NORDIC POLE WALKING VICTORIA

CONTACT LINDA:  (250) 920-4005  Linda4success@shaw.ca

LINDA SCHAUMLEFFEL

I have been blessed with three major events in my life that have indelibly imprinted on me the keys to empower myself to always be able to move forward to fitness and health.

FIRST,  I jumped at the opportunity to tryout for the 1976 Olympic Games in rowing.  In the months and years leading up to the Games there was a never ending challenge to be fitter and perform more effectively.  Even though I was not the best athlete in the bunch, I made a vow to do everything that I could. When I felt I had given all I could give, I found more!

In the end I became the lead rower in one of the top boats for Canada. We did not win the medal against boats from Russia, East Germany, and Rumania who were far more experienced, had much better equipment, and proven to be on steroids.  However, in the end East Germany and Russia stood in front of us and bowed, acknowledging us for our fearless tenaciously to move forward in spite of all odds.

This is where I learned the most important lesson that I teach all my clients…..  If it is to be, it is up to me!  

SECOND, in 1989 I was the victim of a car accident.  Thankfully I was quite fit so I just suffered massive soft tissue damage, a brain injury, PTSS, fibromyalgia, chronic fatigue syndrome, agoraphobia…

The first year I could not really move.  Then I staggered for years, couldn’t speak for a while, lost my vocabulary and my memory… and was totally engulfed in rage.  To lift my leg to step up on the curb required enormous effort.  Something like taking a bath was so exhausting that I had to recover in bed for five or six hours.  This went on for years.  This sounds bad, and it was, but I have since experienced so many other souls who face circumstances even worse. One thing I did have was that fearless tenaciously to move forward in spite of all odds. For me it took 15 years to recover, but I did it!  I was amazed how able the body was to improve given the right circumstances.    It seems the body is so willing to improve given the right circumstances. 

The other thing that happened was that all of my “friends” left and my family died.  I was depressed and suicidal.  So finally I prayed for an answer and it came!  I needed a worthwhile purpose, something to live for.

THIRD, in 2009 I lucked out and was chosen to be one of the 2010 Winter Olympic Torch Relay runners.  My main goal was to look good on TV…hahahahhaaa!  I decided that potentially the easiest way to accomplish this goal was to pole walk.  With my athletic background I taught myself an effective style, and within 45 days people started noticing that my posture had changed and I looked slimmer.  Pole Walking worked!

After the Olympic Relay TV appearance, I continued pole walking just because it felt good.   (It’s like cross country skiing but on pavement).  This Torch Relay experience led to my discovery of a total body fitness exercise that really works.

In 2011 people started asking me to teach them how to get results like I was getting, so I set up workshops and taught them to pole walk the way I had figured it out.  At the end of the year, I got a phone call out of the blue from Dr. Klaus Schwanbeck in Berlin.  He envisioned me becoming an instructor with his newly formed company, Nordixx Canada.  I accepted.  After reading all the scientific studies proving how Nordic walking positively impacts almost all lifestyle diseases, I was ecstatic.  I had a real tool that I could use to help people.

Since then I have taught thousands of clients and witnessed the fact that EVERYONE who takes up Nordic Walking improves their fitness and health!  It’s a rare joy to find something that actually delivers its promise….that’s Nordic walking!

2022 UPDATE:  Coronary Artery Disease runs in my family’s genes…my grandfather, father, and brother died suddenly of heart attacks.  I chose to live a fit and healthy life so I would have the best chance when my genetic turn came.  2018 I started to feel unusually tired…the soap opera of my particular GP, and our current medical system, and COVID, all put me in a hold cycle until Feb 2022 when my heart rate was 45 and irregular.  I took myself to emergency, they sent a report to my walk-in GP, he ordered tests and then asked the #1 cardiologist to read the tests.

The #1 cardiologist met with me and booked an angioplasty for May 3 where they take a detailed look at the  coronary arteries.  One was blocked 100%, one was blocked 90%, one was blocked 80%, and they could not find the fourth, only the body’s attempt to build a new one.  The cardiologist pulled strings and I was in for pre-emptory quad bypass surgery the next day May 4!

My fitness paid off in three ways:  1) I stayed alive with the little coronary artery capacity I had left 2) I did not have a heart attack since I was so fit, and 3) my recovery was super fast.  They make you get out of bed and start walking the second day in the cardiac recovery ward, and give you the goal of building up walking to 60 minutes every day within 6 weeks.  BTW, that is a huge goal that even healthy normal people struggle to attain!  However, I was really fit and knew how to create a habit of fitness, so for me getting to 60 minutes a day of walking was quite easy.  I aced my tread mill test, and got the stamp of freedom from my cardiologist.  I am back to Nordic walking 3-5 times a week for at least 50 minutes.

These FOUR major events in my life tattooed these lessons across my consciousness:  

• IF IT IS TO BE, IT’S UP TO ME
• INVEST IN FITNESS THAT ACTUALLY WORKS
• IMPROVEMENT IS ALWAYS POSSIBLE

Can you feel it?  Because these major events in my life, I love to empower people to take action for their own results.

I make a fool of myself every day extoling the virtues of Nordic Walking to any audience willing to listen.  AND I go crazy when people blame the doctors for not doing enough when they allow their own fitness to decline. 

It is thrilling to continue Dr. Schwanbeck’s vision “creating a legacy of health through fitness with Nordic Pole Walking” by offering lessons and courses, and by certifying others to become Nordic Pole Walking leaders.

But what really juices me is hearing new clients exclaim, “Nordic Pole Walking is something I can ACTUALLY do!”  

Cheers,  Linda Schaumleffel   (250) 920 4005  Linda4success@shaw.ca

LINDA SCHAUMLEFFEL IS A PROGRAM DESIGNER, SPEAKER, AND WORKSHOP FACILITATOR.  A shining example of success, Linda competed for Canada in the 1976 Olympic Games in rowing AND reconstructed her body and life after a car accident in 1989.

Full of empathy, compassion, and persistence, Linda loves to empower people to take action for their own results… especially health.   Individuals, groups and organizations often hire Linda to design and deliver workshops to assist their members to achieve the health, fitness, and productivity goals they desire.  Linda is also a popular inspirational speaker.

Happily joining Dr. Klaus Schwanbeck in April 2012, Linda immediately became  Nordixx Canada MASTER Instructor in Victoria.  Her duties include leading the growth of Nordic Pole Walking, teaching individuals how to Nordic pole walk, and certifying/training new Nordixx Canada Instructors and Peer Group Leaders.

Linda has encouraged the development of Nordic Walk Clubs in Victoria and area.  In 2023, Linda’s goal is to set up a fun “QUAD” league and to create many certified instructors to carry on the legacy of Nordic walking in Victoria. .

Linda shares the vision of Dr. Klaus Schwanbeck “to create a legacy of health through fitness with Nordic Pole Walking”, and loves hearing people exclaim…..”This is something I can ACTUALLY do!”

Living in beautiful Victoria, BC, her most joyous hobbies are singing, exploring the city, plus making art to illustrate lessons learned in life.  Go Girl!

APRIL 24, 2013  Dear Linda, Nordixx Master Instructor in Victoria, BC.

“You asked me to put into writing the observations I shared with you today at the health fair regarding your massage.  When I was assessing your musculature I was quite impressed by the strength and definition of the muscles along your spine.  I generally find that amount of development only in men, rarely in women.  Your exercise regime of pole walking certainly shows in the way your body has laid down muscle and maintained a straight posture.  Your erectors will keep you standing straight for a lifetime!   Cheers,”   Patty Disbrow  Massage Therapist, Victoria BC, (pattydisbrow@gmail.com)

LINDA is a Nordixx Pole Walking Canada certified instructor, and Nordixx MASTER INSTRUCTOR, Olympian, (retired), BCRPA personal fitness trainer, car accident survivor, B.Ed (PhysED, Psych).