Dear Clients

I miss you. I could end this letter there because that is what I want you to know the most BUT I also have a few more things to share with you all. First of all, I’m sorry that I haven’t been very vocal through my emails and social media since the start of this COVID-19 lockdown but I truly wasn’t sure what to say. I felt that as a Healthcare provider it was somehow my job to offer encouragement, guidance, positivity, motivation, and all of those other things that I see my colleagues doing on their social media pages for their clients and followers. This was hard for me for so many reasons.

I feel that over my nine years as a RMT I have built such solid relationships with most of you and they are all completely different. You all get a version of me that is tailored to what you need from me in our treatments together. That’s not to say that my fellow RMTs don’t tailor their treatments to meet the needs of their clients, because I know for fact that they absolutely do! But my style as a therapist, or my brand so to speak, is one of personal touch. You all know who I am outside of the treatment room to some extent, and I know your stories. I miss hearing about your lives as much as I miss helping you with your physical ailments, your pain, your dysfunction, and your maintenance of healthy bodies. The empath in me took over and I couldn’t find the right things to post when I started thinking of some of you individually. I am sending virtual hugs to you all!

For those of you that are essential workers and leaving home everyday and feeling anger or sadness or worry- you’re normal. For those like myself that have lost their jobs and are at home everyday trying to figure out what to do and how you’re going to make money in the coming weeks or months- you’re normal. For those of you who are working from home and trying to figure out how to get everything done without a proper workspace and with kids that you have to homeschool and feed- you’re normal. And for those of you that live alone and haven’t had any contact with a human in weeks and might be feeling sad or lonely- you’re normal. We are all dealing with some sort of trauma at the moment and I saw a post from a colleague of mine that really made me stop and think. I have been saying “We’re all in the same boat” but that really isn’t true. We are all in the same storm but our boats are completely different and however you need to keep yours afloat is what you should be doing.

So here is what I want you all to know. I’m still here to help! To those clients who have reached out to me either for a recommendation for some homecare or for advice on what to do about certain aches or pains, thank you! It was wonderful to hear from you and I am of course happy to help. To those clients who have sent me texts and emails to see how I am doing?!?! THANK YOU! It was really nice to see other humans being so concerned for other humans when we are all dealing with so much uncertainty. And to those clients and the rest of you, I am ok. We will be ok. I truly believe this for all of us. I think humans are very resourceful and when we are able to get back to our jobs and back to some version of a social world, I think we will all figure out what that will look like. In the meantime, join me in helping other people. Support a small business in your neighbourhood if you are able to (again, thank you to the clients who have asked me about pre-purchasing gift certificates from me to use when I’m back to work! It’s so wonderful to know that you can’t wait to come back as much as I can’t wait!), reach out to someone who lives alone to offer some human interaction, check on elderly family members and see if they need anything, and try to be kind to the essential workers who are so tired, so overworked and overwhelmed

As for yourselves, be gentle with yourself. It’s ok to feel the feelings but as my wonderful colleagues in the manual therapy field have been screaming from their quarantined homes, try to take care of your health- physical and mental. Get outside if you can. Fresh air, sunshine, and moving your body are all good ways to not only keep your physical self healthy but mentally and emotionally as well. Drink water! Yes, yes, I’ve seen the memes and I may even be one of them but coffee and wine alone aren’t going to keep us healthy and strong when we need to be. And rest. You don’t have to be productive ALL the time if that’s not helping you. You don’t have to learn a new skill or organize your home. Your health matters and rest is a key factor.

For those of you that want more in terms of what you can do while at home, please send me a text or email and I’ll see what I can do (in between homeschooling my own kids!). I also have some pretty amazing friends who offer virtual personal training and virtual fitness classes. If this is something that may be of interest to you please reach out to me and I will connect you with the right people. It’s easy to fall of track with your health with all of the gyms, studios, and clinics closed but you don’t have to! In these very uncertain times, many people are doing their part and giving back to the public because we are all in this together.

I hope to see you all soon and, in the meantime, I’m here for you! Amanda xoxo