Fitness classes specifically designed with Plains Tribal People in mind.
While working to become a medical doctor, Lita Pepion began to realize that many of the health problems in Indian Country result from human behaviors and cannot be “fixed” by IHS doctors. Lita realized that the knowledge and motivation of Native people on Indian reservations as it relates to fitness and basic health information was minimal. With the understanding that personal choices have a great impact on our health, Lita formed CRL Health & Fitness, LLC in 1999. Empowering Native People to believe that they can be healthier and that health involves personal choices and motivation is the core mission of CRL. Everyone has the intelligence to learn all we can about our own health and how we can protect and improve it.
With the involvement and support from Billings YMCA and various Tribal Health and Diabetes Prevention Programs, CRL provides the highest quality education, personal motivation, and technical assistance to community members throughout the Northern Plains. Learning as much about health as possible, eating healthier foods, moving your body on a regular basis, reducing stress and paying attention to your feelings and actions are all ways to protect your health. These positive lifestyle changes are very rewarding, but not always easy to make. CRL offers professional help in the form of both group and one-on-one coaching to help those get started and stay on course.
CRL is natively owned and operated, featuring instructors who grew up on the reservation and experienced many of the same issues our people face today (poverty, violence, physical and sexual abuse, substance abuse, substandard education, housing and healthcare) and successfully overcame those issues while maintaining cultural roots and Native Heritage. Therefore the fitness classes are specifically designed with Plains Tribal People in mind, and are customizable to fit the needs of anyone.
CRL has trained numerous Native American Diabetes Prevention and Health Professionals on the importance of fitness to health; how to incorporate fitness into Native lifestyles and how to protect and improve health. In addition, CRL has educated numerous non-Natives on fitness with the intent of building a bridge between the two cultures by including information about Native culture and the importance of not assuming all Natives fit into the stereotypical Indian classification. Many people have thanked the staff of CRL for their classes and for helping community members to start making healthier choices and live better!
For more information, please visit the website at: http://www.crlhealth.com/Home.html.
