Wanderlust: Expat Life & Style in Thailand April / May 2015 - The Health & Wellness Issue | Page 10

Fashion & Style HAVE YOU ALWAYS BEEN ATHLETIC? If you grow up in Australia, sport is in your blood. Not a day went by when sport wasn’t there. It was my religion. I was constantly training for multiple sports—swimming, gymnastics, netball—just to name a few! WHAT DO YOU LOVE ABOUT SPORTS? I love the competitiveness and the feeling of improving, achieving, and getting stronger. It was a must for me to push myself to be the best I could be. I wanted to make myself proud and make my parents proud. I loved the happiness that would come from seeing my parents excited and enjoying the ride along with me. ARE YOU MORE INTO INDIVIDUAL OR TEAM SPORTS? Individual sports teach you to motivate yourself from the inside, and this can sometimes be a selfish act. You control everything and are responsible for the outcome. Some people don’t enjoy this, but I did. On the other hand, team sports are just as exciting and important, and there is nothing better than sharing success with those who have trained just as hard as you and who understand what it has taken to get there. ASIDE FROM FITNESS, WHAT DO YOU THINK IS THE GREATEST BENEFIT OF PLAYING SPORTS? Playing sport is so good for your physical health, but it’s just as important for your mental health. It gives you an opportunity to clear your head. Things always look brighter after a good workout! HAVE YOU EVER SUSTAINED AN INJURY? No one playing sport is immune to injuries, and I’m no exception. After 28 years of sport, I succumbed to my first major injury. While playing netball in Bangkok, I went up for an intercept and came down and landed on my extended knee. As a result of the landing, I tore 8 WANDERLUST my ACL in half. This is a common injury amongst netballers and footballers. It takes a long time to recover from an ACL injury, often requiring 12 months of rehabilitation. IN WHICH STAGE OF RECOVERY ARE YOU NOW? It’s been about five months since I had my knee reconstruction to repair the torn ligament. It has been extremely tough and has required a lot of hard work, countless exercises, and support from family and friends. Some of the simplest things I took for granted—like walking, jumping, and climbing stairs—I have had to relearn from scratch. I’ve learned that recovering from an injury tests your mental ability and self-discipline. You have to take things slowly. It’s tempting to resume normal activity prematurely, but that will only lead to longer recovery time. When it comes to figuring out if you’ve pushed yourself too far, you are the best judge for your own body, and you need to listen to yourself! WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PEOPLE WHO WANT TO GET INTO SPORT? Sport is something that can seem daunting, especially if you haven’t been the sporting type. But you know what? We all had to learn at some stage. The great thing is sport is for absolutely everyone— short, tall, slow, fast, beginner and advanced. Your attitude determines your direction It can be as simple as playing backyard cricket with the family, football on the beach with mates, or watching a live game of your favorite sporting team. Sport has the power to bring emotions you thought you never had, from the total exhilaration of winning a grand final to the absolute devastation of losing one. That’s why sporty types love it and why they come back for more. If you want to get into sport, just go for it! Start with something you might like to learn or think you would enjoy. Watch a YouTube www.wanderlustmag.com