Larissa Van As (1/5)

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“I started skating when I was 4 and stopped when I was in my early 20s. I had a really bad injury, lower back, and groin, I was about 21 years old. When I stopped skating I couldn’t sleep, I couldn’t walk and had a lot of issues especially for someone who’s that young, it wasn’t fun but I just couldn’t skate any longer, it was too much pain.
The injury shaped who I am as a person, I saw a lot of physios, different practitioners and actually a naturopathic doctor is the one that was finally able to fix me and she was my inspiration to go into the profession and I asked her what she did, how she went about it, and the school and everything. I was so intrigued by it, I wanted to work within the realms of sport medicine as a naturopathic doctor so working with injuries, healing people but not just through exercise but through exercise, diet, and the mental/emotional aspects. You hit it from all angles which I really like. So skating and being injured and being in that position, it sucked but it shows you both sides. You get to see and feel how what it’s like to be in that position so when you are working with future patients you understand better than someone who hasn’t experienced it.” – Larissa Van As, Personal Trainer, Former Ice Dancer, Future Naturopathic Doctor. (1/5)