Author Archives: Vivian Law

Creative Pursuits

One recommendation I have for almost all patients if they are receptive is to pursue creative interests, as it is a potent form of self expression. Many of us work at jobs that may not be aligned with our creative proclivities and we easily become too busy to remember to exercise our creativity. In our achievement oriented society, it happens often that a person discourages themselves from drawing, painting, dancing, singing, or writing, because they aren’t ‘good’ at it. No one ever became ‘good’ at anything without failure and practice- the struggle is part of the process.

Think of your creative pursuits as a way of expressing energy within yourself which is waiting to be released. Pent up, unexpressed creative energy is a form of tension that we may feel in our bodies which needs to be moved and expressed outwards. Whatever it is that inspires you, take the time and pursue it, find your creative expression, so you can really be yourself to the fullest extent.

2022 Gratitude

I’m in town for the holidays this year, teaching extra classes and loving it. My 2022 Apple Music Replay showed 45000 minutes of play. That is a lot of time and it shows the level of seriousness I put into music selection for my classes. Inspiration comes anywhere and anytime, including watching a kid launch rockets in his backyard- Lovin’ Every Minute of It ! Or a teenager blaring Down Under in his parents SUV- the song has been remixed well.

A year ago, gyms and restaurants were shut down in Toronto. I feel a lot of gratitude for having the community back in action with the opportunity to connect with people regularly. Exercise, eat, drink, enjoy, rest and repeat. There are always new challenges that arise in life and regular exercise along with breathing/meditation practices help us handle it all with more ease while maintaining inner peace.

All the best for 2023!

Music Speaks

My interest in music developed from a young age. I enjoyed playing musical instruments and getting a Walkman with headphones was the coolest thing ever. I did have the sense from even that young age it was obnoxious to blare music in settings where it may disturb others. Speakers on the beach is not okay when others are within hearing range, especially with the vast amount of nonsense produced and consumed. Music has the capability to influence our mood and shapes perception of our surroundings. There’s music piped in at the grocery store!

I understand that Spotify playlists are popular and used by many. I stand for human curated music and I’m not a fan of algorithm driven music selection. Any music you hear at a class with me is specifically chosen by me on Apple Music (@vivian_law). I’m a music aficionado and I get inspiration from other humans, not algorithms. The autoplay feature on Spotify has yielded maybe one song out of a hundred that I enjoyed, so it is not a feature I appreciate at all- in fact it feels like force fed mediocrity. The Release Radar is something I give a listen and works a lot better for me than autoplay.

With exposure to more genres of music in my teenage years I found myself offended by vulgar lyrics. Friends who have known me since then were subjected to my pontification on ill effects of listening to such nonsense. I sounded like an old person back then and now that I am an older person, my sensibilities have not changed at all! No degrading lyrics are played at my cycling classes. We take requests and the policy is each rap song is matched with a country song.

Music is a form of subliminal messaging that we choose to expose ourselves to- so I recommend that we all be mindful to what messages we might receive in what we listen to and allow children to be exposed to.

The Good Gut

I listened to this podcast earlier this year and found the gut microbiome research presented to be very informative and read the book the Good Gut shortly after

https://hubermanlab.com/how-to-enhance-your-gut-microbiome-for-brain-and-overall-health/

https://sonnenburglab.stanford.edu/research.html

https://www.penguinrandomhouse.ca/books/317191/the-good-gut-by-justin-sonnenburg-and-erica-sonnenburg-phds/9780143108085

The Good Gut is a book I recommend to anyone interested in learning more about their digestive health. It is easy and enjoyable to read with doable, practical research based advice given by the scientists themselves. One of the recommendations is to eat fermented foods such as yogurt on a daily basis. There are various foods listed including sauerkraut, kefir and kombucha. I have been able to implement eating yogurt on a more regular basis. I started avoiding yogurt in the past decade or so, because the lower fat content and increased protein with ‘greek’ style yogurts was causing stomach upset. I tried coconut yogurt in earlier iterations and it was awful! I am pleased to report that coconut yogurt has improved immensely and I can recommend a few- Presidents Choice Organic Coconut Yogurt alternative and Riviera coconut milk vegan delight are a thinner texture yogurt and Simpla is a tasty, thick texture.

Digestive health is a daily maintenance project that you can monitor easily by observing what comes out the other end after eating and digestion. Choosing more vegetables and fruit, being conscious of eating enough fibre, being hydrated and having a bit of extra help with friendly bacteria in fermented foods goes a long way in improving and maintaining digestive health. Eating healthy food is one part and digesting, assimilating, and absorbing nutrients is the other part of the equation and having the right balance of friendly bacteria makes the process smoother from one end to the other.

Jacob’s Ladder, Versa Climber and Assault Bike

I have the pleasure of working at the Toronto Athletic Club and a few months ago, I came up with the idea to do a quick workout that wasn’t ordinary cardio. I went on the Jacob’s Ladder, Versa Climber and Assault bike for 5 minutes each. It was challenging, I was sweating, and it was a little bit fun! Fun to do three different whole body movements. Of course, an outdoor mission would be even better, but this is a good indoor alternative that doesn’t require travel. It is important to give our bodies different challenges and stimulus to stay fit for actual real life activities. The Jacob’s Ladder you can improve by going faster and increasing your reach. The versa climber you can increase your vertical reach and improve the coordination of your arms and legs. The Assault bike, you can improve your efficiency. The concept is simple- just try a different physical activity!

Canada Day

Summer is finally here in Toronto and nothing like Canada Day to show some gratitude for where we live and all the privileges we have. I’ll be making playlists with Canadian artists all week long in celebration. I’m certainly grateful that fitness is back in action having lived through 2 years of virtual shutdown. Having the option of virtual meetings is a real positive result of the past couple years. Real life meetings, human interaction is such a welcome return. July also marks my start date as a fitness professional, this year being 22 years of ‘service’ which I feel incredibly grateful for, as I love what I do has only grown in that time. Happy Canada Day!

Hour of Power- Stages Cycling

After a lot of consideration and talk, we completed the Hour of Power ride this evening at the Toronto Athletic Club. Our group had tested our functional threshold power (FTP) at a previous time and I had always wondered if that theoretical number translated to actual performance. When my FTP was calculated with a 20 min test, I felt very confident I could produce that power for an hour. When my FTP was calculated in February with an 8min test, I felt a lot less confident about my capabilities.

Armed with some very well selected tunes, we did a 15 min warmup and hit varying intervals of 95-100%, 100-105% set to the selected songs. I backed off and took a few ‘breaks’ of less than 1min here and there. Turns out I was able to complete the 60min with an average power that was 3 watts below my FTP, so that was a wonderful surprise! Our field test was a success. The ‘theoretical’ maximum power that you can ride for an hour, is a REAL thing provided that you actually push yourself during the test!

Circumstances don’t make a man, they reveal him

Circumstances don’t make a man, they reveal him. This is a quote from a Wayne Dyer that came to mind this week when discussing how to handle difficult times in life. It’s easy to make plans to guard ourselves against failure and heartbreak, but it doesn’t serve your highest good in the long term, as that strategy limits your growth and opportunities. Taking the attitude that you are being ‘tested’ by your circumstances allows more growth, learning and character building.

Dwayne the Rock Johnson also has a similar quote: When life puts you in touchy situations don’t say ‘why me’ just say ‘try me’

I laughed out loud when I saw the quote, as it takes a playful and tough attitude towards coping with situations. When we are tested we need to be better by taking the life lesson as an opportunity to learn, grow and improve.

Invest in Yourself

Spring is here and after 2 years of living with a global pandemic it is natural to feel like making changes of some sort or try something new. I imagine the pandemic has had varying effects on our mental and physical well being. I gained a few pounds being away from the gym. Fortunately, regular exercise and some sunshine have helped me get back into shape.

I got into doing some private pilates the past couple months and it has been hugely beneficial to my physical well being. In fact, I achieved a new FTP at my class the next day after my first pilates session! I will admit it, I can be a bit resistant to doing core work. I got more into the habit working with a trainer a few years ago, and it is very empowering. Pilates is excellent for improving posture and working all the small muscles we easily neglect. Maintaining your posture is the ultimate way to stay youthful!

I also took a swim lesson today to get more comfortable in the water and found it to be hugely beneficial. This is something I’ve been meaning to work on and finally took the step to do so and it felt great to actually take a step towards improving at swimming. Anything that you want to learn, achieve or accomplish you will likely benefit from the help of a professional to coach you on the skill. It’s an investment in improving yourself, which is one of the most worthwhile investments we can make to be our best. What are you inspired to do this spring?

New Year Check In

It’s Chinese New Year, more appropriately named Lunar New Year. We celebrate in our family, although not to the same extent that is celebrated in Hong Kong. With another ‘new year’ so soon after January 1, I find it is a good opportunity to check in goals for the year. A friend asked if I had any resolutions and my response was I make goals at the start of the year, preferably on a beach. It was great to receive the feedback that I am someone who accomplishes what I set out to do which got me to consider how achieving goals works for me.

More than any other practice, I believe being true to my word is of utmost importance. Saying what you mean and meaning what you say is the foundation of being able to achieve any goal. The question becomes how do you create the achievable goals? If you have not read Atomic Habits by James Clear, I highly recommend the book. One of his key points is tying your goals to your identity, which I completely agree with to my point of being true to my word is embedded in my identity. I will also add for any goal the question of what kind of person do you want to be can be layered in to help clarify the goal. For example, for the goal of being fit, it requires time and effort with exercise and food choices, however, if you like to eat pizza and booze up regularly, you are unlikely to be ready for a fitness competition. You can try your best to have it all, but most of the time you need to prioritize what is most important to you. I make it my business to be fit, and I like pizza, booze and sweets, so I accept not being all that lean and identify with being a person who enjoys food. Unreasonable expectations derail goals, as it creates disappointment and you need to feel like you CAN and WILL do it to achieve goals.

One month into the year you can take stock of how things have gone so far and see what needs improvement and adjustment. Goals can always be adjusted. Being a flexible and adaptable person makes it easier to achieve goals. There’s a lot of ‘experts’ touting magical ‘routines’ that supercharge a person to be productive and I disagree. It is not the routine, it is the commitment and holding yourself accountable to working on what you need to do. Missteps and failures happen, so you need the flexibility to get back on track. Breaking down goals into smaller, more manageable chunks is helpful. Big goals are like a test of endurance and focus, so it pays to give yourself markers along the way. Wherever you are, clarify, adjust and keep going- yes you can, yes you will!