Chris Nelson writes for the Chicago Tribune’s Health section of the Sunday paper. He interviewed me a couple weeks ago and wrote an article. It appeared in last Sundays paper, but here it is for your reading pleasure…
Total-U Fitness executive practices what he preaches
OK, children of the 80s, think back to when Daniel LaRusso, Ralph Macchio’s character in the Karate Kid, injured his knee in competition. He didn’t go running off to the hospital or start on a steady diet of painkillers. Instead, Mr. Miyagi rubbed his hands together, hummed a little and put his magical palms near the injury. In no time, LaRusso was back on the mats.
Hey, it’s only a movie, right? But it does raise a good point. There are other ways to get healthy than through modern medicine. Rather than running off to your doctor the minute you stub a toe, there are alternative methods of healing you can try.
Tony Myatt is vice president of Total-U-Fitness, Inc., a company that provides clients with a variety of certified personal fitness trainers, massage therapists and nutritional counselors who can meet in a home, office or gym. He also hosts a Sunday morning radio show, “Totally Fit Radio,” on AM 560 WIND. Myatt follows the ideas of Chinese medicines and believes that proper nutrition can help keep us healthy.
“Our bodies don’t understand modern, Western medicine,” says Myatt. “The body is designed to heal itself.”
Personal experience
Myatt practices what he preaches. In 1997, Myatt was walking down the street when a car going 47 miles per hour hit him.
“They thought I was dead on the scene,” says Myatt.
Turned out he wasn’t dead but he had broken his neck in three places. Because of Myatt’s excellent physical fitness, he and the doctor decided not to pursue surgery.
For six months, he ate right, saw chiropractors and followed Eastern therapies until he was healed. Then, in 2003, Myatt had a herniated disc. He started therapy on his own but still wanted to get it looked at. He went to see three surgeons and all three told him he’d need surgery. After three weeks, Myatt returned to the doctor and he said, “What did you do?” He no longer needed the procedure.
Open mind
Myatt made it clear that he doesn’t condemn modern medicine or hospitals.
“There’s a time and place for everything,” says Myatt.
But he feels like the today’s health care is focused less on what people need and more on what’s in their bank accounts.
“I really wish it was about the person and not the pocket book,” says Myatt. Instead of spending money on painkillers, Myatt suggests a more natural approach to aches. Take massage, for example.
“It certainly feels good,” says Myatt, but massage can have all sorts of other benefits. If an athlete gets a pre-competition massage, they’re not only warming their muscles up but they are also helping to avoid possible injury. When Myatt had his accident, he got better by using raindrop therapy, which combines the use of massage and scented oils for both muscular and neurological stimulation.
Myatt says that it’s time to get back to the basics. Getting healthy all starts with you.
“Too many people don’t want to do what it takes to be truly healthy,” says Myatt. “It’s about making a lifestyle change.”
For help developing your fitness and health program, to podcast this show or simply for more fitness and health information, visit Totallyfitradio.com.
