Many years ago, I took care of a beautiful woman who had been brutally bitten by an animal while at work. By the time she came to see us, it had totally changed every aspect of her life. She couldn't work, take care of her daily life functions or do any of her normal fun recreational activities that used to decrease her stress. Suddenly her life had changed, and so had all her normal coping skills to handle her daily life. She had terrible pain and lots of anxiety to go right along with it. She was stuck in the washing machine of life, on spin cycle; round and round her thoughts would go.

As a physical therapist, we see this cycle a lot. We see the power of the body-mind connection, and we see the beauty of this relationship if it stays healthy. The body-mind connection can enhance the positive picture of people's lives, or it can send our patients into depression and anxiety mode. Once there, they may stay for months or years, trying to use old coping strategies to deal with their newfound life.

The amazing thing that so many people don't understand is how much power is available to them when they are physically strong. When the body is getting physically strong, it can then give the mind the power it needs to change its old thoughts. In my profession, we use the power of being physically well to move the mind to a different train track of thinking. As my patients get stronger in their physical body, it literally jumpstarts the brain and its moods, giving it the power to change its thoughts, preoccupations and mindsets. Just as the body gets stronger with practice, so does the mind. We can shape and make the mind even stronger with the body's physical work patterns.

There are benefits from taking a quick jog or walk before work to dissipate stress, or stretching on the floor at home, or doing a little yoga for relaxation before bed. It empowers us physically, and we reconnect with what is important to us. We are able to see our life priorities in a different way when we physically challenge ourselves to excel at something we couldn't do before. My father-in-law is a prime example of this. He has been on chemo for some time now, and he has lost a lot of weight. We encouraged him to set some physical goals for himself this summer to help his body remember who and what it use to be.

Well, his goal was to purchase a kayak and learn to paddle the bay, and that is exactly what he has been doing. His one arm doesn't work as well as the other, but it never stops him. He has learned all kinds of tricks to get in and out of the kayak using bungee cords from his kayak to the dock, and which arm to have closer to the ladder in order to have better leverage in and out of the boat. It's not perfect like it used to be, but he can do it independently and he feels physically empowered by his accomplishment. We are proud of him that he has never given up on his health or the life he desires, he just needed a little cheering from the pit crew to get him up and running.

Your physical health is worth your time and energy, so set some goals your body this summer. Something new or something you used to do: power your body up, it powers your mind.

Sheree DiBiase, PT, is the owner of Lake City Physical Therapy and she and her staff can be reached in their Coeur d'Alene office at (208) 667-1988, or in the Spokane Valley at (509) 891-2723. Call for an appointment, we can help you power your body.