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One morning, the right ankle began to hurt.
It wasn’t dramatic. It hadn’t been an issue for quite some time. And there was no clear explanation for why it suddenly decided to speak up. Nothing obvious had happened the day before. No misstep. No injury that stood out. And yet, there it was—a familiar signal radiating through the ankle, carrying a message that felt both subtle and insistent. The sensation wasn’t new. Years ago—many years ago—this same ankle had shared something similar. The quality of the pain was recognizable. The essence of it was the same. But this time, there was something different. Something deeper. The muscles along the outside of the ankle felt involved, as though they were trying to do a job that wasn’t entirely theirs. Imaging followed. X-rays. Bone scans. Ultrasounds. Eventually, it was confirmed: a soft tissue injury. A tear in the tendon. How long it had been there wasn’t clear. What became clearer, though, was that this wasn’t the full story. There was more. The ankle lacked support—not because of weakness or lack of effort, but because a ligament was no longer doing its job. In fact, it was completely torn. The structure that once held the lower leg bone securely to the ankle bone was no longer present in the way it was designed to be. The joint itself had changed. And the foot was doing what bodies do best when something is off—it was sending signals. Looking back, there had been clues. Multiple falls over the past 18 months. A sense of instability that didn’t fully register as a structural issue at the time. Those moments didn’t immediately translate into understanding. It took time for the message to become clear. This ankle had been injured before—back in the early 2000s—and it had healed. Life went on. Movement returned to normal. But this was different. Even after months of doing “all the right things,” the pain lingered. Eventually, it became clear: this joint would not return to the way it once was. And that realization brought something unexpected—not fear, but clarity. What mattered most wasn’t the diagnosis itself. It was learning how to listen. To notice what my ankle was sharing in real time:
The right hip is tight. The right low back is holding tension. One kinetic chain. One conversation. This is a skill that can be cultivated: learning to hear the whispers so we don’t have to listen to the screams. And while I don’t always get it right—there was a time with my ankle when I couldn’t walk, and I didn’t listen—this practice of awareness is exactly what I teach my clients. Whether in one-on-one Movement Momentum sessions or in Movement Rx, the work is the same: learning to tune into sensation, recognize what matters, and build confidence from that knowing. So am I worried about my right ankle? Not really. Because I’m listening now. Are you ready to listen to what your body is telling you? Join me in Movement Rx starting February 3. Stay well and happy moving, Lisa P.S. Movement Rx is capped at 12 people. If you’ve been considering it, now is the time to join.
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This week, I had the pleasure of teaching one of my live Move Smart, Feel Better signature webinars, where we explored something many of us live with every day — pain — and more importantly, how to understand it differently so it no longer runs the show. Pain isn’t just something to “push through” or shut down. It’s information. A signal. And when we learn how to listen to it — instead of reacting to it — things begin to shift. In the webinar, I shared three key ways to better understand and reduce pain, without overwhelm or complicated strategies: 1. Learn your pain’s language 🗣️ Pain isn’t one single experience. Sharp. Dull. Tight. Throbbing. Burning. Heavy. When we only say “it hurts,” we miss valuable information. Expanding the language around how pain feels is often the first step toward changing our relationship with it. 2. Notice patterns, not just flare-ups 📊 Pain rarely comes out of nowhere. It follows patterns — showing up during certain activities, times of day, or life stresses. When we zoom out and see the bigger picture, we can begin to respond thoughtfully instead of reacting automatically. 3. Understand what’s influencing your pain 🔑 Movement load, mental load, emotional load — they all matter. Pain is shaped not just by what you do, but by how much you’re carrying and how your nervous system interprets it all. I didn’t share everything in the replay — on purpose 😉 Because the real power is in seeing these ideas applied, and in recognizing yourself somewhere in the process. 🎥You can watch the full webinar replay here: https://www.lisaworkman.com/movementrx If this way of approaching pain resonates with you, I’d love to invite you to take the next step. Movement Rx begins Tuesday February 3rd, 2026. This program is where we slow things down, get curious, and apply these concepts in a supportive, guided way — so you’re not left trying to figure it all out on your own. If pain has been keeping you stuck, this is your invitation to move forward — more informed, more confident, and more connected to your body. As always, I’m so glad you’re here. Be well and happy moving, Lisa P.S., The sooner you join Movement Rx, the sooner you start! Don’t miss your chance to access the bonus weeks on Tuesday January 20th and Tuesday January 27th at 9:00 a.m. MST—available only if you register now! One more thing...watch this too... A New Way to Look At Making Changes That Stick  This YouTube Short is worth the watch. Take a look →
Have you ever felt pain that just wouldn’t go away, no matter what you tried? It could be after getting out of bed, lifting a bag of groceries, or even just sitting at your desk. You stretch, rest, maybe push through… and yet, the discomfort lingers. Frustrating, isn’t it? In my work with one-on-one clients, I see this happen time and time again. We start thinking the problem is here… but the body has a funny way of surprising us.
Here’s the thing: pain isn’t always about “doing more” or “pushing harder.” Often, it’s your body sending signals and subtle clues that tell a story about what’s really going on beneath the surface. Next week, I’m hosting a live webinar to help you decode these signals and get ahead of pain, not just react to it.  We’ll explore:
There will be interactive activities and even a few prizes to make it fun—and you’ll walk away with practical steps you can start using immediately. Reserve your spot now and gain the tools to start moving smarter, feeling better, and taking control of your pain. Can’t make it live? Sign up anyway and get the replay! Stay well and happy moving, Lisa Thanks to Katrina for joining us in the last post — wasn’t the conversation and her guide intriguing? It sparked so many thoughtful reflections, and I wanted to share something related with you today. The start of a new year often brings renewed motivation. You may feel ready—again—to move more, feel stronger, and reconnect with your body. But for many people, January also brings frustration especially if you’ve started before, stopped, and wondered why things never seem to go the way you hoped. I see this often in my work. One client would begin a movement routine feeling optimistic. For a few weeks, things felt manageable. Sometimes even good. Then something would change and pain would flare, energy would dip, or life would simply get busy. Progress didn’t look the way they expected. Frustration followed quickly: “I must be doing this wrong.” “Other people don’t struggle like this.” “Maybe my body just can’t do this anymore.” And so, they stopped. Months later—often around the New Year—they would start again. The cycle repeated, not because of a lack of motivation, but because they believed that if movement didn’t feel better quickly, something must be wrong with them. What stood out wasn’t failure, it was belief. At one point, the client said, “I think it’s safer to want things to be better than to try and be disappointed again.” That insight changed everything. We stopped treating each pause as failure and started seeing it as information. Instead of asking, “Why can’t I stick with this?” we asked, “What does my body need right now?” Movement became smaller. Expectations softened. Some days it was gentle stretching in bed. Other days it was a short walk or light strength work with plenty of rest. The stops didn’t disappear but the frustration did. If this new year finds you tired of starting over, let me offer this reminder: It is never too late. And it never has to look the way it once did. Your best life isn’t built on perfection or consistency without interruption. It’s built on your willingness to return—again and again. If this resonates, I’d love to invite you to join me for my upcoming webinar on January 13: Move Smart, Feel Better Webinar: The Three Keys to Understanding and Reducing Your Pain In this webinar, we’ll explore why pain can linger even when you’re “doing all the right things,” and how common beliefs about movement and pain can quietly keep you stuck. I’ll walk you through three key shifts that can help you better understand what your body is communicating—and how to respond in a way that feels supportive, not overwhelming. This isn’t about pushing through discomfort or forcing change. It’s about learning how to move with more confidence, clarity, and trust in your body—especially if pain has made you hesitant to begin again. This year, perhaps the resolution isn’t to never stop—but to begin again with kindness. Stay well and happy moving, Lisa I’m so happy to welcome Katrina Readman, Registered Dietitian and the expert behind The Food Relationship Solution, to our blog community today! Katrina supports women who feel stuck in a stressful or toxic relationship with food—helping them stop overeating and find peace with food without rules, restriction, or deprivation. She’ll also be hosting an upcoming webinar titled The Food Relationship Masterclass: 3 Simple Strategies To Stop Overeating and Stressing Over Food & Your Body, Without Any Rules or Restrictions on Monday January 12, 2026 at 7pm MT, and as a heartfelt thank-you for this collaboration, she’s sharing her Food Relationship Reset Guide with you today. Yay! “How do I stop obsessing over every single thing I eat? It's exhausting. I want to be able to eat food and feel good”. The women I work with in my practice have been yo-yoing for the last decade and struggle with their relationship to food. They're consumed by it. And don't want to be but they don't know how to break the cycle. It's like that voice in their head won't stop. They can’t stop calculating every single thing they eat in the day to know how long they need to spend at the gym so they can be in a smaller body and like the way they look. They’re constantly wondering if they should or shouldn’t eat because it’s past 8pm and they can't understand why they are still hungry. And when they mess up with their eating, they run to the scale to see how much damage was done. They can’t live their life because they're constantly stressing about food and their body. I get it. I experienced the same thing until I figured out how to break the cycle and reset my relationship with food and my body. It wasn't a quick fix, been there, done that. But I did discover that there are 3 strategies that help with resetting your relationship to food and your body. Because having a good relationship with food and your body isn't about getting more willpower or more control, it's the opposite actually. I know that sounds counterintuitive to what you've been doing. That's why I put these strategies into a brand new guide and am giving it to you for free. It’s called, 3 Simple Strategies To Reset Your Relationship To Food & Your Body. If you’re struggling in your relationship with food I’d love to give you access. Because I want you to experience how having a nourishing relationship with food can change your life. Go here to access it >>> https://pages.nutritionwithkatrina.ca/free-guide-1 A big thank-you to Katrina for sharing her work and this generous resource with our community. I loved collaborating on this and how aligned our approaches are—moving away from guilt, pressure, and rigid “shoulds,” and toward trust, awareness, and self-compassion. If this topic resonated with you, be sure to explore Katrina’s work and watch for more details about her upcoming webinar. And this coming Wednesday, I’ll be sharing my own perspective and reflections on this topic—especially how it connects to New Year’s resolutions and the way we choose to move forward. Stay tuned! Be well and happy moving, Lisa |
Letters From LisaMissed my most recent newsletter? Don't worry, I've got your back. Find all my exclusive letters here on this blog. ~Lisa Archives
March 2026
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