Anna DiMarco Physio

AND when those bridges become gentle launching pads to the other side of a slow sticky spot, even better. Are you building bridges for others or digging deeper potholes? #bridgebuilders... #architectureofpossibilities #launchingpads #licenceourcolleagues #PTtimeforchange See more

Sense of Self What happens to our self identity when a medical diagnosis challenges who we believe we are? How do we overcome the overwhelming sense of personal betrayal that often accompanies an unexpected diagnosis?... Perhaps we see our new reality as interfering with who we know we are and with the experiences we hold within our personal relationships? Our self identity contains many roles and relationships. These relationships (life partner, mother, physio, daughter, sister, etc) hold meaning for us and within them we have expectations and beliefs that both contribute to our sense of self and to the quality and depth of our connection with others. We may grow concerned about our ability to engage in our relationships as we once did both physically and emotionally. We may start to focus on fears and worries for our future moreso than our hopes and dreams for what lay ahead. We may slowly but surely start to feel the heavy cloak of shame burdening our sense of selfa cloak so subtly woven out of a new set of limitations and disappointments that we expect we will experience and bring to those we love. And so this is where I have been sitting for the last several months, slowly digesting and emotionally processing a somewhat unexpected diagnosis of osteoporosis. Somewhat unexpected because I eat well and have been physically active with some form of strength training in my regimen since I was 17 years old. Not fully unexpected because I knew that my history of chemotherapy and radiation at 32 years old put me at greater risk of osteoporosis, despite my good daily habits. So here I am. Processing. Evolving. Fighting. Listening. Learning. Offering myself Grace. I remind myself to speak to myself as I would to one of my own children or to a patient who was newly diagnosed with something unexpected. And I am finding my way to the other side of this bridge.. #bodybetrayal #silentdisease #selfidentity #evolving

The more you study delight, the more delight there is to study. Ross Gay-... Let your eyes land on wonder Let your heart land on love Let your ears land on wisdom whispering gently from within Let your body and your mind land on stillness, Let your Self savour the sweet rhythms that gently flow with stillness.. Happy Thanksgiving to all my Canadian friends and family and Happy Beautiful Monday to the rest of you here. #thanskgiving #gratefulforthemoments #gratitudeinyourownfrontyard #gratefulmoments

BIOPHILIA is defined as the innate human instinct to connect with nature and other living things. Eric Frohmm described BIOPHILIA as the passionate love of life and all that is alive... Are you a biophiliac? I am most definitely a biophiliac and my drug of choice is most definitely the forest. I live within walking/biking/running distance to 3 different forests and often wonder if the ocean, lakes or mountains would be my drug of choice if they were more accessible? Or would the forest always be my first love? Scroll through for a few of my fave pics from the last 2 weeks. The first photo is especially meaningful to me. A photo will never do Hope justice. (Yes, I name my favourite trees. Don’t you?) She lives quietly and majestically on the boulevard of Wellington crescent and appears to be well over one hundred years old. We recently had to reconstruct Wellington Crescent due to the Assiniboine River’s eroding shoreline. I was not sure how our city planners would save her in this massive reconstruction. But they did. They managed to reroute the crescent and the cycling paths in such a way as to reorient her on the north side of the crescent. And it appears that the planners had the same level of reverence for Hope as I have. They gave her two benches to invite more guests to enjoy her quiet but majestic presence. #biophilia #biophiliac #belikeatree #forestlove

Well said M.H. McKee Sometimes we have to make decisions that define who we are and what we believe in. We have to choose to do the right thing, even when the right thing is not easy.... This is true leadership. #PTtimeforchange #leadersneeded #licenseourresidents #leadwithintegrity

DEAR CPA AND PROVINCIAL BRANCHES, I write this letter on behalf of all the licensed physiotherapists in Canada who stand with our residents. Silence and what appears to be inaction on the part of our professional leaders and elected representatives of our profession is absolutely unacceptable at this time.... If you are silently taking action, it is time to share more publicly what you have been doing to help get us out of this never-ending mess. As the vital partner (quote on slide is directly from our CPA WEBSITE) for the physiotherapy profession, it is your DUTY, your RESPONSIBILITY and your MANDATE to advocate on our behalf. Professional relationships with colleges can be maintained and restored if necessary. In fact, these relationships should improve once we are clear on what our immediate and long-term expectations include. It’s called setting boundaries. And in case you haven’t noticed, boundaries have been wildly violated for the past 18months. You need to step up and truly represent us, the fully licensed physiotherapists who stand with the residents awaiting full licensure and all of us who have a genuine interest in the future viability of our profession in an increasingly competitive, evolving and complex health care landscape. We know that you are of the opinion and most likely legally informed that there is room for play within each provincial legislation and set of bylaws and regulations that allows for innovation in the licensing process. We are of the same opinion. On September 18, the CPA posted its advocacy efforts on their website. Please check it out on their website landing page for full impact and to better understand the 3 asks from CPA. Provincial branch presidents and executive committeesWhat have you done in your own province to work towards these 3 asks? 1. Return exam fees 2. Suspend the PCE requirement 3. Modernize the system Please take notethis is a moment in history to show your members why it is worthwhile to have a structured organization that represents us nationally and provincially. Now let’s make some moves! @ontariophysio @bc_physio @mbphysioassociation @nbphysioassoc @nsphysio

PCE UPDATE SCROLL through the slides for a quickie review from west to east coast with a beautiful stop over in SK. Read below for the twisted story of the unplanned contingency planning that has been occurring. ... The provincial regulators are finally starting to move ahead with declaring their (un)plan B strategies. It appears the colleges chose to put their blind faith in CAPR’ s abilities to deliver a successful exam yet again despite their less-than-perfect track record in the past and full-on disastrous track record through this pandemic. And now we are mostly scrambling, except for Saskatchewan! Lead the way Saskatchewan!! (This may turn me into a Roughriders fan after all). Some provinces and territories remain silent about a strategy. Some have declared options but have not confirmed anything yet. At least two provinces have declared a solution but not offered any path towards it and now appear to be changing their mind but we are not certain. Surprisingly one province seems to be headed for its fourth bylaw change since the pandemic interrupted our lives. One province has decided to go ahead with an alternate exam as it has already launched one successfully in June. However, the exclusions are pretty harsh and do not allow those who have a history of a failed attempt to qualify for the exam. One province appears to be stuck in the mud. Really stuck in the mud. So much so that when one watches their college meetings on replay, it is evident that they are unwilling to explore options more fully as their discussions remain unchanged and their positions unwavering over the last many months. And the two most eastern provinces appear to be waiting on the others to sort it all out. WOW. Just WOW. Let’s hope we can follow Saskatchewan’s lead and rely on some creativity, innovation and willingness to explore all reasonable and fair resolutions to get us to the other side of this mess. Finally. Quickly please. #PTtimeforchange #PCE #licenseourresidents

102 Looks good on you Blanche!!! Toasting to another spin around the sun, but moreso, toasting to the first full family gathering with loved ones in almost two years.... B finds meaning in gathering with close friends and family, sharing stories, sharing laughs and connecting. She is very much a social creature and functioning extraordinarily well cognitively. B doesn’t miss a beat, forget a name or struggle through a conversation at all. The last time we gathered as an extended family with B. was on December 25, 2019. Yesterday was very special for all of us. We gathered to celebrate thanksgiving and B’s birthday, but mostly, we gathered as a family happy to be able to come together and share a meal around a table once again, telling stories and sharing plans. While there is no doubt that we have always cherished our family gatherings, there is most definitely a deeper level of joy and appreciation for these simple pleasures that we once took for granted. May we be wise enough to hold onto this deeper appreciation indefinitely. #familygathering #shareameal #sharethelove

Don’t forget to look up. The secret to these stunning autumn skies is the cooler weather, the tilt of the Earth and the cloud formation. And the further west you travel, the more stunning this quickly moving light show becomes... 1-3 chasing a sunset last night while travelling west to mom and dad’s to assemble Italian Birthday cake at 7:12 pm. These shots were taken along the Assiniboine River. no. 4 is a shot taken through the sunroof on the drive home yesterday from seeing mama Coleman at 5:08pm. I was the passenger and I am always looking up and out to see what the sky is offering.. #lookup #sky #chasingsunsets

Fall reminds us about the beauty and magnificence of surrender. She teaches us that what appears as chaos and decomposition is really just nurturing matter and the hope and promise of new growth. She shows us that our power and our identities are not wrapped up in what we appear to be at any given moment in time, but rather, in our willingness to adapt to the seasons of change and to allow our authentic selves to be recreated over and over again..... magic on the forest floor September, 2021. edited version of this morning’s journal entry, reflecting on a home visit with my beautiful 91 year old client. I first met her 23 years ago. She is a holocost surviver and has always been tenderly fierce. Despite the changes in her physical abilities and some struggles with short term memory loss, she leans into life and breathes it in with all that she has. And yet, she gracefully surrenders the need to be who she was #leanin #letgotogrow #decomposetorecompose

Fall reminds us about the beauty and magnificence of surrender. She teaches us that what appears as chaos and decomposition is really the most nurturing matter, preparing the soil for hope and offering the promise of new growth. She shows us that our power and our identities are not wrapped up in what we appear to be at any given moment in time, but rather, in our willingness to adapt to the seasons of change and to allow our authentic selves to be recreated over and over aga...in.. magnificence on the forest floor, magic before my eyes, September 2021 journal entry October 1, reflecting on my 90 year old client whom I first met 23 years ago. Despite her physical limitations and her short-term memory loss, she is still leaning in to life and love and breathing it in with all that she has, yet not fearing that final surrender that will eventually be asked of her. #leanin #thepowerofsurrender #letgoandthrive #decomposetorecompose

National Truth and Reconciliation Day This day honours the Indigenous children, survivors, families and communities of those who were forced to attend residential schools. Many of these children suffered emotional, physical and sexual abuse.... Many children died while at these schools and their bodies were never returned to their families. The discovery of unmarked graves near the grounds of several Residential Schools has sparked outrage and a renewed interest in this very tragic part of our Canadian history. We know the Truth. How will we deal with Reconciliation? A good place to start might be to recognize our individual roles in this matter as we learn more about the history, the hopes, the dreams and the aspirations of Indigenous people. We can start by reading the Truth and Reconciliation Commission’s Calls to Action (94 calls) and the final report of the National Inquiry into Missing and Murdered Indigenous Women and Children. We can donate to organizations that provide support for residential school survivors. We can support Indigenous businesses, artists, communities, programming and events. We can show our support today by wearing an orange shirt, recognizing that this is only one tiny little step that reveals our support and is by no means the only thing we can do. #truthandreconciliation #strongertogether #94callstoaction

Wise words from Jane Goodall. We don’t always know the immediate impact of our words, our actions or our inactions, but rest assured, there is always an impact. #bekind... #bemindful #choosewisely See more

FOLLOW THE PATH OF CURIOSITY And it just might lead you to where you need to be and what you need to see in this moment. When we give ourselves permission to follow our moment to moment curiosity, we beautifully create our own story and a broader, more compassionate sense of self identity.... In learning to accept curiosity over fear and expectation, we are learning to let go of WHERE and WHO we are supposed to be in life. This letting go then gifts us the freedom to fully embrace the path that sits at our feet from moment to moment and to explore our lives more fully. 7:14pm September 26, chasing a sunset no. 2 at 7:22pmhow quickly the sky to the west changed no.3 at 7:25pmand the sky to the east is doing her own dance 7:44pm and my sunset to the west is no longer visible from where I stand jounral entry September 27 reflecting on the past 18 months with so many changes and so much unpredictablilty..learning to follow along with curiosity. #curiosityoverexpectation #curiosityoverfear #thepathatourfeet

A Blessing for Self-Love May you walk courageously forward into each new day, Greeting the beauty and wonder that surrounds you with awe.... May you see within yourself that same beauty and mystery and may you continue to share your true essence more freely with those around you. May you live in a world of joy and ecstasy, knowing you can create and nurture all that you need to sustain this joy and ecstasy for it is yours forever. May you feel a deep and penetrating Love weaving itself into every cell of your mind, body and spirit with each breath you take. And may you freely exhale this same Love and let it fill the mind, body and spirits of all those who share your world. taken at noon on Sunday March 7/2021 a blessing I wrote on September 11/2020, inspired by the many beautiful souls who know how to love themselves deeply. Sept 11 will forever bring tears to my eyes but I never lose hope that if we can teach our children to truly love themselves, lightness and darkness and everything in between, the world will be a more peaceful place and we would lead healthier lives. #midweekmotivation #wellnesswednesdays #wisdomwednesday #blessingyou

MORNING SKY To have a dream that is bigger than your fear seems to be the only way for courage to show up as fierce commitment.... of yesterday’s morning sky as today’s is still dark as I write. today’s journal entry, inspired by the many people who have remained committed to a vision even in the midst of hardship and repeated failures (most of us yes?) #fiercecommitment #dreamsoverfears #startagain #mondaymotivation

SOUND ON. Ground firmly through your feet, either in standing or in sitting. Gently roll your shoulders back and let your collar bones soften broadly.... Inhale through your nose slowly and deeply for 3-4 seconds. Feel the life enter your heart space and your belly. Exhale slowly and fully for 3-4 seconds. Feel yourself surrender all that no longer serves you. Repeat 5x. Several times per day. Paia, Maui March 5, 2020 just days before Covid was declared a pandemic. #soundmeditation #focusedbreathmeditation #repeatasnecessary

SOUND ON Ground firmly through your feet, in seated or in standing. Gently roll your shoulders back and let your collar bones relax.... Inhale through the nose for 3-4 seconds. Feel the life enter your heart space and your belly. Exhale through the nose for 3-4 seconds. Feel yourself surrender all that no longer serves you. Repeat 5x. And often through the day. - Paia, Maui March 5, 2020 (just days before Covid was declared a Pandemic) #soundmeditation #focusedbreathmeditation #repeatasneeded

Life is in the Moments Sound on. Soles firmly planted on the ground. ... Inhale through the nose. Fill yourself with breath and sound. Feel your body expand with life. Exhale through the nose. Surrender, letting go of all that no longer serves you. Repeat 5x. Carry on with your day. - We often think of meditation as sitting cross-legged on a pillow for 20 minutes while we desperately try to clear our mind of thoughts. Really meditation is about training awareness and can be done anywhere, anytime for any duration that fits into your life. One of my personal favourite ways to meditate is to simply plant my feet firmly on the ground wherever I am and notice my breath for 5 cycles. Having this little visual and sound bite in my memory banks helps to create a greater level of surrender for me.... Paia, Maui on March 5, 2020 just days before the poop hit the fan #basicsurvivaltools #focusedbreathing #soundmeditation #justbreathe

Silence Silence has its own power, its own wisdom and its own magnificent beauty. Knowing when to seek Silence, when to offer Silence and when to avoid Silence is a skill worth learning.... A skill that can be applied to one’s own relationship with life daily, and a skill that must be well utilized in conversation and communion with others. Silence can be a powerful communication enhancer, allowing for increased depth of sharing and novel ideas to emerge. Applied at the wrong time, it can be an awkward interruption to the flow at best and a deafening blow at worst. Knowing when to apply it well and when to avoid it at all cost in conversation is a skill well worth pursuing. Learning to seek Silence for ourselves on a regular basis is one of the most life-giving methods of genuine self-care. What’s your relationship to Silence? Do you seek it? Do you know how to use it well in conversation? #silence #thepowerofsilence #silenceasselfcare #silenceisnonverballanguage

Presence Is the gift that is silently offered in every breath that we take. It is the moment to moment freedom that arises when we stay where we are. It is the threshold to a deeper understanding of ourselves, our world and one another. It is the magic ingredient to truly living our lives rather than merely surviving them. #presence... #mindfulness #beherenow See more

Nuance Notice the subtle things that take the ordinary to extraordinary. #leanintoconversation... #sparklewithjoy #justbeyou #mondaymotivation See more

I am breathing this winter right into my heart and soul. She is a magnificent one so far....mild temperatures and stunning visuals. How are you breathing Life back into your self during these uncertain times? #playoutside... #breathelifein #findresonance See more

Badass Alter-Ego This is my new look for fat-biking. I love the warmth that my ski Helmut and goggles provide. And, I look kinda badass! This then magically translates into slightly more badass behaviour...like riding faster, taking on more challenging terrain, jumping bigger logs, exploring unknown parts of the forest and staying out into the darkness (despite 4 territorial coyotes in the hood). What helps you to feel more badass, to find your more courageous self?... #badassonafatbike #courageoverfear #staycurious