Changing your self-improvement paradigm

For most of my adult life, I've equated moving forward in my life with taking action. I always thought that if I was taking action of some sort to improve my life, then chances were that things were going to get better all the time. As I live through more life experience, I see that this isn't always the case.

I'm an action oriented person and find it hard to procrastinate or, as I like to see it now, fight an impulse to be the way I've always been hummingbird like in my energy.

The whole paradigm of thinking we should always be focused on improving ourselves and moving forward can in fact take us in the exact opposite direction because we are losing site of the bigger picture. Self improvement may start feeling like another 'job' instead of a joy and nothing inside of us has really shifted. We might even approach self-improvement with the same type A mentality that got us into trouble in the first place.

One thing I've noticed about people who find it hard to fit in self-care including regular exercise are in a state of constant busy-ness. They are so busy doing something that they don't even notice the proverbial hamster wheel they are on. They are in the constant state of having to do something that they build blinders that stop them from having any perspective and take them away from experiencing the beauty in life as it happens.

For example, "I'm in a constant state of doing but is this even the way I want my life to be?"

Or, "I'm so busy all the time, am I even experiencing my life as it unfolds or am I waiting to start experience all the riches in life until a later date when I'm not so busy?"

The tragedy of it all is that life is so fragile. We don't know when it will be our time to go. And we all will have regrets. But right at this moment we can start to live like we have a short time to live and this will make us slow down, taste our food, snuggle our kids, love our loved ones even more and make time for precious friends.

And I've noticed that this busy-ness approach to life extends into most people's paradigms about self improvement. We can get really busy trying to make ourselves better or create new opportunities or get fit or whatever it is we think we should do to improve our lives.

What I've found (and I'm not suggesting I've mastered it at all!) is that the more I find ways to slow down, stop rushing everywhere and focus on the fact I've got a finite amount of time on this planet, I am making more progress in improving my life than I ever have before in the same amount of time.

If we don't make space for new things in our lives because our lives are just so jammed, then the universe can't send it to us. If we don't have any time to let new thoughts or realizations into our beings, then we will stay stuck in our never ending hamster wheel.

Authenticity with self and others: how to start making changes within to manifest changes in our bodies

Without knowing and accepting where we are now, it's very hard to start shifting our states. Sometimes this means accepting our imperfect selves as we are at any given moment. Trying to deny pain, struggle and disappointment with our life circumstances or our internal worlds will stifle true lasting change. How do you know where you're going if you don't know where you're starting point is?

In order to move forward, we need to be brutally honest with ourselves about where we are right now.

No glossing over of anything.

I try to create an environment at Urbanfitt where people can just be. Either feeling like shite or feeling stuck or frustrated or exhausted or whatever it may be. Too much of our lives are spent denying how we truly are feeling and this creates a state of tension in us. Getting to a state of relaxation and peace means letting go of resistance of the way we are in the moment. We can strengthen our ability to be authentic with ourselves in small ways every day.

For example, how many times has someone asked you how you're doing and you straight out lie about having a shitty day or week or struggling with relationship challenges or your kids etc. This denial or lie moves you away from the possibility for transforming your current state.

So often, people come in for a training session or now Reiki session feeling low energy or stuck or blah. When they admit how they are truly feeling we have our starting point. We can decide together what might help move them from this state into a more energetically elevated state. But if my clients pretended that they were feeling great or even ok when they weren't, a barrier or defense would go up in them turning them into a fortress of protected energy.

We are better prepared to find strategies or choose behaviours to help ourselves shift into a more positive state when we fully embrace where we currently are. Not always an easy thing to do when we are just trying to get everything we need to get done in a day.

But our chosen actions that arise out of being authentic with ourselves will be a more specific 'treatment' so to speak to move us out of low vibration.

So next time someone who truly cares about you asks how you're doing, keep it real. Together in our interdependence we can help each other feel better.

The more we practice this authenticity with ourselves, the more we learn to give our bodies and beings what they need to get into a more positive space. Over time, the more we learn to feed our bodies with what they authentically need, the less we will tend to struggle with obesity, illness and just plain blahs.

Repairing holes in our containers

As we mature emotionally, train to build Chi, and learn to listen to our inner most truths, we can strengthen our containers, that is, our ability to handle a lot of different stuff in a centered and healthy way.

But there are times when anyone can feel like they are leaking out energy. Little things that normally wouldn't annoy us affect us more. We can find there are days we are more emotionally reactive and then create more suffering for ourselves as a result. It's like we have a hole in our container. Our ability to hold and deal with all the things life throws at us feels impaired.

I see many clients on days like this, when they are just trying to get through the day, get everything they need to get done done and are like raw nerves.

We are energetically depleted on these days and need to find some immediate tools for repairing our containers so we don't make things that might be hard even harder. But should we exercise on these days?

Yes!

But instead of working out in a traditional way, we need to use movement like medicine to repair the leak in our energetic field and for those of you who don't buy into this energy stuff, you can look at it as getting back into physical and emotional balance.

When we feel more vulnerable, exercise or movement that leaves us more depleted creates more leakage and less balance.

My advice to help repair?

Start your workout with joint mobility exercises that let you feel where you might be unusually tight particularly in the upper body shoulder neck area. Use this time to bring your breath down into your belly and start tuning in to your being with deep breathing.

Pick a first exercise that forces you to balance and centre your energy. BOSU standing exercises, yoga balance postures, anything that forces you to come into the present and find your balance. If you can't find your balance when you normally can even after trying for a few minutes, then you should do a more restorative workout for that day. Take it easy. Work on core, postural, prehab, rehab exercises.

If you can easily find your balance, then standing full body compound exercises that require keen concentration and coordination are a great way to build chi and balance your energy. For example, walking lunges with overhead press, reverse lunges with a wood chop, cable rotational exercises, single leg deadlifts. You get the drift.

Whatever you choose to do, you should observe your energy while working out. If you feel a lightness and buoyant feeling overcoming you, you're on the right track! If you feel more exhausted and spaced out, then ease up and come back to your breathing, get yourself grounded again.

Finish your workout with your go-to restorative things like rolling, stretching etc. and then maybe try a 3 minute grounding meditation. Sit cross legged or in a chair and place your hands face down on your legs. Feel yourself sinking into the earth, feel gravity holding you there. For a few minutes, just feel your connection to earth.

So when you feel you have a leaky container, movement can be the best medicine for repairing a leak. But don't do exercise that allows you to tune out or turn your brain off. No auto-pilot exercise.

The difference between fitness for health vs. fitness for vanity

Can't say I've ever wanted to work in a studio that focuses on marketing their services towards making people look better above anything else, where the culture of the place is lacking in true substance. Although I've been guilty of trying to tap into this market at more desperate times with slogans like "want to look good naked", I found such practice always led me away from my true purpose.

The difference between fitness for health vs. fitness for vanity is pretty simple:

In training for health, we use exercise like medicine. We exercise in a way on any given day with a flexible approach so that we are giving our bodies exactly what they need in the moment. Exercise is not depleting and works to make our immune systems stronger, our sleep better quality, calms our nervous system and helps us also find a state of relaxation and peace of mind. We expect to feel energized after a workout, not like crashing on a couch. We look at exercise as a way to build chi, not a way to look better. If we have the energy to push ourselves harder than usual and our intuition is pointing us in this direction we go for it. If we feel depleted and our body feels leaden and heavier than usual, we let go of plans for an intense workout and work in a more restorative way. And in so doing, we will improve our vitality which will improve the way we look in the end anyway. It's easier to stay the course when choosing to focus on health because their is no end goal. It is a way of being. Focusing on physical appearance while ignoring the spiritual and emotional issues we struggle with is not about health and is dysfunctional.

In training for vanity we set goals based on an external appearance. A certain size waist, bicep circumference, dress size. The underlying focus is that "life will be better when I achieve these goals". I find that people who pursue fitness from this perspective don't stay the course because they aren't moving in a conscious way in alignment with their deepest selves. There's a shorter term end goal. Once someone achieves this goal, then what? Will they ever be happy with the way they look? Or will there be something else to work on. We might find ourselves ignoring signals from our bodies to tell us to change course. Injuries, over training, constant colds or illnesses might hit us but we ignore our body telling us we aren't helping it and instead, stay they course with an original plan that isn't actually making us healthier. The typical way men train for vanity is in overdoing chest work to compromise upper body structural balance possibly leading to shoulder injury. The typical way women train for vanity is in avoiding muscle building activities or going on heavily restrictive diets that are nutritionally insufficient. I could name a plethora of fitness gurus who tap into people's desire for this type of fitness but will bite my tongue.

So just some thoughts I thought I'd share. I've been in both camps and have decided to choose the first option for both myself, for the type of messaging I want to put out into the universe and for the way I want to work with my clients.

Daylight savings reboot with Philips Light Therapy Products and a free yoga class!

I am a strong believer in the wellness benefits of using light therapy products. Heck I even hosted this same event last year and am a spokesperson for Philips Light Therapy products. So when they asked me to attend this event and be available to talk to people about how I think light therapy fits into a healthy lifestyle, I said fo sho!

A fitness pro named Brent Bishop is running a free yoga class this Monday at 8am at 225 King Street West in the lower level of the Metro Centre (Media is invited at 7am - 9am).

You can win great fitness related gifts including a light therapy product. Light breakfast if provided too. Plus every act of fitness and health love you engage in helps solidifies your commitment to turning a new leaf or just staying the course towards vitality!


Daylight savings can throw off our internal clocks. Philips Vitalight invites you to attend a free yoga fitness class to get your internal clock back on track. Fitness guru Brent Bishop will lead the 30 minute class perfect for all ages.

Yoga mat and water bottle available for first 50 attendees, prizes to be won and complimentary light breakfast available!


WHY: Daylight savings can be difficult to adjust to. Including light therapy and a healthy lifestyle can help improve general well-being.

To confirm attendance RSVP to RSVP@onevoiceteam.com.

Please feel free to share invite through your networks.

You're sick? When and how you should work out

This week I've been fighting off a cold. It started in my sinuses and moved to my chest. In the past, I would have worked out regardless and have possibly prolonged my sickness. You see, working out can be a bit of a compulsion for many fitness pros regardless of the impact on our health and wellness. I've learned over the years and much experience with my health that sometimes staying well means doing less and engaging in restorative activities. After all, the fastest way to get out of shape is to get seriously injured or sick. The best thing we can do when trying to get over a cold or flu is to give our immune system what it needs to repair our bodies.

So here are my rules for working out when you're sick.

DON'T Workout at all and ONLY stretch, meditate and use a physio roll to release tension if:

1) You have a fever. You're at the height of your body's fight and contagious!

2) Have a chest infection that requires medication
3) Are sick and seriously sleep deprived
4) Are at all barfy from a stomach virus.
5) Have a sinus infection and pain in your sinuses.

IF YOU HAVE A SMALL COLD ABOVE THE NECK ONLY AND YOU'RE NOT REALLY SNOTTY:

1) Go easy on cardio and only get your heart rate up to an endurance pace.
2) Don't do activities that make you sweat heavily or run out of breath.
3) Don't lift heavy weights or do challenging full body exercises that make your heart work hard.
4) Do strength work that is focused on alignment and smaller core or postural muscles.
5) Yoga is fine too if it's low key, not macho at all. Use child's pose whenever you feel tapped out energetically.
6) Pilates work that doesn't shoot your heart rate into anaerobic zone (i.e. out of breath) is fine too.

If it's the first two days of a sickness, take it really easy and rest. Anyone can stretch and roll on a physio roller even if you're sick so don't stop moving all together. You might be able to fight off a virus early with rest, rest and more rest. You don't know what you're dealing with yet. Going to a gym to spread God knows what germs you're fighting can get lots of other people sick. Taking a couple days off of working out if you're regularly hitting your workouts can be a great thing. If you're training regularly and getting sick often, you might be missing the big picture. It's easy to get into over training mode when you're not well rested, well fed and dealing with adrenal fatigue.

The biggest thing when fighting off a virus is to workout in a way that gives you energy (builds chi) and doesn't leave you feeling depleted. Your focus should be on sleep hygiene and healthy food and hydration. If you're really sick and can't seem to take time off working out, time to look at if you're really working out for health or if it's an unhealthy obsession!