TAMPA, Fla. — Two Tampa Bay doctors are taking health care out of the doctor's office and onto the Tampa Riverwalk.
For doctors Mona Shah and Chrissy Daigle, it's nice to get out of the office and into the sunshine.
“Typically, it can be hard to get in front of a doctor at times, get an appointment, and have all the time to ask all the questions and get all your concerns addressed, right? So we wanted to create a casual opportunity to connect with doctors in that way,” said Daigle, who is an occupational therapist.
They call the program Mindful Movement. Once a month, Daigle and Shah lead a relaxed stroll starting at Julian B Lane Park and continuing down the Riverwalk.
“We wanted to get this out into the community, and we have been posting the information on Instagram, and when we heard that ABC Action News was coming, we got really excited to bring this to the community and let people know what we are doing,” said Shah, who specializes in clinical preventive medicine and public health.
Mindful Movement was formed as a partnership with the non-profit organization Community Roots Collective.
“They support families in the area, so it’s a great collaboration,” said Shah. “I've worked in resource limited settings in Africa, in Southeast Asia, and so I love community work.”
From eating and exercise to aches and pains, and don’t forget about mental health, no questions are off limits.
“A lot of what type of nutrition, what should I be thinking about with diet? I’ll sometimes have health questions about different infections; it really has a wide variety,” said Shah.
“It makes me feel so good; a lot of times, the symptoms somebody is having are really isolating and can be really hard to deal with, so to be able to help them hopefully live a better quality of life, that is a big deal,” said Daigle.
These participants said it’s nice to know there are doctors who aren’t just looking out for their practice but looking to be a voice in their community.
“Oh, it’s fantastic. You can always learn. The more you ask questions, the more you learn. It's fantastic. This is my second pregnancy, but I’m still learning,” said Lindsay Brennan.
“Oh I love it, a natural setting, you are more relaxed, you don’t feel nervous asking personal questions or that kind of thing, so being in this kind of setting is absolutely the best,” said Julie Ashlock.
The plan is to keep adding new doctors to the movement each month.
“We have a chiropractor coming, we have dermatologists, so just getting different local providers here that work in Tampa that can talk to the patient out in this beautiful setting,” said Shah.
A schedule of upcoming Mindful Movement classes can be found on Instagram @pelvicsolutions and @monashahmd.
