Tuesdays have quietly become the highlight of my week. Not because they’re sandwiched between Monday’s chaos and the promise of Wednesday, but because Tuesday is when I have my walking sessions with the Atalante X exoskeleton.
If you’d told me a year ago that I’d be looking forward to working out in an exoskeleton, I probably would’ve laughed. But here I am, counting down the days. A huge part of that is my physical therapist. She’s phenomenal—she brings energy, enthusiasm, and this infectious passion to every single session. There’s something about working with someone who truly believes in what you’re doing. It makes all the difference.
Lately, we’ve been focusing on side-stepping, which is way harder than it looks. When we first started, it felt awkward—like my body and brain were speaking two different languages. But each week, my balance, especially my trunk control, gets a little bit better. It’s a strange, wonderful thing to feel your own body learning, piece by piece, how to work with you instead of against you.
One of my favorite things about these sessions is how dynamic they are. We’re constantly switching things up: sometimes we’re in hip mode, sometimes knee mode, sometimes working my full legs. It’s not just a workout for my muscles—it’s a workout for my mind. Motor planning is a skill in itself. Sometimes I think my brain is just as tired as my legs by the end of a session! That’s exactly what I need, though. My brain needs these new challenges, these reminders that it’s connected to my body, that it can listen, learn, and adapt.
I won’t pretend it’s easy. There are plenty of moments when I’m sweating and frustrated, when I want to give up and just let gravity win for the day. But then there’s a step that feels smoother, or I catch myself balancing for an extra beat, and I realize how far I’ve come. That’s the satisfaction I’m chasing—the feeling that, slowly but surely, the connection between my brain and body is growing stronger.
I used to look at recovery as something that happened in big leaps. Now I see it’s the small, stubborn steps that really matter. Tuesdays are my reminder that progress is possible, even if it’s measured one step at a time.
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