The power of giving others the heart to live
To linger here or to feel that you belong… – Olya Aman
My sister Tanya is a lean, long-backed, large-headed girl, with surly tones of her voice and coarse features of her face. We scour the country together now and then: I — on my feet and her — on her wheels. Her wheelchair is a speedy little beast, accelerated by her mighty hands and skillfully maneuvered by her flexible torso. You would never believe, looking at her expressive and full of exhilarating energy face, that death had been hovering over her just four years ago.
A rushing torrent of grateful feelings.
The dark night in my sister’s life started from an unfortunate fall from a high staircase. Her brain stopped triggering signals responsible for the muscle movement and she didn’t feel her legs anymore.
When starting to sit down to her meals, still dispirited and sad, she used to say to me, but truly to herself, “Nothing happens without reason. There should be a higher intelligent plan and purpose in it.” The fairest consolation came in disguise of a prayer. It was holding her tight, not letting her slip into that despair completely.
My sister didn’t feel her legs anymore, but strains of overly agitated nerves of her arms and spine substituted that missing sensation. She strengthened her torso every instant she felt the need to hue-and-cry to the missing control of her limbs. She got herself out of the bed and on her wheels with surprising speed.
Elbowing hard upon goals.
Before the accident, my sister used rambled at her pleasure, mostly spending time in the gym listening to her favorite music. Being 32 years old, she still had trouble finding her place in the grownup world.
It seemed a matter of impossibility to center her life around fitness and body healing strategies now when she lost control over almost half of it. But she couldn’t get rid of this idea. Tanya became transfixed with the desire to achieve the heights she didn’t even think possible for her fully functional, healthy past-self.
Tanya set her heart firmly on a goal to become a physical therapist working in amputee rehabilitation. She learned with passion about specific strengthening exercises that flex and tone the muscles. Her own experience gave her a psychological advantage to motivate people.
Issuing forth with a mentor beside.
She adopted this impressive stateliness from her mentor. The simplicity of her mentor’s life stirred her profoundly. Tanya used to preach to me, “This person is happy, chasing his dreams and loving his family. With neither legs no arms he is shining with heart strength and will-power.” Every trace of my sister’s essence strove to bring purpose and happiness into her life.
Power of giving others the heart to live.
My sister still has a sense of weakness and captivity sometimes. But she is recovering her life-balance by an effort of willpower and a desire to set an example for others.
Tanya always says to her patients that whatever happened to her was not a run of ill-luck but a fortunate wakeful blessing. She teaches them to accept the condition and devotedly love their past and present selves. People in her clinic see a humble person just like themselves, never repenting on her helplessness, but being powerful enough to uplift her spirit and inspire others to do the same.
Stay tuned…
Olya Aman 
Self acceptance is crucial to each of us to trust & accept own strengths & weaknesses. Learnt all your 4 strategies shared, gonna adopt continuously too. cheers, siennylovesdrawing
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I totally love this message here, and it could not be more vital to know these things in our hearts when there’s just so many influences coming from the outside towards and at us.
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The most important thing is to be happy with what you are and where you are. This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t strive for more. Or should accept less. It just means find the you which makes you the happiest and be that.
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Excellent post. Self love is definitely a priority!
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Such a beautiful message here. Be kind to yourself!
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I think everyone has that stress struggle. For me I hold stress in my stomach-get upset stomach and GI issues with too much stress
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Self love is something I’ve struggled with for years now. It’s something that I’m working very hard at.
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I love the message you’re spreading in your post! If we can’t be happy with ourselves, we surely won’t be happy with others around us.
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There’s a lot to learn in this article. As a person we need to learn and accept are strength as well as weakness and also self acceptance.
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She is so inspiring!I would understand why people appreciate her services. And the lessons did hit home: I’ve seen people who are super hard on themselves during their fitness journey and they only ended up more frustrated. It’s good to give yourself a break.
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I enjoy being active and have started doing some hiking with my family. I just love it and great time spent together plus it helps me de-stress.
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You know, although i’ve been active my entire life and love sports, i never thought of it like that!!! That is awesome really, love it.
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I love the points of view you pose here for anybody to consider! I re-read some and paused to reflect upon. Such a powerful message on body image which begins with our thought in the brain.
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100% being hard can lead to injuries!! I used to play a crazy amount of sport growing up and never hurt myself. Now that I’m older my body isn’t the temple it used to be and I am constantly getting niggles from pushing too hard
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I love this message! It’s so difficult for young girls to feel obligated to look a certain way. I’m glad that the culture is finally embracing a new normal.
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I think that a lot of us place too much weight on body goals or our ideal body… As long as we’re healthy, we should accept ourselves and continue enjoying life.
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Yes I totally agree with the writer of this story. Our body is not a fashion statement where we feel obligated to look this way or that way.
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Accepting our own self is really very important.
Whatever it is, we should learn to live with it asap.
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An inspiring read. Sports I agree is important till the body permits. Self development is a must be it mental or physical. We need to be happy and positive in life with our work and deeds. Good article.
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I love seeing your post. Very inspiring and flawless, very important to be comfortable with who you are.
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love this topic! every single one of them is such an important life lesson. Such a post I needed today Thanks so much for sharing
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wow what a beautifully written and very inspiring post. Being active definitely helps me in several way!
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Such a great article. It is so important to be happy with yourself and to be comfortable in your own skin.
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Totally agree with the authors point of view. Such a great reminder.
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Loving ones self is the hardest lesson to learn because of the worlds judgements. We have to remind ourselves that are flawless are our unique differences from others. Negative energy and thoughts only narratives a negative outcome on life. Positivity will only give out the most blessings.
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It’s quite hard to love yourself in a world that is sometimes cruel. Self love is quite important for us to learn and that we are all unique in a way and we should accept our flaws.
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Very nice sentiments. It’s so true that so many people spend time in the pursuit of some body ideal shape that was not even intended for them.
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This post has helped me to understand it is ok to be who we are and don’t trying to be someone else that looks perfect on the screen or social media. Nobody is perfect and it is how well we disguise it and make us looks perfect.
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What a powerful message! This post really has me feeling more confident and positive with myself!
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You are spreading a powerful message. So true! love yourself as you are to be really happy.
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Such an important message to share and important topic to discuss. These days with social media where everything is about perception, it’s important to understand the importance of self-acceptance.
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This is a power message. I think self worth when it comes to body is so important but it all starts with self esteem.
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I’m a sport coach and personal trainer, and this post is just one of the best I’ve read in a long time. I’m subscribing and following on all social media ASAP.
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Being active in sports really do great things not just the body but also the mind and the spirit. It teaches values and lessons only one can learn in sports.
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Being active must always be something we do for our happiness and our health, never to reach an aesthetic standard …
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I love the wisdom of these insights. Thank you for sharing this with us.
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I loved that the: ‘Ideal Weight’ Is the Weight That You Slip Quietly into and Feel at Home In. I see so many people being harsh on themselves because they have a couple of pounds more or less than what they think they should weight.
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This is such an powerful and inspiring post, absolutely loved reading it ☺ Thank you so much for sharing this ❤
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Accept your flaws and not comparing to others is a part of Self acceptance. I love your words wisdom ❤
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I appreciate that you noted the importance of resting. While it is imperative to get out there and move, it is also important to listen when your body says to take it easy for a bit and rejuvenate.
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I enjoy reading this. I love the message, it is such an important reminder.
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It is important not to compare yourself to others as we are all different
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I have a hard time with self love but I think that it is so important to have it.
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What a great post. I love your tips and your message. Thank you!
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When we compare ourselves to other, it makes it hard for us to live up to our true potential.
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I am into fitness and you post has made me ponder a little and stop being too harsh on myself. Sometimes I workout too hard and it make me fall sick.
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Great story and advise! I’ve had a personal experience myself getting injured which enables me from working out harder but that never stopped me from doing what I love. I needed to modify from time to time but I am happy and that’s more important. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post.
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I think at the end of the day, it’s most important to love yourself for who you are and how you treat others.
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This is really amazing wow!!! I love the message of positivity and self love. Great post.
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Such an inspiring read! Accepting yourself is the first step…thanks for sharing!
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