

This episode explores how strength training supports longevity, balance, fall prevention, independence, confidence, and self-trust as we age. It also offers simple ways to begin at home with a chair, a wall, resistance bands, cans of food, water bottles, or grocery bags.

The body that carried survival deserves to be rebuilt with tenderness.

Caregiving made me strong because I had to be. Strength training is helping me become strong because I choose to be.

If this episode speaks to you, please like, comment, subscribe, and share it with someone who may need a reminder that strength is still possible.  

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Hi everyone, I'm Therese, and this is New York Girl Again, The After, the podcast for caregivers who have survived the hardest chapter of their lives, and are now gathering both the courage and the strength to write the next one. Today, we are continuing the Movement is Healing series. We began with dance as a way to get out of our heads and back into our bodies. Last week, my conversation with Teresa Gratton, a Flying Fabrics by Teresa, explored movement, beauty, confidence, body image, joy, and the courage to be seen. This week, I want to talk about a different kind of movement. It may not look as glamorous as flowing fabric or feel as expressive as DAS, but it may be one of the most important forms of healing we can give ourselves in the after. Strength training. I want to talk about strength training not as something intimidating or complicated or really hard, but as a way of caring for the body that carried us through so much. A way of rebuilding trust, protecting our future selves, reminding the body that we are finally paying attention to it again. For caregivers, strength is complicated because we already know how to be strong, don't we? We know how to keep going when we are exhausted. We know how to lift, carry, advocate, organize, comfort, drive, sit in waiting rooms, manage medications, sleep, maybe, worry constantly. Still get up the next day, do it all over again. Caregiving strength is often survival strength. It's the kind of strength that says I must do everything I can for my loved one, despite my own needs. Many of us come out of caregiving, physically depleted. Our bodies feel heavier, stiffer, weaker, tighter, more inflamed. We're simply unfamiliar. We may have aches we ignored, weight we gained, muscle we lost, or a body we stop listening to because someone else needed us more. But the after something new of us. It asks, What would it look like to rebuild? That's why strength training matters to me. It's not only about building muscle, it's about rebuilding trust in myself. It's about giving your body evidence that it can respond, adapt, and become stronger again. The science is absolutely powerful. Research has linked resistance training and muscle strengthening activities with lower risks of all-cause mortality, cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, and other major health outcomes. In plain language, strength training is not vanity. Muscle is not vanity. Strength is one of the ways we protect our future selves. And as we age, this becomes even more important. Strength helps us get out of a chair, climb stairs, carry groceries, walk to dogs, get up from the floor, travel, dance, and stay independent for as long as possible. Strength also matters for balance and fall prevention. Falls are not just little accidents as we age. A fall can change independence, confidence, mobility, and quality of life. I've seen it myself with my father. He fell twenty-seven times that I was aware of. Twenty-seven times. The World Health Organization recommends muscle strengthening for older adults at least two days a week, along with balanced focused movement several days a week. Because strength and balance help preserve function and reduce fulvers. That matters because many caregivers have seen firsthand what happens when mobility changes. We know how much dignity is connected to being able to move safely through your own life. Strength training also helps the mind. When you are rebuilding after caregiving, grief, or burnout, your mind may still be saying, I'm tired. I'm so behind. I let myself go. It's too late. But the body can gently challenge that story. When you stand up from a chair, lift a little weight, use a resistance band, walk a little farther, or balance a little better. Your body sends the mind a new message. I am not helpless. I am not done. I am rebuilding. And the beautiful part is that you don't need a gym to begin. You can start at home with a chair, a wall, a kitchen counter, resistance bands, cans of food, water bottles, or grocery bags. A chair can become a strength tool. Sitting down and standing back up slowly builds the legs, the glutes, the core, balance, coordination, and the real life strength we need every day. A wool or kitchen counter can become a place for push-ups. Kansas soup can become light hand weights. A resistance band can help strengthen the back and posture. It can begin with just ten minutes, two days a week. And as you begin, I hope you do not speak to your body with criticism. Don't say look how weak I am. Or look how far I've fallen. Say something kinder. Say thank you. We are starting again. I'm on your side now. Because the way we speak to ourselves while we rebuild matters. And it matters so much. Caregiving made me strong because I had to be. Strength training is helping me become strong because I choose to be. That is the difference. Survival strength says everyone else needs me. Chosen strength says I am worth caring for too. So this week, invitation is very simple. Choose two days. Just two. Give yourself ten minutes. Use what you have. Start where you are. A chair, a wall, a band, and a soup.

unknown 9:12

Your own body.

SPEAKER_00 9:14

There's really no excuse. And please, if you have medical conditions, injuries or pain, balance concerns, or have not exercised in a really long time, please be wise. Talk to your health care provider. Start slowly. Use support. Keep yourself safe. The goal here is not to punish the body. The goal is to preserve and protect a body that carried you through so much. The body that carried survival deserves to be rebuilt with tenderness. And the life ahead of you deserves a body that is supported, strengthened, cared for. This is the Moment is Healing series. And this week, we are straw for ourselves now. Thank you for listening to New York Girl Again, The After. If this episode spoke to you, please share it with someone who may need a gentle reminder that it's not too late to begin again. Until next time, keep moving forward. Because the after was never the end. It's just the beginning.