I Can’t Lie. I’m Just So Excited to Be Alive Right Now.
- Made 2 Move Team
- 17 hours ago
- 5 min read
About the Author: Hannah Breal, PT, DPT is the co-owner of Made 2 Move Physical Therapy in Charleston and Charlotte. She helps athletes and active adults rebuild strength, mobility, and confidence so they can move pain-free for life.
Made 2 Move Physical Therapy – Charleston | Daniel Island | Mount Pleasant
Background: I had the flu last week.
And if you’ve suffered this year’s “super flu” (the fact that we're calling it that is wild…) you know it is quite miserable, and dare I say, even life changing.
Ending 2025 and starting 2026 with the flu was a special kind of mental warfare.
All week I was stuck on the couch, feeling sorry for myself, overwhelmed with tasks piling up, and also wondering what the actual heck I was going to write about for this week’s letter.
It’s hard to be inspired about physical therapy and movement and exercise when you haven’t left the couch in 5 days.
And… plot twist… I’m now feeling inspired by the very thing that almost put me in the dirt.
I had a LOT of time to think last week and fortunately for yall, you can learn from my pain without ever having to experience it yourself.
And if you have experienced it, I am so sorry.
So here’s what I learned last week (and why it’s helpful for you, too):
1. We Don’t Give Ourselves Enough Time to Think
We don’t give ourselves enough time to think, reflect, or process, because it doesn’t “feel” productive.
Although it might be one of the most productive things we can do.
And ALSO WHO set the rule that every single second of our day has to be productive??? I’d like to have a word.
When I finally stopped scrolling or watching movies, I just sat there and thought — and started writing it down.
Some of the things that came out of that reflection time last week have led to some of the most productive things I’ve done in a while.
When was the last time you sat alone in silence, no phone, no music, no TV, for at least an hour?
2. We Take Our Health and Movement for Granted
You don’t realize how important your health is until you can’t breathe through your nose and you’re too tired and achey to do anything but slam Emily in Paris on Netflix.
What a gift it is to be standing and moving and to have the freedom to exercise.
I personally never realize how GOOD I normally feel until I feel bad.
When I finally got back to work this Monday, I was ecstatic. Ecstatic to work. SO excited to be out of my house, talking with people, moving, working, writing, planning — literally I couldn’t stop smiling all day.
It reaffirmed for me that our health is our #1 most important asset and it should be protected at all costs.
It’s the one thing that allows us to do everything else.
When we feel good, we can show up the way we want and make an impact on others.
3. If You Don’t Use It, You’ll Lose It
For five days I was mostly sedentary — maybe a couple of walks sprinkled in when I could manage — but overall I wasn’t moving much.
By the end of it, I was super achey.
My neck hurt.
My back felt stiff.
My hip was aching.
I was just craving to move.
Why?
The flu
Most of my joints were stuck in the same position for five days
Five days isn’t enough to have a lasting impact (although I still feel some lingering effects), but many, MANY people live like this.
Desk jobs.
Couch time.
No regular exercise or strength training.
And honestly, most of our modern lives are NOT set up for us to move our joints through their full intended range of motion.
Which means if we aren’t intentionally moving them, we’re going to LOSE that range over time.
You’ve heard it all before:
As we age, we get stiffer.
Less mobile.
Weaker.
Less conditioned.
Sound familiar?
Our knees hurt and we can’t bend them as much.
Our hips ache and we can’t take big steps.
Our backs feel stiff so we turn into the tin man.
We lose muscle mass and bone density.
We end up in physical therapy because we can’t reach our arms overhead or behind our backs without pain.
We struggle to sit in a low chair.
Walk upstairs.
Pick things up off the floor.
Sit on the ground with our kids or grandkids.
And then we blame it on “getting old.”
I’m calling BS on that.
If you don’t use it, you’ll lose it.
A New Year Reminder
Take this as a warning sign - and hopefully some well-intended motivation.
It’s a new year.
A great time to reflect.
A great time to make changes if we need to.
If you’re someone who regularly moves and exercises, what a blessing. Don’t take it for granted. Stop complaining about your workouts. It sucks when that ability is taken away.
If you’re not regularly moving or exercising, take this as a friendly warning so you don’t have to learn it the hard way.
If you don’t move your joints through a full range of motion, your body won’t maintain that motion for you.
If you don’t load and challenge your bones, your body won’t maintain or build bone density for you.
If you don’t lift weights, your body won’t maintain or build muscle mass for you.
You have to prove to your body that you need these things.
Cheers to 2026.
To movement. To reflection.
And to not having the flu.
(But also… slightly thankful for it.)
If You’re in Charleston, Daniel Island, Charlotte, or Mount Pleasant…
At Made 2 Move Physical Therapy, we help active adults, athletes, and busy humans build lives where they feel strong, confident, resilient, and in control — physically and mentally.
If pain, injury, stress, or overwhelm are keeping you from feeling your best, you don’t have to figure it out alone.
At Made 2 Move Physical Therapy, we help active adults and athletes in Daniel Island and Mount Pleasant stay strong, healthy, and injury-free so they can keep playing for years.
We have three convenient locations:
Our team of DPTs can help you move, play, and live without limitations.
Want to learn how to move better, stay pain-free, and actually understand your body?
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Written by Hannah Breal, PT, DPT, Co-Owner of Made 2 Move Physical Therapy, helping Charleston and Charlotte move pain-free for life.
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