You never know the impact you can have on so many people

I participated in a 158 person Zoom the other day at the request of the host Nir Yogev. I met Nir 6 years ago in Israel. My wife Rachel and I  went to his Dojo because he had treated a friend who was bedridden for several months with severe back and leg pain. The story was that Nir had him up and functioning quickly and back to normal within months. I had been suffering for months with a 9 mm protrusion between 2 vertebrae and was unable to stand for long or walk more than 20 feet without support. When we left the house, we took a borrowed wheelchair, because at this point walking wasn’t an option. I could sit, drive a car, fly, sleep lying down without a problem, but any activity  on my feet just would not work.

Nir showed me some simple exercises and then got me up on his table where he said that he was going to wake up my muscles. Wow! It was not painless. Then he had me on my feet trying a few basic moves. The plan was a weekly videotaped Skype for about 20 minutes where I would do a follow along as Nir demonstrated the exercises. He emailed me the secession and I was to do the 20-minute exercise twice a day. I did do it twice sometimes, but mostly only once. Within weeks I was much better and pushing the wheelchair instead being pushed. Within a few months I was back to normal and ready to put my recovery to the ultimate test; I wanted to try jogging again. I did and it was great. Yes, I was way out of shape, but mechanically it worked and no pain during or after. That was six years ago and at the tender young age of 78 I do get aches and pains and sometimes back pain. When I do, all I have to do is one or two of his ‘fast fix” exercises and I am good to go. Oh, and a few years after my first visit we went back and Nir filmed a short video of me jogging. I wanted to show him how he helped me fulfill my quest to be able to run again.

Nir introduced me to the others on the Zoom call and I did 2 minutes on my past back problem and how practicing what Nir taught has produced miracles in my body and life. I think it was AA who came up with the saying about working the program, because the program works. Then it started. There were people telling me how my videoed jogging story inspired them to do this program and how grateful they were to me. After hearing this several times, I got a little choked up and then an older gentleman said that when he saw a 72-year-old guy ( me) do this program he said then why can’t he? He had been unable to get up and be on his own for the last 4 years. Now he is back to normal and pain free.

It never crossed my mind when Nir filmed me that so many people would see it and get inspired to work on their back problems.

How many times has someone come up to you or said hello including your name and you just couldn’t place them and then they tell you when and what a difference you have made in their lives? Big or small, you affected them in some way. The moral of this story is not how important we are, but how we can affect others by sharing ourselves.