It’s not an overly technical trail with only a few steep ascents and some good downhill sections. The views over Indian Arm are spectacular and it’s a trail we like to do annually.

I was having a terrific time enjoying the sunshine and the walk. We were about four kilometers from the end of our perfect day and ice cream when WHAM! I went over on my right ankle. We were walking around the lake on a gravel section of the path when it happened. Not a root or rock in sight, just smooth even trail. I remember thinking how nice a time I was having just before it happened.

I bent over in agony as the pain surged through my ankle. Tears started welling up and I was just about to lose it when two hikers walked passed and asked, “Are you okay?” To this I replied, “Yes I’m fine thanks” while choking back tears.  Brian told me to sit down but I knew from experience that I had to keep moving otherwise I would never be able to get off the trail under my own steam.

I’ve sprained this ankle numerous times so this wasn’t my first experience. Brian got me a branch to help me walk and I hobbled at a snails’ pace thinking about all the distance we still had to cover. By my calculations it would be another hour to hour and a half before we reached the car. I had to get that thought out of my head if I was going to make it out.

Every step sent shooting pain through my ankle. The swelling was immediate and already my ankle was the size of a small cantaloupe. I was shocked at how quickly the swelling started. I couldn’t look at my ankle anymore because all I could think about was how I wouldn’t be able to do the grind or go to yoga. More tears welled up. I was frustrated that this happened and not even on a technical section of the trail.

Then I remembered my yoga breathing. I began to breathe slower to control my emotions. Then I focused my breath on my ankle and found myself in an almost meditative state. I didn’t feel the pain any longer and I found I could make my ankle move properly and I stopped limping. I started relying less and less on my make-shift walking stick and started walking as if the ankle was perfect.

We were soon able to pick up our normal walking pace and by the time we got back to the car my ankle felt a lot better. It was still swollen but it no longer hurt and I had more range of motion.

Then we got big, fat ice cream cones and I felt better.

When I woke up the next day my ankle was still swollen but I went to a yoga class and I was able to balance on it and do most of the regular poses with only a few modifications.

After all the sprains I’ve had in my life this one felt completely different. I normally would have been flat on my back with an ice pack and unable to walk properly for days. It would have taken weeks for the ankle to recover and gain back its range of motion. There’s no way I would have been able to weight- bear so quickly.

I read somewhere that our brains are so powerful we have the ability to heal ourselves. I don’t know if that’s true or not. After this incident I am beginning to wonder. With the help of breathing and visualization I tried to see my ankle as normal. I refused to limp and send the message to my brain that I was hurt. Whether this was the power of my mind to heal or not something made the difference.

So this got me thinking about other things that we can change about ourselves if we just try. I believe we have the power to change how we feel in a nanosecond. If you’re in a bad mood, POOF! Change your mind and be in a good mood. If you don’t think you’re a good student, KAPOW! Believe you are an incredible student. If you think you’re the worst parent on earth, ABRACADABRA! Now believe your are the best parent alive.

For all you naysayers out there who think this is just airy fairy stuff and don’t believe, then for you I say, “Whatcha’ got to lose?” I believe we are stronger then we dare to think or give ourselves credit for. We have the power within us to change so much about ourselves if only we believe.

I never would have thought that I could recover so quickly from a sprained ankle with the power to heal myself and now I have some proof that this stuff can actually work. So why not try it on yourself. Whether it’s an injury you’ve been struggling with, a personal belief you would like to change or just to be more positive. Flick the switch in your brain and up tap into to your power to heal thy self.

I know I shouldn’t complain because we do live in a beautiful city. I travel a lot so I see how lucky we all are to live in such a place but I can’t stand it any more. I need to have at least three months of summer or my head is going to explode. I know people who are still taking their Vitamin D pills because they haven’t had enough sunshine. Maybe this whole no sun thing has been manufactured by the supplement industry to keep us hooked on vitamins. It’s a conspiracy.

See what the lack of sunshine is doing to my head. Well I guess on a more positive note I’ve been working twelve hour days because there’s not much else to do. I keep waiting for things to heat up enough to take sometime off but so far that hasn’t happened. As a result of no sunshine to speak of, my business is thriving, I’ve been reading books like crazy and writing lots. Yeah no sunshine! See I told you I was a positive person.

If you’ve been reading my blogs for a while you’re probably expecting some life lesson or business lesson to appear right about now. Well sorry to disappoint but this blog is a straight rant about mother nature. Nothing more, nothing less. The only thing you are going to learn in this post is that I’m human and I need sunshine to feed my creative soul. What about you?

In this fast-paced world where everything is super-sized at some point we just have to say enough is enough, speak up and say mini-size me please. I don’t want a pound of pasta for dinner. Instead offer me a child size portion but make the flavours intense and pop in my mouth. I don’t want a muffin that looks like a small birthday cake. Instead give me a mini muffin packed with nutrients that I can finish in two small bites.

I’m not interested in eating crappy candy like Mars Bars, Smarties or Kit Kats. Instead how about a decadent piece of hand crafted chocolate which is rich in flavour and texture and melts in my mouth.

This year my husband Brian and I decided to clean up our diet. For the most part we ate pretty well with the exception of sugary snacks and salty foods. We bought a fourteen day Isagenix program which allowed us to have two healthy shakes a day, snacks and a sensible dinner at night. I won’t lie to you. The first week was hell. I went off coffee, chocolate, sugar, salt and I had a screaming head ache. But after the first week my body slowly got used to the program and my energy level just sky rocketed.

We intended to stop the program after fourteen days but we were so happy with our moderate weight loss and how much energy we both had that we continued on the program. Not wanting to give up some simple pleasures in life we decided that once one a week we would allow each other to have a goody. The deal was that it was one goody not a whole day of eating bad food. What we discovered was that we were really picky with what that one item would be. If we ate dinner out we went to restaurants that served quality food with reasonable portions sizes. If we chose to eat chocolate we bought the best quality and had one portion not the box. Brian even drove across town for a cinnamon bun because he wanted the best bun in town.

Now you might think this is extreme and perhaps it is but I like eating mini. It feels good not to stuff myself until my pants explode or my belly bulges. I crave fruit and eat blueberries like candy and because I’m not eating glucose this and fructose that my taste buds are more sensitive to the flavours of food. I used to hate eating apples and would rather have a muffin. But now I love apples and devour one a day.

Making changes in your nutrition and lifestyle is probably one of the most difficult things to undertake. Isagenix really helped kick start both of us into eating healthier and making wiser food choices. We like the simplicity of the program and energy and health benefits it’s given us. Brian and I were not overweight when we began the program but we both lost 5% of our body weight since being on Isagenix.

We are both very active so exercise was never a problem for us. We just didn’t pay close enough attention to our nutrition and now thanks to Isagenix we have found a nutrition plan that we can stick to, we enjoy doing and best of all gives us plenty of energy. So in a world where everything is supersized maybe it’s time you try the opposite approach and mini-size your nutrition. If a program like Isagenix can get you going then give it a try. I know it’s helped Brian and me tremendously.

For more information on how you can get on the ISAGENIX program give me a call and and I will share the information with you. 604.998.3379

If you’ve been reading my posts on Facebook you know that I’m in the process of selling my house. It’s been an interesting process to say the least but also eye opening experience.  We bought a cute character home about six years ago. It’s a three bedroom rancher about 1,400 square feet. We have 1,000 square feet of attic space which to my surprise over the years has been packed full of clutter.

My husband Brian and I have been married over thirteen years and together fifteen. When we got together we merged our stuff and never tossed anything out. Both my parents passed away and more stuff arrived at our doorstep. Brian lost a few grandparents along the way and even more bits and pieces were delivered from Ontario. All of these items had some sentimental value even if the pinwheel crystal glasses and tea cups weren’t exactly our taste. So we packed and schlepped these items from various apartments to their final resting place in our house and up in the attic they went.

We were pretty adamant that we weren’t going to be moving non-essential items into our new home. We both wanted to clear the clutter and start fresh. After two hours of hauling stuff down from the attic we had hardly made a dent in the pile. We opened box after box of what I considered to be garage sale items and wondered how on earth we had accumulated all this stuff? Why had we moved it from place to place and even more importantly why did we ever hang onto to any of it?

We took a few trips down memory lane while going through the clutter. Yes, I was tempted to put all my stuffed animals back into a box and keep them for old time sake, but I persevered and placed Boo Boo into a box for good will. I opened up one box and it was full of fitness magazines dating back to the early nineties. Good grief why was I keeping those? Did I actually think I was going to read them again? Don’t laugh. I know a lot of you are keeping the same things in your closets.

Later in the evening I couldn’t help but feel a sense a relief coupled with a feeling of uneasiness. I was relieved to be clearing the clutter. Spring cleaning always feels so good. It’s a time to start fresh again so I was glad that we were doing it. However, I still had this sense of uneasiness in the pit of my stomach. Maybe it was because of the move, or going through all our stuff gave me a sense of nostalgia. Or perhaps it was because I was getting rid of a lot of things that I felt a sense of loss. I just couldn’t put my finger on it.

Waking up this morning I actually felt a little lighter. It was like I could sense that the house had more space in it. Getting rid of things from the past that were being unused had freed my mind for what is to come in our future. I vowed that we wouldn’t buy anything new unless we absolutely needed it. If we did bring new things into the house then that meant we would have to get rid of something else. As they saying goes, out with the old and in with the new.

We still have hours of cleaning left to do in our attic. There’s much more stuff to go through but I’m looking forward to keeping only those items that I know we’re going to use and tossing things that haven’t been touched in almost a decade.

This exercise has inspired me to do the same in my business. I’m thinking about all the programs and workshops I offer and considering tossing out the old and starting again with fresh eyes. I’m scanning the business environment for innovation and creativity in the fitness industry and to be honest I’m not seeing much new. How about you?

To be honest I’m not sure exactly where this new found clutter clearing clarity will take me. But what I do know is that clutter creeps into our lives. It’s subtle, sneaky and accumulative. Before you know it you’re bogged down with piles of unwanted junk and you may feel suffocated and smothered by it all. Break free from the clutter of your home, your business and your mind and enjoy making room for new and exciting adventures to come.

Doctors from across North America agree that this Syndrome is real and brought about by today’s fast paced, multi-tasking society. They’re seeing more patients with symptoms of;

• Excessive grumpiness
• Irrational requests
• Short fuses
• Erratic behaviour
• Inability to concentrate properly

The symptoms of IPS to watch out for have been compared to being on a low-carbohydrate, low calorie diet or a detoxifying cleanse. People who suffer from IPS are everywhere. You’ve probably run into them at your local Starbucks and grocery store. They look normal at first glance. That is until they have to wait a little too long for their non-fat, decaf, extra hot, vanilla, half-sweet latae. Then the evidence of their IPS really presents itself as individuals become agitated. You may even hear audible sounds such as “grrr”, “ugh” or “tsk”. Loud exhalations are often part of the problem as they try to suppress their short fuse.

Until recently, researchers could not find the cause of the problem. But after extensive studies and millions of dollars of government funding, scientists have finally come up with an answer.

I’m sure you’re curious about the cure. But before I share it with you does this sound like you or someone you know? If it does then chances are you’re suffering from IPS too. The causes could be that you’re working too hard, not taking enough breaks, eating crappy food or not getting enough exercise.

The cure is simple in theory but difficult in practice. People with IPS need to chill out and take a break. They need to concentrate on bringing balance into their lives, not running around doing fifty million things and leaving themselves last on the list.

By now you’ve probably realized that this article is a satire. But guess what? you believed IPS was real because you’ve seen people get pretty worked up over small stuff. You’ve probably wondered why they make such a big fuss. Or maybe you’ve had days where you’ve been working really hard and you feel like you just want to rip someone’s head off. (not literally of course).

While IPS may not have a true medical diagnosis there are people out there that suffer from it. So my advice, don’t push yourself too hard, find work-life balance and most importantly don’t take yourself too seriously. Life is short so enjoy it in a good mood. Trust me, the people around you will thank you for it.

And there they were. The two women who came on the Tyra Banks show and in front of millions of people confessed to wanting to do this crazy thing. Tyra brought on a parasite specialist who lifted a bell jar with a twenty foot long tapeworm inside. That’s how long they can grow in your body. YUK! He pulled this long, flat, white, gross thing out of the jar. Needless to say the two women were less then impressed. In the end they both agreed that perhaps ingesting a tapeworm to lose weight might not be the best idea.

So here I am thinking, are you kidding me? Have things gotten so bad for women that they would stoop to whatever level just to lose weight? The answer obviously is yes. These women had one thing in common, they each confessed to the fact that they really liked to eat and hated to exercise. It’s the same old story isn’t it? Instead of learning how to behave differently or just accept that they won’t be model thin, these women seek to destroy their bodies by whatever means available in the holy quest for weight loss. What’s happened to our self-esteem as women? One of the ladies went so far as to say that if you aren’t pretty and thin then you won’t find a guy to marry you, huh! With this type of thinking you have to wonder about the IQ level of some of these gals.

Two other women came on the show. One woman had her tongue altered so that she couldn’t swallow solid food. She was on a liquid diet and lost fifteen pounds. Of course she did but what’s going to happen when they remove the mesh wiring she had sewn onto her tongue? Yes, that’s right. She had mesh wiring sewn onto her tongue. She will gain it all back and then a few more pounds for her efforts.

Another lady had her ears stapled. She claims it took away her sugar cravings. Yeah, and I have a bridge in swamp land I would like to sell you.

It’s not like I don’t understand the plight to want to lose some weight. Two days ago I stepped on the scale. It was not a pretty sight. I’m up a few pounds this holiday season but I know why. I abandoned any restraint I had and ate whatever I wanted. Well there’s a price to pay for that isn’t there? As they say, you do the crime you must do the time. So back to eating healthy again and my weight will stabilize to where it normally sits. I don’t obsess about it? I’m not out for a quick fix or in search of diet to help me lose the weight quickly. I know that if I eat my fruits and vegetables, snack regularly throughout the day, manage my stress and get plenty of exercise that my body will naturally shed the excess.

As fitness professionals we have a hard job. If it was just about program design or teaching a fantastic class then it would be easy. But keeping up with these crazy fads and helping people find true acceptance of themselves is the hard part of the job. I know many people wish for world peace. I think at this point I would settle for people finding inner peace and perhaps they would stop hurting themselves. I sincerely hope that now that I’ve heard about the Tapeworm diet that I’ve heard it all because I honestly can’t imagine what other lengths women would go to in their search for their perfect bodies.

After the torential downpour passed we emerged from the tent, walked down toward the crystal clear, cool water and saw the most amazing sight. Never in my 40 years had I seen something as awe inspiring and beautiful. Not one but two rainbows formed right before our eyes with the mountains as their back drop. What was even more special was we could see both the start and end of each rainbow which is a rare sighting indeed. We both stood rivited to our spots, unable to move. We were absorbed in our surroundings and enveloped in what nature had so thoughtfully created for us. We were alone on the beach and there wasn’t another soul around for miles. We watched the rainbows for 30 minutes and only tore ourselves away when they finally lost their brillance.

Experiences like this always make me stop and think about life. I thought about pots of gold at the end of the rainbow. I hummed the title song from the Wizard of OZ, I can never remember the words even though I’ve seen the movie a million times. I was happy to be in the right place at the right time. I also was aware of the irony of wishing for sunny hot weather and then being given the gift of double rainbows.

Sometimes in life we can get so wrapped up in ourselves, our work or just pushing to achieve. It’s easy to stay on the treadmill and never take time to enjoy life and all it has to offer. A two day camping trip, like the one we just took recharges the batteries. It helps us slow down and get back to what’s really important which is connecting as a couple and with nature. Being in the backcountry you concentrate on lifes’ basic needs and leave technology, worry and stress behind. We rise with the sun and bed with it and we can sit for hours and just stare at the water.

We often tend to think that the grass is greener on the other side or somewhere over the rainbow is where our true happiness lies. I believe happiness comes in waves. There are moments of bliss to be enjoyed throughout life. The key lies in recognizing the beauty of the rainbow you make in your life and then finding the time to enjoy it.

1. Eat half of what’s on your plate. If you are attending meetings or a conference, eat half of what they provide. Typically, those meals are calorie laden and riddled with salt. Did you know you can ask for special meals at the hotel? Plan ahead and request a special meal.
2. Avoid salt. If you want to bloat or completely dehydrate yourself, then by all means pour on the salt. Otherwise avoid it.
3. Walk. Book your flight later in the day so you have time to go for a walk. Walk the corridors of the airport before your flight. Walking helps get the blood pumping and improves your circulation. When you arrive at your destination drop your bags and go for a walk. I know it’s the last thing you want to do after a day of travelling but trust me, you’ll feel better if you do.
4. Get out of your seat. Even if you are trapped with a window seat, make a point to get up every thirty minutes to stretch your legs. If you can’t get up then wiggle in your seat, stretch out your arms or march while seated. A quick 1 minute of wiggling, stretching and moving will invigorate you and help you avoid the airplane groggies.
5. Just say no to coffee. I love my coffee too but it’s best to pass while flying. That’s right, when the little cart motors down the isle and the polite flight attendant asks you if you want coffee, politely reply, “Just water thank you.” Planes are extremely dehydrating so water is the best choice. Take an empty water bottle with you to the airport and fill it up once you pass security. Drink more water on travel days then you typically drink at home. If you’re not a water drinker then have juice instead. Avoid alcohol and pop. Both aren’t that good for you anyway, especially while travelling.
6. Having trouble sleeping? Who hasn’t had trouble falling asleep in a strange bed? We all have. Here are some tips to help you sleep.
   a. Avoid watching TV in bed. You will fall asleep faster if you don’t watch TV lying down.
   b. Take some lavender oils with you. Lavender is a natural relaxant and it can help you sleep.
   c. Spend 5 minutes meditating or doing relaxation yoga.
   d. Go for a steam or soak in a hot tub and then straight to bed.
   e. Download some relaxing music.
   f. Pack your own pillow case.
   g. Block out distractions with ear plugs and night shades
7. Pack your own snacks. Pass on the pretzels, chips and cookies and pack your own snacks. I always travel with my own snack pack. I pack homemade cookies, muffins, fruit bars, nuts, baby carrots, sugar peas and lots of fruit. I bring a sandwich and I avoid eating any airport food. Sure, it takes a bit more planning but think about it as a pick nick on the plane.
8. Find time to relax. Your schedule is probably jammed packed with things to do. However, take the time to relax. You don’t need thirty minutes, you only need one or two minutes to make a difference. Go outside, find a quiet place and just breathe in the fresh air. It will do you a world of good.
9. Stay at a hotel with a fitness centre. I always try and stay at a hotel that has a decent fitness centre, not one that is the size of a closet. Or I do some research and find out if there is a local gym nearby. If you are not a gym person, ask the concierge about activities that are available in the area. There are also portable equipment options you can bring with you. Such as tubing, a yoga mat or gliding discs. If any of these options seem foreign to you, then hook up with a personal trainer and they can put together a short travel workout for you.
10. Plan ahead. Travel isn’t easy so your preparation is key to your success in keeping healthy while on the road. I’ve outlined nine tips to get you started. Number ten is the most crucial because in order for any of the nine strategies to work you have to implement number ten which is to plan ahead. When you build your travel schedule include these items onto your schedule and take the time to ensure your own health.