Healthy For The First Time
For those of you who follow me on social media, you’ve likely heard me talk about how neuro performance training has changed my life and how I adamantly believe that all physicians and medical providers should incorporate this training into their work with patients (if they want to help their patients). Below is the testimonial that I recently sent to my neuro performance trainer, Steve Madama.
Testimonial by Ariella Coleman, 1/31/24
Steve changed my life. When we met, I was in one of the worst health flares I’d ever experienced. The combination of my Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome, POTS, ME/CFS, Gastroparesis, Mast Cell Activation Syndrome, and other compounding factors had left me – as a high-achieving attorney – mostly bedbound. Up until this point in my life, I had worked with some of the “top experts” for my diagnoses, and I had gone to different types of physical and occupational therapy regularly for well over a decade. They barely made a dent, and every day – even the good ones – felt like a fight against my body and the world. I would routinely experience significant health setbacks, never going more than a few weeks without a new serious obstacle.
After my first session with Steve, I felt dramatic improvement. Over the next few months of our work together, my symptoms associated with the above-mentioned diagnoses dwindled to the point that I began to question whether those labels still applied to me.
I used to experience chronic and debilitating pain. Now, I rarely experience pain at all and any pain I do experience is minor, short-lasting, and I now have the tools to eliminate the pain. I used to regularly incur serious injuries that were challenging to recover from. Now, I rarely get injured and any injuries I do sustain are much more minor than they used to be, I’m able to recover very quickly, and I have the tools to expedite and ease the process. I used to become dizzy and lightheaded and faint regularly; now I don’t. I used to struggle tremendously with my digestion, and I even wondered if my digestive system was permanently damaged. Now, my belly is flat 99% of the time, and my digestion is smooth sailing. I used to have immense difficulties with breathing, which only added to my unbearable fatigue. Now, I breathe comfortably and easily, and I have energy and stamina. I used to need reading glasses, and I used to experience a range of vision-related challenges. Now, I don’t. I used to feel like I didn’t know how to use my body. Now, I feel like I finally have the manual and I’m mastering it – and I’ve become an athlete!
I’ve been working with Steve for almost 1.5 years. This is the first time in my life I’ve felt like a healthy person, and this is the longest stretch of time I’ve ever gone without a health setback. Most of my life was about pushing through and surviving. With Steve on my team, I finally get to live.
Most physicians and other medical providers are not trained to help us live our best lives, but Steve is - and spreading what I’ve learned from him, along with other tips and tricked I’ve picked up along the way, has become one of my favorite things to do. I get to hear from people all around the world about how the information I share is helping them get their lives back. Whether I’m sharing my story on social media or in one-on-one consultations, I want people to know that with the “right” mindset, tools, and knowledge, improvement is possible.