Category Archives: Uncategorized

Step up your Indoor Workouts

Mid to late November is the perfect time to organize and step up our indoor workouts. I notice that time seems to speed up during these last few weeks of the year. My advice is to consciously step up your exercise routine now to prevent an unnecessary new years resolution.

I must admit to low attendance at the gym myself since I have been running outdoors for over 8 months and so enjoy being outside. It is a major adjustment for me to create an indoor work out routine now. I feel such resistance to going inside to work out it seems ridiculous, considering I am a professional fitness trainer! However, this is the purpose of this piece, to share motivation to get moving more at this crucial time of year-it is absolutely necessary!

Make an appointment with yourself for yourself to head to the gym now. Your body will thank you, as you are guaranteed to feel better in every way and your waistline will expand less or remain the same over the holidays. Plus, you can enjoy yourself more while you are taking care of yourself, and start the new year with the right habits already in place. Making Life Good recommends stepping up your workouts in November and really enjoying the holiday season!

Relax and improve your posture

A relaxing pose that helps improve your posture

A relaxing pose that helps improve your posture

Posture is a concern and priority for many people. My friend Dr Blessyl says your posture is like a physical calling card you exhibit to the world. Stand tall and feel confident. Regular life has us sitting at a desk, driving a car, looking down at a cell phone, which tends to round our shoulders forward, which easily creates tension in the neck and shoulder areas and can also impede our breathing.

The relaxing pose featured in the photo above is borrowed from restorative yoga and can be practiced anywhere you can lie down with a rolled towel placed across your upper back underneath your armpits. If you find that your neck is extending back too far back or you feel uncomfortable, try placing a small folded towel underneath your head to improve your alignment. You can also bend your knees and have your feet flat on the floor if your lower back is not comfortable. The important point is to feel comfortable and at ease.

Just about everyone I have taught this pose to finds it relaxing and beneficial, as the position reverses shoulders that are rounded forward by opening through the chest, heart and arms, which also affects the heart and lung meridians according to the traditional chinese medicine map of the body. Physically being in an open hearted posture helps us to be more in tune with ourselves, since the heart can be considered the centre of our personality. In addition, the gentle back bend in the thoracic and lumbar spine helps the accessory muscles of breathing to relax, which can bring our breath pattern to a more optimal relaxed, effortless state.

Taking the time to relax in this position can also benefit your posture through gentle stretching across the chest, shoulders and arms and relaxation of the traps and neck-areas in which so many of us experience tension. Since this position is comfortable, you can easily remain in the pose for more than 5 minutes or as long as you wish. With consistent practice, you may experience improved breathing and posture, which makes life good!

 

Be kind, here and now

Three weeks into the new year and the only intention that has come to mind is to be kind, here and now. A daily goal to be kind, caring and compassionate to ourselves, here and now. Be kind to all around us, here and now, which requires an effort to be present at all times.

All changes that we wish to make are much easier when we are able to peacefully accept what is here and now, from here we can take a step forward on a clear path in the right direction.

 

Taste Experiences of 2014

My list of memorable taste experiences was compiled by the end of 2014 and I am only managing to publish after the new year…perhaps I had too much fun over the holidays if that is even possible, a good way to start the year

The best sweet potatoes ever: I converted to eating sweet potatoes on a regular basis upon the discovery of the recipe in the Ottolenghi cookbook. Here is the recipe http://www.vivianlaw.ca/tag/best-ever-sweet-potato-recipe/

Pistachio Zeppole at Buca Yorkville: I had never heard of a roman donut until I ate this divine one at Buca. Looked like a bagel, but light and airy filled with delicious pistachio cream and cherries topped with candied pistachios. www.buca.ca 

Scones at Harvey Nichols: Clotted cream is a favourite food of mine and the clotted cream met a special scone this fall at Harvey Nics.

Duck tacos and duck confit wings at Dailo/Lo Pan: Chef Nick Liu has some very creative asian dishes at his restaurant Dailo and bar above, Lo Pan. Loved the duck tacos and duck confit wings http://dailoto.com/ 

Ciccoria: is Italian for dandelion greens and I only learned to appreciate them this summer when I ate them sauteed and drenched in olive oil at a local restaurant in Tuscany.

Party Hummus: the best hummus recipe yet by Briana Santoro of the Naked Label www.thenakedlabel.com who I met on a beach to start 2014.

Jiro Dreams of Sushi inspired sushi at Yasu: the movie was an inspiration in 2012 , so imagine our delight in a delicious dining experience along those dreams of sushi in Toronto http://yasu-sushibar.com/

Coconut Shrimp at the Halekulani: the coconut shrimp served at House Without a Key in Waikiki are the best ever time and time again

 

 

Physical Activity Experiences of 2014

I kept myself active throughout 2014 and here is my list of memorable physical activity experiences to share:

Walking the beach to capture a most beautiful photo to start the year on the west coast of Antigua

Yoga practice with Dharma Mittra at Yoga Journal Live in San Francisco. Dharma turned 75 this year and the name rock of yoga is perfect for him, as he is such an inspiration. His book ASANAS is incredible.

Spin class with Vlad Radonovic at Ultimate Athletics, the one spin class I make time for on a weekly basis, because I love it www.ultimateathletics.ca

Yoga practice with Alyssa Cohen at Jakes on the southcoast Jamaica www.alyssacohen.ca

Hiking the most challenging town in Cinque Terre, so sweaty and the amazing views are well worth the effort

The alternating treadmill and water rower interval workout, invented with the input of a colleague, needed some mental toughness to get through the serious workout of 4 alternating sets of 0.25 miles on the treadmill and a 500m row.

Trying a heartcore class in London, an integrated full body workout on a pilates-like reformer, and could the name be any more adorable? www.heartcore.co.uk/ 

Ballet class at Danceteq Centre is a wonderful experience in learning how to dance and move with live music on the piano taught by dancers  www.danceteqcentre.com

Yoga practice with Jodi Fichstein, who opens doors of my physical practice at 889 Yoga www.flyinglotus.ca

Running through Ala Moana Beack Park is such a magical experience for me with the green grass alongside the sand, ocean and palm trees

 

 

Making Life Good-staying fit on holiday

I am writing this from Tuscany, Italy where on my fourth day of enjoying the Italy countryside for the second time, I have discovered that it is completely possible to remain fit or improve your fitness while on holiday. This is a matter of mindset and the meaning we give to words we use to describe the way we use our time.

I remember visiting a cottage frequently 10-15 years ago and I could see and feel unbridled overeating happening as soon as I uttered the word cottage to myself. Somehow, the word cottage itself and getting there became a licence to indulge in food all day and all night.

Vacation and holiday often give people the mindset of indulgence, which is understandable. However, it is entirely possible to use your holiday time to take care of yourself and build on healthy habits that we frequently ‘do not have time for’ during our regular, everyday lives. Consider that while on holiday, we actually have all day to do whatever we wish to do…

Here are 3 things I would highly recommend to add onto your daily list of holiday activities:

Exercise-or just get outdoors, be it a walk, swim, bike ride, hike, run, climb, an exercise class, practicing yoga, dance, or anything related to movement that catches your interest.

Enjoy food, eat green vegetables, and expose yourself to new culinary experiences.

Be accountable to yourself for your intake of alcoholic beverages and sweets. By all means enjoy yourself, just know how much you are having.

And here I am living the Making Life Good holiday mindset with pool press ups and dips:

 

pressing yourself up onto the pool deck requires some upper body and core strength

pressing yourself up onto the pool deck requires some upper body and core strength

 

Dips in and out of the pool can be a serious upper body strength exercise

Dips in and out of the pool can be a serious upper body strength exercise

 

 

A Chakra Meditation

Dr Blessyl www.drblessyl.com and I really enjoyed teaching a workshop at Lole www.lolewomen.com last week on colours in fashion and the chakras, the subtle energetic centres of our bodies. While I was going over our material to cover, I realized that a Maya Angelou quote that a client had shared a few weeks ago  ‘I approve of my right to be here’ would be the starting point to a chakra meditation I wanted to create. Bringing awareness to our subtle energetic body and our chakras helps us gain a wider perspective to ourselves and our relationship with the world around. This meditation is based on the 7 inalienable rights described in the book Eastern Body, Western Mind (Anodea Judith).

In a comfortable position, sitting, lying down, or in a restorative bridge position with a block under the sacrum to create a grounding energy:

Ground yourself with restorative bridge posture

feel grounded in restorative bridge posture

Begin by bringing awareness to the base of your spine and say to yourself:

I approve of my right to be here (1st chakra)

Moving your awareness to your pelvic area:

I approve of my right to feel (2nd chakra)

With awareness at your navel area:

I approve of my right to act (3rd chakra)

Notice your heart center:

I approve of my right to love and be loved (4th chakra)

Notice the seat of your voice, throat area:

I approve of my right to speak and hear the truth (5th chakra)

Concentrate on the area between your eyebrows, center of your forehead:

I approve of my right to see (6th chakra)

Bring your attention to the crown of your head:

I approve of my right to know (7th chakra)

These 7 phrases can also be used as mantras to meditate upon anytime and anywhere to connect with your inalienable birthrights and consider if anything is in the way of you being truly comfortable in your experience of each of these rights.

 

 

A most important posture

Easy pose, meditation

Easy pose, meditation

Sitting crossed legged is a posture that I choose often, on the ground, on a couch, in an office chair and for meditation. I find the position to be most comfortable for me to stay still for a period of time. I realize the posture is not available or comfortable for everyone (it does improve with practice, I promise), however, getting down, sitting on and getting up from the ground are movements we want to cultivate for healthy spine, hips, knees and ankles.

In addition, I have learned through my studies in yoga that siddhasana (essentially sitting crossed legged on the ground), as referenced in the Hatha Yoga Pradipika and Light on Yoga is one of the most important postures we can practice. The posture allows us to have a long spine with optimal relaxation throughout the rest of the body. Sitting tall gives us better awareness and alignment to our subtle energy, so we can be a meditative state. Taking a few minutes to sit cross legged on the ground, on a block, on cushions and bringing our attention to our breathing is a meditative break we can practice daily.

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You are what you eat and think

I would like to share that I love to eat clotted cream, and I ate quite a bit of it this weekend in London. Clotted cream has been an absolute favourite food of mine since the age of 12. I have heard many times the question-‘isn’t that bad for you?’. Some foods have more health benefits than others. However, I invite you to consider your thoughts towards the food you eat. I would suggest a mindfulness where you choose foods you truly enjoy and love eating. This mind frame brings a more positive energy than struggling with a diet. In my own practice, I notice that choosing to enjoy foods I love occasionally delivers its own portion control naturally. Your thoughts and judgements are energy. Having positive thoughts brings positive energy to the process of eating and digestion, pillars of good health. You are what you eat and think…

Recipe: Maple Coleslaw

Coleslaw is a veggie dish that many clients tell me they like to eat if it is available, so I encourage them to do so. Many are surprised to learn that coleslaw is an easy and healthy salad option that makes eating almost raw veggies taste good. Here is a super simple recipe to try that has a touch of sweetness from maple syrup:

1 bag of precut coleslaw

1 green onion, chopped

1 cup sugar snap peas, sliced crosswise

1/4 cup chopped fresh cilantro and/or mint

1/2 mango, sliced into thin strips (optional)

juice of 1/2-1 lime

1 tablespoon maple syrup

1 tablespoon soy sauce or tamari

1 tablespoon sesame oil

dash of hot sauce (optional)

In a large bowl, whisk or stir together lime juice, maple syrup, soy sauce/tamari, sesame oil. Mix in coleslaw, green onion, sugar snap peas, cilantro and/or mint. Stir in mango if using. Serve cold or at room temperature.

This coleslaw keeps well in the fridge for 2-3 days.