Heather Petrie Altoona, Iowa Certified T-Tapp Trainer heather@t-tapp.com Hi, my name is Heather Petrie.  I am 37 years old and have 2 children, Morgan and Marc.  I live in Altoona, Iowa.  I am an IFPA Certified Personal Trainer, a Senior T-Tapp Trainer as well as the Lead Trainer for the T-Tapp MORE Rehabilitation Program.  I am also a Nationally Certified Massage Therapist and Owner of MidWest Medical Massage.  I have combined my knowledge of T-Tapp with Massage Therapy to provide a service more like a functional physical therapy approach to MT. As well as one of the only MT’s in Central Iowa to provide Manual Lymphatic Drainage Massage. I have recently moved into business with several other Holistic Wellness and Medical professionals to better serve the community as a whole under Prevention and Healing of Iowa, LLC (you may visit our website: www.preventioniowa.com). I came into this line of work through my personal experience with health issues. I have struggled with my weight since childhood, but after the birth of my son I finally had enough and started the journey to improve my health with proper nutrition and exercise. I lost well over 130 pounds and at 5'10" went from a size 24 to and 8. Just when I was the healthiest I had been in my life, I had my first onset of Multiple Sclerosis. Then after 3 years of losing and keeping the weight off the inevitable happened, I started to gain the weight back! I gained 20 pounds and I was back into a size 12. Despite issues with the MS I was in a panic not to become heavy again. I started running 2 miles in the morning, lifting weights and using the elliptical trainer in the evenings. I was also using whey protein shakes to cut back on calories. After a few months neither my weight nor my clothing size would budge, the MS was affecting me daily and was not improving, it was becoming worse! I was not only exhausted, hungry, and depressed; I felt I had no control over my life and body. I knew that with Multiple Sclerosis I would never be able to keep up such a vigorous life style, but I was not ready to accept my fate: the MS would become debilitating and I would gain all the weight back.

Then one fateful day I picked up an issue of Woman’s World Magazine.  I read about Teresa Tapp and the T-Tapp workout that was so genius yet so common sense.  I read more at the T-Tapp web site and looked up the moves in the Try Before You Buy section.  I was so interested about Teresa and her concepts that I ordered the T-Tapp Total System that day. Wow, how my life has changed! After the first workout with Primary Back Stretch my severe low back pain went away (I have scoliosis and degenerative break down in my lower lumbar, that at age 27 a Doctor told me he had only seen such cases in 60 year olds). Four short weeks later I had lost 18 inches and a clothing size, and because T-Tapp is easy on the joints and rebuilds the muscles that surround the knee, the pain in my left knee that had been problematic since age 12 had gone away and has not returned in almost 5 years! To top it off my knee knocker fat, bra fat and belly pooch went away. I never thought that after two pregnancies and all that weight that I would ever have a tight stomach!! I became so motivated to learn everything I could about T-Tapp, I started looking up Teresa’s past newsletters and implementing the free nutritional and skin care advice given in the publications, specifically the God-Made/Man-Made eating program.  Not only was I eating and not feeling guilty, but after another 4 weeks, I was into a size 8 again.  The interesting part is that because T-Tapp builds muscle density instead of muscle bulk, I am able to weigh between 160-170 pounds while maintaining a size 8.  That’s right, because T-Tapp rebuilds intrinsic muscle I weigh more, (greater muscle density, while reducing bodyfat), but am in a smaller clothing size (cinching and elongating of bulky muscle)! Another important concept that I learned from Teresa is her teaching of Body Typing.  I began to understand my body shape and realize inches lost matter much more than the weight on the scale.  For the first time in my life I feel proud of the and have an understanding of the way I look.  After my initial weight loss I had some sagging skin, the worst areas were at my inner thighs, arms and at the inguinal fold (where the leg meets the torso), but since I used the CRT Skin Tightening System as soon as I started the T-Tapp workout those areas began to lift and smooth out with in a few months. To top this all off, I had the first onset of Multiple Sclerosis when I was 27, (please see my success story page for full listing of onset, symptoms and improvements).  Before I started the T-Tapp program my MS was not improving, it was getting worse.  I was terrified at the thought of having to raise 2 children as a disabled parent and I was sure I was in for a grim future.  When I started T-Tapp the part I hadn’t expected was that the MS began to improve (despite the fact that I was already exercising).  I began to realize after a few short months of consistently doing T-Tapp the worst of the MS seemed to stay at bay.  Do I feel this is a cure?  Of course not, but what could be better for a neurological disease that in part blocks neurological impulses from the brain to the muscles, slows the bodies ability to remove toxic build up, atrophy’s muscle, and causes problems with cognitive function; and to further the complications can be set off by secondary conditions such as stress, hormone imbalance, or the numerous other conditions that can be a result of lack of exercise and improper diet?  T-Tapp addresses all of these issues.  Whether one is unable to stand: Sit Down T-Tapp, has balance issues or cannot stand or exercise for long periods of time: T-Tapp MORE, or is able to do a full Rehabilitative Program: T-Tapp Total Workout.  Each of these workouts increase nerve transmission, open neuro-kinetic flow, challenge and rebuild the intrinsic muscles and balance/core muscles, keep the joints strong and the body flexible, rebuild and increase lymphatic function, and work left brain/right brain simultaneously without jarring or over stressing the body to give a full and effective exercise to any person with MS or other health challenges for that matter.  The fact that the exercise can be done in the privacy of your own home for very little cost, with full internet and phone support by highly trained and caring T-Tapp professionals or under the guidance of an understanding and well trained T-Tapp Trainer in your area with private sessions, also addresses the issues many of my fellow MSers have; not being able to leave home, embarrassed to go to a gym because of the numerous issues related to MS, or having no idea where to even start with an exercise program. I can honestly say that my Multiple Sclerosis has vastly improved and I am no longer haunted daily by the thought of MS taking over my life.  T-Tapp has given me the control over my body I never thought I would have again. Because Multiple Sclerosis has so greatly affected and T-Tapp has so greatly changed my life I have become a volunteer with the Iowa Chapter of the Multiple Sclerosis Society as a Key Note Speaker for the Self Help Group Leaders Conference on the Importance of Exercise for People with MS, Specifically Using T-Tapp and a member of the MS Society Iowa Chapter Programs Committee.  I hope in the near future and have discussed doing a small group study with our local Neurologist on the effects of T-Tapp in people with MS.  To further support the cause I have been conducting public speaking for other organizations on Health and Wellness and have started work as an Educator with the Des Moines Community Adult Education Program teaching Proper Posture – Better Health.  Once again, combining my knowledge of T-Tapp Posture and Body Type with my knowledge as a Medical Massage Therapist. If you have any questions you may contact me at Heather@T-Tapp.com!