Crawl in March with For Guns' Sake, Georgina Reeves IEMT, and Colin White and Lou Vee, Boxer-Fit
"You could crawl it," my little sister declares.
"Commando crawl 10 miles? On the beach? That's quite hard."
She nods and smiles. So that's what I'm doing.
The challenge - commando crawling 536m along Cleethorpes beach every day for 30 days to cover 10 miles in March - represents the often relentless and sometimes unbearable struggle that people living with PTSD, formerly known as combat stress, and all types of trauma, face on a daily basis.
I'm making it look relatively easy because I've got the Commando Spirit: Courage, Determination, Unselfishness, and Cheerfulness in the face of adversity. Granted, it's not the hardest physical and psychological challenge I've faced, but it's definitely not easy. This is intentional; it's to represent all those service personnel who live silently with stress and trauma, AND show up, perform, and meet everyone else's needs every day no matter what. Just because we can, doesn't mean it's a walk in the park - or a crawl on the beach. And, as much as we may appear emotionless and/or unflappable, we have ALL the feelings. Some of us just don't know what to do with them, so we bury them as deep as we can, so we don't bother anyone, especially those who depend on us. But burying it does damage to our bodies and minds. The longer it stays buried, the more damage it does to us and those around us. Brave faces deserve an ENDEX.
Joining me in the crawl are Georgina Reeves - Integral Eye Movement Therapy (IEMT) therapist - and Colin White, Lou Vee and team - Boxer-Fit strength and conditioning fitness instructors. We are all determined to help anyone who is struggling with their mental health to take control of their life and unstick themselves from the trauma they've buried within.
IEMT is a revolutionary psychotherapy that doesn't require talking but uses eye movement whilst recalling a distressing event to reduce the negative emotions associated with the event or image. IEMT is specifically helpful for people living with PTSD, anxiety, depression, and trauma. IEMT changed Georgina's life, and she's dedicated to helping as many people as possible in the same way.
Colin and Lou lead inspirational family fun fitness sessions for all - Boxer-Fit style - where effort equals progress, and together, everything is possible. Lou has been a foster carer for many years so wholly understands the devastating impact of trauma, especially on self-esteem. Creating a safe space to be seen, heard, validated and encouraged, Lou's kids accomplishments are seemingly beyond their abilities, which consequently inspires others to raise their own game. This is exactly what Boxer-Fit is about.
Having never crawled before (and with half the team under 16 years), they easy matched my pace over the whole 536m on their first outing and smashed 3 minutes off it on their second. Proof that effort is, indeed, progress, and together, everything is possible.
This crawl is all about taking ACTION. It's ok to acknowledge that you're not ok. But it's not ok to stay not ok. Brave faces deserve an ENDEX. It takes serious Courage to ask for help, an unrivalled and ongoing Determination to face, forgive and free your demons, an unparalleled Unselfishness to put yourself first for the greater good, and a seemingly insane Cheerfulness in the face of perhaps the greatest adversity to keep putting in the reps, but it's all within your Commando Spirit.
You've got to take ACTION.
"Your health is worth the effort." - Boxer Fit.
Catch the action at (20+) Facebook.
