My personal August challenge

I've been thinking a lot about my own personal health. Actually I've been thinking a lot about the word "health" and what it really means.

According to dictionary.com:

health 

[helth] noun

1.

the general condition of the body or mind with reference to soundness and vigor:

good health; poor health.

2.

soundness of body or mind; freedom from disease or ailment:

to have one's health; to lose one's health.

3.

a polite or complimentary wish for a person's health, happiness,etc., especially as a toast:

We drank a health to our guest of honor.

4.

vigor; vitality:

economic health.

I'd say that physically, I'm as healthy as I've ever been! I mean, I eat a healthy, well balanced diet. I stay hydrated. I exercise regularly.

My mental health on the other hand, this is where I'm truly lacking. My boyfriend can attest to me having definite sane and neurotic days. My sane days are awesome! I'm positive, happy, easy going, and just stoked on life. My neurotic days can be mild, or severe. A mild neurotic day can consist of me being generally happy and positive, but feeling kind down in the dumps about just one aspect of my life (generally it's a body-image thing that I'm almost certain every woman deals with). A severe neurotic day happens without notice. It's like a ticking time bomb. A negative memory or thought will surface and from that moment on, nothing is good enough. These days leave me feeling anxious and drained from worry. Worry about the past, worry about the present, and worry about the future. We've all experienced those days where nothing can seem to get you out of that shitty, shitty mood. We feel under-appreciated, under-accomplished, full of self-hate and negativity and the day is spent swallowing back tears. Or is that just how my severely neurotic days go?

So I've decided to challenge myself to spend August living life in the present with the hopes that it will ease my neurotic mind. My plan of attack is as follows:

• Upon waking choose a positive thought to carry throughout my day. Focus on something I am grateful for. Have some sort of positive intention to revert back to when my  mind starts spiraling down a negative path.
• Read more. What better way to escape from reality when I'm feeling all mopey than by reading a book! 
• Quit my social-media addiction. I spend countless hours on Facebook or Instagram insta-face-creeping other people's lives throughout the day. I think to myself (on my neurotic days) "wow! now his/her life looks perfect!" It's so easy to do this. I have the apps on my phone, the bookmarks on my laptop, and spare time to creep as much as I'd like. I even creep myself. I look back at my past and think if I had acted differently, how would things be now? And for what? I get nothing out of it but less hours in the day to do something positive and meaningful. So, aside from the occasional status updates for my business pages, I am quitting social media snooping for a month. Wish me luck!

How will you spend August to make a positive change in your life?

Vegan camping made easy

This past weekend I went camping with a whole bunch of my close friends! I love camping. I love being in the outdoors. You know, all one with nature and the elements and stuff. But with camping comes a lot of non-vegan eating: Bacon strips fried up for breakfast, sausages roasted for lunch and dinner, and of course 'Smores. So what's a vegan to do? Well, I've provided you with a quick list of alternatives and ideas for how you can still get the same camping experience without the usual artery-clogging, sugar-spiking foods.

Fibrous goodness!

• Plan ahead. This is the most important detail in vegan camping! Before I left for my trip I made sure to cook up a double batch of my favorite lentil "meatless" loaf which can be eaten warmed or cold, and I made an extra trip to the health food store to pick up some soy-free burger patties. My sister was all over it and even picked up some soy-free sausages. If you can tolerate soy, then chances are you can stop by your local grocery store and pick up some sort of a tofu concoction which will give you just as much pleasure burning over the fire as a greasy pork sausage would.

• Breakfast options: Personally I like to start my day off with a colon cleansing high-fibrous cereal like Fiber Buds. This doesn't change when I go camping! Almond milk is easy to pack because it doesn't need to be kept cold until after it's opened, so pack that and some berries, and voila you've got yourself a

  

  These were pretty good!

  filling breaky!

• Lunch options: This is where your planning ahead comes in handy! Slice up your loaf, or cook up your vegan patty. Enjoy with a nice green salad on the side! If you're worried that your leafy greens will turn into a sloppy, wilted mess, play around with salad varieties! Try making a raw broccoli salad with cherry tomatoes, and diced bell peppers (all foods that don't get squished too easily).

• Dinner options: Sterilize that sausage covered pokey stick in the fire and stick a vegan-dog on it 'cause it's dinner time! Not sure what to have on the side? Fire roasted vegetables are always delicious. I love fresh corn in the husk off the fire! Need more carbs? Chop up some potatoes, dice up some onions, throw them into an envelope of aluminum foil and drizzle with oil! Wait about 30 minutes and you've got mouth watering potatoes ready to go!

• What about 'Smores? This is a camping staple for many of us! But as most vegans already know, marshmallows are definitely a no-no food since they contain gelatin. I've seen vegan friendly marshmallows in stores but I'm yet to try them. I personally prefer the classic 'Banana Boat' dessert. What's that, you ask? Follow these directions and you shall see:
• Take a banana and cut a length-wise slit all the way through it without cutting through the base-line peel.
• Grab a knife and slather on some natural peanut/almond butter onto the two halves of the banana.
• Take as many carob or dark chocolate chips and shove them into the slit. The banana should look like it's got chocolate exploding out of it.
• Wrap the whole thing in aluminum foil and throw it onto the fire. Make sure to balance it on the bottom edge otherwise you'll make a mess.
• Let it cook for about 10 minutes.
• Carefully unravel your creation and enjoy heaven in a banana peel.

Happy camping everyone!

Kitsilano workout

I must admit, I'm a bit spoiled by living in Kitsilano. I mean, everything from the Yew Street hill to the sandy beach is a potential workout spot for me! Here is an example of how you can utilize Kitsilano to make you sweat!

As always warm-up before attempting this workout

Plyometrics - 5 rounds of box jumps up the Showboat stage steps.

Circuit 1 - 2 rounds of 15 Bulgarian split squats/leg + 15 body weight squats (optional: jump squats) + 3 sprints up and down the steps. 30-60 second rest between rounds.

Circuit 2 - 2 rounds of walking lunges from one end of the stage to the other (optional: there and back) + 15 tricep dips off the stage + 10 push ups. 30-60 second rest between rounds

Circuit 3 - 2 rounds of 15 inverted rows with a TRX (optional: use the bars) 15 high rows with an exercise band + 30 second plank. 30-60 second rest between rounds.

Be sure to stretch after! My legs are singing today ;)

Look how much fun we're having! This could be you and your friends! 

1000 skips

It's simple, so try it!

Take a skipping rope and complete 1000 skips.

Time yourself. See how you rank:

10+ minutes Good try! Chances are you're tripping over the rope still. Just keep practicing!

9-10 minutes Not bad! Your rest periods are probably just a little too long, but hey, you did it!

8-9 minutes Good job! Great coordination, and your rest periods weren't too long.

7-8 minutes You're GOOD. You're REAL good!

6-7 minutes Are your calves burning yet? That is a KILLER time!

6- minutes Well now you're just showing off! What's your secret???

I tend to lose count and get lost in thought instead when I do this drill. I mean, counting to 1000 is a feat of focus in itself! What I like to do is set up 4 objects (usually those little pink dumbbells are great for this) and count to 250 as I stare/focus on one at a time. Alternatively, you can place 10 objects in front of you and focus on each one for 100 revolutions. 

Happy sweaty skipping!

What 30 yoga classes taught me

On May 30 I committed to a 40 Day Yoga Challenge hosted by Semperviva Yoga in Kitsilano. The fine print said that in order to be entered into the draw to win a free six month unlimited pass, the participant had to attend at least 30 classes in those 40 days. I read that and though, "Hey, why not try to score a free pass to yoga!" Now, keep in mind that at most, I've only ever done about 12 classes during one of my yoga-stints. 30 out of 40 days was a huge feat for me! What  I didn't realize was that this was going to be the beginning of a new love.

This is what true love looks like!

Let me back it up a little bit here. For YEARS I've been envious of the yogis I've seen online, or in the flesh. They always appeared to be more compassionate, more calm, more understanding, and of course, way more bendy than us average folk. I wanted desperately to be one of them. I bought intro-passes to several different studios, and then I found Semperviva! I can't quite explain why I love this studio as much as I do. Perhaps because I finally went to it when I truly felt ready to incorporate yoga in to my life? Or perhaps because the atmosphere is inviting and fun? Either way, I love it there.

So what have my 30 yoga classes taught me? Well...

1. It's the journey, not the destination. Okay, that's the epitome of cheesy, but honestly, that was the greatest discovery for me. My first class at the studio was like every other first class: Defeating. I'm not exceptionally flexible. Just like I'm not exceptionally strong. But I work on my strength week after week, year after year. Something finally clicked in my brain and I realized that it's not that every crow-posing, head-standing, lotus-folding participant in that class is better than me, it's that they've been doing it for way longer than me! So while I started each class wondering where I will rank on the "Amazing Yogi" scale, now I start each class wondering if my body is feeling up for a more challenging pose.
2. I can achieve anything that I truly commit myself to it. I had my doubts. I really thought at one point, when it was getting so hard to schedule the yoga classes between my clients' and my social schedules, that I would quit. But I didn't. I stuck it out. I did two classes on the days that I had to make up classes, and I stayed committed to my practice. And for that I'm proud of myself.
3. A little bit of yoga goes a long way. After only 30 classes I noticed that I look at the world a little differently. I'm slowly starting to let go of any judgments I may attach to different aspects of my life. I guess you can say I'm becoming more of an observer. I'm noticing subtleties I wouldn't have noticed before. For example, I recognize when I'm starting to get stressed and when that happens I start focusing on the feeling of breathing. The feeling of the cold air entering my nostrils, my rib cage expanding, and my heart beating helps. It doesn't always calm me down right away, but it definitely prevents me from catastrophizing the issue in my mind!
4. I love life a little more than I used to. I've started counting my blessings. I've become aware of just how much I have in my life: My family, my friends, my career, my education, my health, my freedom, and of course my Vancouver.

I don't plan on hopping off the yoga bandwagon any time soon. But I have to say, I am itching for another fitness challenge! So I wonder, what will present itself next?