The Adventures of Fat Ass and Chimpy, Part 1: Meet the Cast

{Cast Member #1: Me}

With a foundation laid in Twinkie wrappers and couch cushions, I suppose it was only a matter of time before my body would give out. Indeed, almost three years ago, it did just that; I had just left teaching, and as I bent over to get something from a shelf in my classroom, all hell broke loose in my lower spine.

Follow that with a series of comebacks and setbacks. Routine movements suddenly turned bad: getting up from a chair, a long car ride, or even just brushing my teeth turned into a potentially hazardous situation.

That's no way to live.

I did everything I could think of; I saw an osteopath. I tried acupuncture. I changed my diet. I iced. I heating-padded. I drugged. Nothing worked consistently.

And then I realized that I was trying what everyone else said to do, instead of listening to what my body wanted to do. And my body wanted to try a chiropractor.

So we've met me, so I guess I'm Cast Member #1 (how's that for self confidence?).

{Cast Member #2: Dr. Fat Ass}

Now meet Cast Member #2: Dr. Fat Ass.

Dr. Fat Ass works here. When I first started going to his practice, I was seeing another doctor, who gave me exactly what I needed at that time. It was September 2013, and I couldn't go more than a month or two without a flare-up that sidelined me for days on end. I was worried about losing my job. I was worried I wouldn't be able to live the way I wanted to live. That first doctor gave me support, encouragement, and a shoulder to lean on. Then he left, and I started seeing Dr. Fat Ass.

And Dr. Fat Ass gave me a good kick in the pants.

He talks a mile a minute (none of those words minced, I might add). He likes trying on fake accents. He talks about death and pain a lot - but in a fun way. He likes the music of Michael Jackson and Enya. He really knows his shit and is dedicated to disseminating that information. And, contrary to the moniker I've given him here (find out why), he is most certainly not a fat ass. In fact, I'm pretty confident that he's quite ripped underneath his characteristic khakis and polo shirt.

In short, he practices what he preaches - that's the best kind of doctor.

I've been seeing him for a little over a year now, and I'm doing quite well (find me a piece of wood on which to knock enthusiastically!). The number one thing Dr. Fat Ass has taught me is to Never Stop Moving. The body was made to move, and going against that natural plan (or living the sedentary American life we've become accustomed to) will only spell out trouble. He's also a huge proponent (and distributor) of NuSkin supplements - I take them myself, and I love that there's TONS of science to back up their work.

For months - literally, months - he'd tried to get me in touch with a trainer. Read more about that here. I finally did, and thus:

{Cast Member #3: Chimpy}

Meet Cast Member #3: Chimpy.

Chimpy works here. Except he doesn't, really. He bounces all around town - sometimes crawls, actually - and spreads the word about loving and respecting the body that you're in by moving. He loves bright colors. He does very interesting and inspirational things with his body, which you can see here. He combines a hippie's philosophy with the functionality and vibrance of a 21st-century thinker - go with the flow, but flow right so you don't end up hurting yourself!

Chimpy is going to teach me to employ his hashtag: #movewithoutdoubt. That's huge.

He's breaking me down to the very basics. What do you do when you're first born? You breathe. What do you do next? You roll. After that? You crawl. So on Day 1 he evaluated my breathing, rolling, and crawling. I would have been more embarrassed if it weren't for the fact that other people around me were doing pretty much the same thing.

I'm not sure what I've stumbled upon, but I'm pretty sure I like it.

Together our Cast of Characters is going to whip me into shape. Take control of my body by letting my body do what comes naturally - an interesting balance of intentional actions and just letting go.

I'm confident that this is the right direction for me. And that's what it's all about, isn't it? Finding what works for you. Because nobody is the same, and more importantly, no body is the same.

My hope for this series is that it also inspires you to play around a bit - find out what works for you, even if it's not remotely what works for me. Just do it, for crying out loud.

You're worth it.

Stay tuned.