To the girl on the couch,
Years ago, I was in a shared ride when the driver asked me where I was going. I told him I was heading to the boxing gym.
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When people ask how I got into boxing, I tell them, “Because I suffer from chronic pain.” And believe me, this is not a hero story — she suffered pain, fought it, and won. This is a true boxing story…
Boxing became the most beautiful way I could reframe what it meant to endlessly have to fight pain.
If anything, boxing is as genuine as chronic pain. You don’t win every round. You can get knocked down. You get up after feeling hurt. You feel like you can’t keep going, but somehow, you find the strength to continue. And most of all, you must constantly dig deep into your inner strength to understand that you are never in full control.
Chronic pain makes you a good fighter.
The driver quickly replied, “That’s what my cousin needs to do. She suffers from pain, but she’s lazy — she just lays on the couch!”
My heart went out to the girl on the couch — fighting pain so hard, unseen and judged, without a corner to support her.
We all know the couch. It’s like hitting the canvas. It’s where we’re working the hardest — fighting the pain, the boredom, the judgment, the stigma, the fear of not being able to come out of that flare-up.
On the couch, we’re not being lazy — we’re drained from fighting championship rounds that feel like never-ending bouts of pain.
What we need in those moments isn’t to go hit the gym. No fighter does that right after a knockdown.
We need to go to our corner, have the coach set a little wooden stool with love, and tell us that we’ve got this.
This is why there’s a rest between rounds, an eight count, a neutral corner.
In Pink Hour, I want to create a platform where we can honor the rounds and the rest between rounds.
I understand deeply the importance of rest — just as much as the importance of gentle, adequate movement. But more importantly, I understand the need for a corner. Our community needs a corner.
Over the years, I’ve seen how much analysis, speculation, pressure, expectation, and burden is placed on the chronic pain patient to figure out, heal, or explain the pain.
But feeling and processing pain is already so, so much work.
We need support, encouragement, empathy, and understanding.
I’ve been the girl on the couch too — and I still am, many days. And that’s okay.
I’ve only recently started telling myself that it’s okay.
And if you’re reading this and it resonates with you — I, Noelia Cruz, Certified Personal Trainer, Boxing Judge, and Golden Gloves Champion (who had a couch flare-up two weeks before the fight, and many more throughout training and beyond) — would love to tell you:
Fighting your pain and fatigue from the couch is okay.
It is more than enough. It’s admirable. And I see you.
When you feel those little windows of energy — the ones that sometimes come suddenly and unexpectedly — I’m also here for you, to do some gentle movement that just feels good.
And when you’re ready to go on to the next round, we can move some more too.
I hope this platform brings visibility to our community — so that people cherish us not just on the good days, when we’re winning rounds, but also on the days when we’re knocked down.
I’ve lived with chronic pain, fatigue, and all the other little suspects that come with it for the last 18 years. And from my experience, I know that with chronic conditions, there are no linear measurements.
Some days you’re at a 10. Some days you’re at a 2.
I hope this platform honors that truth — and offers you comfort and understanding.
Wherever you are, however you are feeling — you are welcome.
On the days you want to move, on the days you want to connect, on the days you want to find nature and peace to ground you while you're fighting on the couch — I’ll be here for you.
The content of Pink Hour will include:
gentle movement sessions filmed along the Great Lakes,
relaxing natural landscapes and sounds,
natural pink noise recordings for resting and grounding,
articles and reflections,
vlogs and celebrations of the good days,
and a supportive community where we can share life hacks and secrets for navigating a life with pain and fatigue.
I welcome you. I cherish you. And I look forward to being in your corner.
Love,
Noelia