YEGFITNESS - Nov/Dec 2019 by YEG Fitness

FITNESS + NUTRITION + WELLNESS

Don Iveson

NEW DADS, HOLIDAY RECIPES, WINTER RUNNING GEAR TIPS + MORE!

ISSUE #33

PLUS

NOV | D EC 201 9 YEGFITNESS.CA

BUILDING A HEALTHY, THRIVING EDMONTON

contents FEATURE

N OV/ D EC 1 9 10 #IAMYEGFIT 16 BUILD THAT LEG STRENGTH 18 BUILDING A HEALTHY, THRIVING EDMONTON FEATURE

23 THE EVOLUTION OF THE MODERN DAD

18 DON

IVESON COVER PHOTO BY DES ILES

We can help you tell your story. ADVERTISE WITH US Contact info@yegfitness.ca for more information.

30 BATTLE OF THE ROPES 32 HOW YOGA CAN BENEFIT RECOVERY 35 STAY FIT WHILE BEING SOCIAL 49 PLANT BASED PROTEIN BARS 52 HOLIDAY RECIPES 55 BENEFITS OF MEDITATION Y EGF ITN E SS

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Treadmills

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editor’s note Going back as far as radio advertising, there’s always been a market for the dubious snake oil salesperson. There have always been people looking to sell us things that were never intended to work, merely to take our money. When someone is desperate enough to want to believe in anything, often a good marketing team is to blame for the inevitable purchase, and buyer’s remorse. These gimmicks are most often seen late at night on television during infomercial time, where some washed up celebrity is hawking the latest piece of equipment or pill during an hour long segment that becomes predictable… The first fifty minutes is spent showing you the capabilities of the machine, touting the esults you desperately want, and making this machine something that is capable of achieving dreams. They go on to show you that it’s not just for one thing, but accomplishes many things, and is very versatile. They explain how you cannot possibly live without it, and then spend the remaining ten minutes repeating their phone number to call, and rush through a payment plan that is “ridiculously low” and usually takes 5 payments. This is quickly followed by a statement that if you buy now, you also get another one free, or something that goes with the dubious machinery or pill free of charge. We know that these commercials are garbage, yet we still get conned into forking over our hard earned money for things that have little to no proof of actually working. Just the word of a friend’s cousin’s mother who tried it once. So are we really more educated with fitness and wellness than past generations? Or are we just bombarded with so much new “science” and ”research” touting this or that as the best new workout or wellness product on the market that we don’t know who to trust?

EDITOR TJ Sadler tj@yegfitness.ca CREATIVE DIRECTOR Joel Berg COMMUNITY DIRECTOR Nelson Moreno nelson@yegfitness.ca PHOTOGRAPHERS Jeffrey Paul Kelly Des Iles SOCIAL MEDIA Hannah Sadler EDITORIAL ASSISTANT Melissa Lilley Printed in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.

Social media is great for many things. It lets us connect with others in the community who have similar likes and interests as we do. It also keeps us up to date with what’s happening in the world. Sometimes this is useful. Other times not so much. When we are constantly faced with twitter posts directing to an article that will help with our diabetes or weight loss by trying this new diet, or performing this new workout routine, we often end up throwing our hands in the air because we don’t know who to believe. So while you scroll through your phone while waiting to pick up the kids from school or sitting at the doctor’s office, remember that the snake oil salesperson is still out there. Looking to get you to buy their latest gadget or “get-fit-quick” diet plan. Sometimes if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

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No part of this publication may be copied or reprinted without the permission of YEG Fitness. The fitness and nutritional information in this publication are not intended to replace professional medical advice. Readers are encouraged to consult a health professional before beginning or changing in their fitness or nutritional activities. Opinions expressed in this publication are those of the contributor and not those of YEG Fitness or its employees and associates. Advertising in this publication does not indicate an endorsement by YEG Fitness.

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Have you been fighting through knee pain all summer long? Suffering with soreness under your knee cap after a long run? Unable to get through a full workout in the gym without that deep knee ache? This pain is referred to as “jumper’s knee”, or “runner’s knee” and together we can put an end to it! This injury is technically referred to as “patellar tendonitis”, and is caused by an increase in tension along the quadricep muscle and the common tendon that inserts into the top of the shin. The system is under too much mechanical tension and the knee cap (patella) ends up getting compressed down into the knee joint, which leads to pain and inflammation.

This injury is typically caused by: • Increased training volume • Prolonged periods of sitting • Poor movement pattern with running, squatting, or jumping • Poor warm-up and/or cooldown during a work out • Lack of strength and knee stabilization. While treatment can vary with each individual case of patellar tendonitis, there are some common strategies that we can use to eliminate the pain and get you back performing at the highest possible level. Give these exercises a try, and remember to perform each movement in a pain free range.

(k) Decrease swelling with compression and soft tissue mobilization using Voodoo Floss. Increase “slack” around the knee using the principal of “smash and stretch” (N) Smash = Foam roll (e) Stretch = Hip Flexor Stretch Isometric and eccentric strengthening. (E) Wall Sits (!) Single Leg Squat on a Decline *If you have any questions or to get more information on how to perform these exercises, please contact us!

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contributors Clare Newman Clare Newman has been teaching yoga in Edmonton and St. Albert for over 15 years. She specializes in prenatal + postnatal yoga as well as works as a Postpartum Corrective Specialist helping mothers recover from birth in a more anatomical and mindful way. She is the owner and creator of Mamata Yoga Academy, a global training program for other teachers and educators in perinatal health and offers online trainings and yoga classes on her website www.mamatayoga.com

Ene Mwadi Ene Mwadi is a recent graduate of the NAIT PFT program. He is a fitness enthusiast who enjoys pushing his mind and body to the limits and is always up for a challenge. You can find him on Instagram @striveperformances to stay updated.

Grant Sanderson Grant Sanderson is the Director of Cannabis Operations for ALCANNA’s Nova Cannabis stores. He began his tenure at Nova Cannabis during the summer before legalization as Regional Manager, bringing with him his 25 years of experience in the hospitality industry, during which his focus was on the customer experience and customer value equation.

Naomi Sachs Naomi Sachs is an Edmonton based personal fitness trainer with a passion for strength and conditioning. She has completed numerous courses from esteemed coaches such as Charles Poliquin, Stephane Cazeault, Andre Benoit and Carlos Castro. Naomi has a vested interest in optimizing client results. Naomi also carries a background in holistic nutrition and offers nutrition and lifestyle coaching in conjunction with supplementation recommendations to support the goals of her clients. Naomi works primarily with general population clients who are looking to optimize all facets of their health.

Sara Bruno Sara Bruno is our Marketing and Communications Manager at Wellness on Whyte. It is her mission to make you feel alive and inspired. Sara spearheads all things marketing; from social media management, to blog writing, website assistance, education initiatives, speaking engagements, market research and media planning. She is passionate about creating unique and tailored messages that stimulate confidence and support the healing process.

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VIET NGUYEN PHOTOS BY JEFFREY PAUL KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY AT CHAMPS BOXING 10

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VIET NGUYEN

MRG CONCERTS | BOODANG | AGNT

1. It's Sunday morning, what are you most likely to be doing today? Ah yes. Sunday… my favourite day of the week! I spend my Sundays resting and relaxing. This means no strenuous physical activities or work. Your body and mind need to reset and rest, and this is my day to do it. Sunday evenings are religiously spent visiting my parents and eating some of the best Vietnamese food you’ve ever tasted! Can you see why it’s my favourite day?

2. If you didn't do what you do for a living, what would you love to do?

I love my job. I’ve been able to travel to amazing places and meet some of the most talented musicians in the world. I bring home ideas for our events by attending festivals and concerts around the world. It’s incredible! However, if I wasn’t doing this – I would love to just travel the world. Apparently, you can get a job as a professional traveler!

3. What music is on repeat on your playlist when at the gym or keeping active?

I have an essential mix by Rufus Du Sol on repeat since the beginning of August. It's literally the only thing I've been listening to for months. It's a little more chill, but it does the job for me. The new Chemical Brothers album is also very rad.

4. If we were to peek in your gym bag right now, what would we find?

Full disclosure: Six dirty pairs of hand wraps. Two pairs of dirty socks. One set of headphones. One skipping rope, a bag of wine gums, a 2L bottle of water, and various dirty / smelly clothes and half a quest bar.

5. What's your favourite thing about YEG?

I love how it only rained twice this summer. Once for 32 days, and the next for 46 days. Nothing beats soggy socks all summer. Kidding... I actually love how vibrant the music scene is in Edmonton. Especially on the electronic spectrum. For as long as I can remember, Edmonton has hosted some of the largest Electronic events in Western Canada dating all the way back to the Nexus tribe days.

6. Where is your dream vacation destination?

Japan. I badly want to spend some time in Japan. I've only heard good things. 100% must check it out.

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7. Favourite local DJ and international DJ you have been able to work with? Tough question. Literally all my friends are DJ's. We have some real talented DJ's in Edmonton and some of them are producing real quality music! Mikey Wong for his versatility & ability to read a crowd. Seelo for his top-quality music production as of late. Junior Brown for his funk and soul. I could go on and on. Internationally, this is an easy one. Tiësto tops the list. I've been booking him for almost 20 years and as he grew into this massive superstar, he remains incredibly humble and easy to work with. His team is always easy to deal with and he puts on an amazing performance for the fans. Years later, the man is still at the top of his game.

8. What is at the top of your bucket list?

I’d like to learn to play a musical instrument. Specifically, either the guitar or piano. I went to a wedding this summer and the groom performed a song for the bride. I want to be able to do that!

9. What is your favourite TV show?

Believe it or not, I don't have one. I don't actually have cable. I'm a bit of a nerd and tend to put on documentaries or old movies. With that said, I DID binge watch Stranger Things (both seasons). I’m a sucker for shows that give me a sense nostalgia.

10. What is your favourite way to stay fit and healthy?

Absolutely nothing works up a sweat like hitting the heavy bag or some pads. It’s incredibly challenging and there’s so many benefits. It’s amazing for endurance, power, stamina, and personally it helps me deal with anxiety and stress. Paired with some strength training – this is my weekly regiment.

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Gearing Up For Cooler Weather

With the change in seasons, comes the need to consider the gear we wear when heading outdoors for a workout or to make the walk from the indoor studio space out to our car for the ride home. Dressing in layers is often key to avoid the cool chill in the air and to help you stay dry and comfortable. With so many new fabrics on the market designed to keep the wearer dry and warm during the colder months, it’s easy to find some great gear to take you from indoors to outdoors while remaining comfortable.

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DON'T BAIL ON YOUR OUTDOOR RUN OR HIKE—THIS HIGH-NECKED HALF ZIP WILL KEEP YOU TOASTY EVEN WHEN THERE'S A CHILL IN THE AIR. Y EGF ITN E SS

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Nike men's

NIKE THERMA SPORT TOP - $110 THE NIKE THERMA SPORT TOP DELIVERS A 1/2-ZIP DESIGN THAT'S IDEAL FOR LAYERING. IT COMBINES ADAPTIVE FABRIC AND ADJUSTABLE DETAILS TO HELP KEEP YOU WARM AND COMFORTABLE DURING YOUR WORKOUT. NIKE FLEX TECH PACK - $105 THE NIKE FLEX TECH PACK SHORTS ARE MADE FROM LIGHTWEIGHT, STRETCHY FABRIC THAT WICKS SWEAT TO HELP KEEP YOU DRY AND MOVING FREELY THROUGHOUT YOUR WORKOUT. RIBBED FABRIC IN KEY AREAS GIVES YOU A COMFORTABLE, FLEXIBLE FIT.

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NIKE INDY LOGO BRA - $48 THE NIKE INDY LOGO SPORTS BRA DELIVERS BREATHABLE STYLE WITH A DEEP V-NECK AND CRISS-CROSS DESIGN AT THE SHOULDERS. IT'S DESIGNED FOR LIGHT SUPPORT FOR ACTIVITIES SUCH AS YOGA, PILATES AND BARRE. NIKE DRY WOMEN'S ELASTIKA ESSENTIAL TANK - $42 IDEAL FOR DAILY WEAR, THE NIKE DRI-FIT WOMENâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;S TRAINING TANK IS A QUICK-DRYING, LONGER-LINE TOP THAT BREATHES TO HELP YOU STAY DRY, COMFORTABLE AND CONFIDENT THROUGHOUT YOUR ENTIRE WORKOUT. NIKE SCULPT LUX 7/8 TIGHT - $110 FEELING GOOD IS AS IMPORTANT AS LOOKING GOOD IN THE NIKE SCULPT LUX TIGHTS. STRETCHY, SUPPORTIVE FABRIC MAKES THEM IDEAL FOR YOGA, PILATES OR BARRE WORKOUTS. GRADUATED COMPRESSION TARGETS KEY MUSCLE GROUPS FOR A SCULPTED LOOK.

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ADVERTORIAL

A Prescription to Get Active could be the key to get more Albertan’s moving! Did you know that 80% of adult Canadian’s do not meet Canada’s physical activity guideline of 150 minutes per week? If you are reading this magazine, you are likely part of the 20% who do move, and for that, you should be commended! Great work! We all know someone who has said “I should workout”. But why don’t they? There are a number of reasons, and one of the largest barriers is a lack of self-efficacy. The lack of self-belief that they can stick to it. They likely have tried in the past or had a negative experience. This, coupled with societal demands of work, family and other commitments, create a real perception that an active lifestyle is really out of reach. Most people know that exercise is, in fact, good for them. But do they know how critically important it is to a long and healthy life? A number of research articles published by Exercise is Medicine Canada show that low CRF (cardio-respiratory fitness) is actually a leading cause of mortality in Canada. Low fitness also can be associated with a myriad of health concerns such as diabetes, heart disease and many forms of cancer. Unfortunately, fitness levels have declined over the last 20 years. EXERCISE IS A MIRICLE DRUG. Over the past 60 years, scientific research has provided irrefutable evidence of the medical value of exercise. For Canada to reduce health-care costs and enhance well-being, the fitness and medical professions must collaborate and put this precious medicine to good use. So, how can we get more people moving? In our experience, it is all about behaviour change. Someone needs to make that very important first step, and then have support while they make the next few steps, until they form the habit of physical activity. That is where Prescription to Get Active comes into play.

The patient will then register their prescription on the website and choose from a number of options in their community. Currently there are over 630 healthcare clinics and 160 recreation facilities to choose from in Alberta. They then redeem their prescription at the facility for a complimentary trial period. Facilities have been approved by RxTGA as they have Registered Exercise Professionals who will help on board the patient. RXTGA will also be adding a number of solutions for those people who cannot attend a facility, whether due to geography or personal choice. We will be providing web based and app based solutions in 2020. So as a reader of YEG fitness, you likely know someone who isn’t active, and would benefit from this program. Please send this article to them or direct them to www.prescriptiontogetactive.com for more information. They can then ask their doctor for their Prescription to Get Active. Maybe they will even join you for a future workout. Prescription to Get Active is a non-profit organization, and is grateful for the support we have received from our partners, including Alberta Health Services, Alberta Blue Cross, World Health, Spa Lady, GoGet.Fit, in Body Canada and GoodLife Fitness. If you are a physician who would like to become a prescriber, or a recreation facility who would like to become a member, please email alberta@prescriptiontogetactive.com.

If your friend who needs to exercise but doesn’t, goes to their family doctor for a routine check-up, the doctor will ask them if they are physically active for 150 minutes a week. If the answer is no, the doctor can now fill a Prescription to Get Active. Studies have shown that counselling provided by a clinician helps to increase physical activity in patients.

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BUILD THAT

LEG STRENGTH

TO POWER THROUGH YOUR WINTER SPORTS BY ENE MWADI The changing of seasons tends to take us by surprise. You're basking under the sun evening out stubborn tan lines as you listen to your favourite summer playlists. You turn around, and everybody is decked in sweaters and scarves as they rake the multitude of coloured leaves off their lawns. Before you know it, you feel the cold kiss of mother nature as she brings a blanket of snow signaling the coming of old man winter. The time of long-boarding, outdoor runs and occasional parkour in the park is all but a memory. You open your closet to grab your jacket and boots only to be greeted by your winter artillery of skates, snowshoes, and skis. Looking back to last winter you remember all the fun you had snowshoe hiking in the mountains with your significant other, skating in your neighbourhoods outdoor pond and speeding down the slopes during your work retreat. Reminiscing on all the experiences, you remember how tired and wobbly your legs felt after a couple of minutes. You regret not being able to push yourself as hard as you wanted, and felt like you were slowing everyone down. You tell yourself â&#x20AC;&#x153;this year is going to be different.â&#x20AC;? You're going to get stronger so you can enjoy yourself without worrying about your legs feeling like wet noodles afterward.

1 SQUAT

Squats are one of the staple exercises used to increase lower body strength. They work your glutes, hamstrings quadriceps, calves, and even your core. To perform a squat stand with feet slightly wider than hip-width apart. Tighten up your core to stabilize yourself. With your chest thrust upward, shift your weight back into your heels while pushing your hips behind you. Continue to lower yourself until your thighs are almost parallel to the floor. Your feet should remain flat on the ground. Exhale as you push yourself back up to a standing position.

Winter sports like skiing, snowshoeing, and skating all require a lot of lower-body strength. You have to be able to engage your glutes, quadriceps, hamstrings, and calves in both isometric and dynamic movements. Being able to do all of this while balancing and shifting your weight on icy and snowy surfaces can get very tiring. During snowshoeing, it's important to have improved mobility in your knees and hips. While you move through the snow, these joints work together to lift your feet. The thick snow, heavy boots, and snowshoes give added resistance making the muscles around these joints work harder to keep you going. While skating, you push and pull your legs outwards and inwards as you propel yourself on the ice. Balancing yourself while also moving forward can get pretty hard if your legs aren't strong enough to do what you're asking of them. Skiing, on the other hand, involves a lot of isometric and dynamic movement. When you begin, you're most likely holding yourself in a squat position. When you're going down a hill, you brace yourself and figure out how to most comfortably position your body. When you speed up, your lower body begins shifting your centre of gravity. At any given moment, one leg is usually bearing the weight of your entire body while the other leg helps in changing direction. The various muscles and movements that help keep you balanced and coordinated work constantly and very quickly. When these muscles aren't strong enough or worked regularly, they tend to fatigue much quicker, preventing us from doing the things we'd like. Training these muscle groups and movement patterns helps our body become more accustomed to added stress and load. Here I've come up with four exercises that I find very helpful when trying to increase your lower body strength. When you're just starting, I recommend using bodyweight and working with two sets of ten to fifteen reps. When you get stronger, increase the weight to make the exercises more challenging.

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2 STEP-UP

The step-up is an excellent lower-body exercise that helps improve symmetry and balance because each leg is worked independently. This exercise is also great for those with low-back pain as you use less weight than a squat, while still performing the same basic movement. To perform a step-up stand with one foot on a box or raised platform. As you push through your hip, stand and bring your opposing foot up. Step back down along the same path. Complete a set and then repeat with the opposite leg. PHOTOS BY JEFFREY PAUL KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY AT EVOLVE STRENGTH

3 SPEED SKATERS

Like the squat and standard lunge, speed skaters target your glutes and quads. The crossing movement of the leg fires up the gluteus medius, an important stabilizing muscle that’s often overlooked and undertrained. To perform speed skaters stand with feet hip-width apart and arms by your sides. Lunge back with your right leg, while crossing the right foot behind the left leg bend both knees to 90 degrees (as if doing a curtsy). Raise your arms out to your sides at shoulder level. Step your right foot out and return to your standing position. Repeat the curtsy, this time lunging back with the left leg.

4 SINGLE LEG DEADLIFT

The single-leg deadlift strengthens the hamstrings, glutes, improves ankle stability and works your balance. It also mimics the hip hinge position you’ll need to stay on the ice. To perform a single leg deadlift stand on your right leg while holding a dumbbell in each hand. Keep your right knee slightly bent as you lean forward with your hips and back. Extend your left leg behind you and reach halfway down your shin with the dumbbells. Press your right heel into the floor to return to a standing position.

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DON IVESON

Building a Healthy, Thriving Edmonton PHOTOS BY DES ILES 18

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My first interaction with the 35th Mayor of Edmonton came a few years ago while attending the Pride Parade when it was held in the downtown core. Don Iveson was cruising the streets on his bike along with other City Councilors waiving to the crowd and stopping briefly to talk to those who came out to support the LGBTQ2+ community. It was obvious at the time that he had the pulse of the city and his perch on his bike was a sign of things to come for transportation changes to the streets of YEG. A short time later a few fitness leaders brought to light a new popup fitness event that had come to Edmonton. We invited Mayor Iveson out to one of the 6am workouts for the November Project being held at Kinsmen Park. It was great to see him join about 100 other Edmontonians for a workout that involved some fitness and some play in the park. To me, it was the way I had always visioned our Mayor. Just a regular guy trying to make the city he grew up in better.

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Since being elected as Mayor in 2013, Don Iveson has become Edmonton's 'Collaborator-in-Chief', a champion of open and effective local government, and a leader who has led Edmonton through a time of profound change by taking on some of our city's most pressing issues. His political career sky-rocketed after he had first sought office in the 2007 municipal election as he ran for, and won, as Councilor for Ward 5 against incumbents Bryan Anderson and Mike Nickel. Focusing his campaign on improved transit and housing issues, he came second to Anderson, beating Nickel by over two thousand votes and claiming the second seat in the Ward. On June 18, 2013, Iveson announced that he would run for Mayor in the 2013 municipal election, as long time Mayor Stephen Mandel had announced he would not seek a fourth term. On October 21, Iveson won the election with nearly 62% of the vote. On October 16, 2017, Iveson was re-elected as Mayor, winning by a large margin with over 73% of the vote reaffirming his support by the vast majority of citizens. While age is a little more evident now with the salt and pepper appearing in his trendy beard, he’s still young for a politician. Tall and athletic looking, he is a champion advocating to make Edmonton the healthiest city in Canada. Along with his spouse, Sarah and adorable kids he’s continuing to push the boundaries of change the city needs to move forwards as a growing metropolis. While there have been setbacks including the LRT expansion and bike lanes, these hiccups are but part of the growing pains of moving forward to see his original campaign goals back in 2007 of improving transportation come to fruition. With all that comes from being part of the leadership team responsible for the growth and inner workings of the 5th most populated city in Canada, it can be a challenge to balance work, family and your own personal wellness. We sat down to chat with Mayor Iveson to see how he handles his work and still manages time to find time to enjoy a bike ride with the family or to catch an FC Edmonton match. “There is no typical workday, which is great,” says Iveson. “One day I am advocating for Edmonton’s needs to the provincial or federal governments, and other days I am chairing Council or committee meetings, making key decisions on how our city is being built and services we offer. On some days I’m working with my mayoral colleagues across the Edmonton Metro region to strengthen our collaboration and build our economy.” Iveson has always been a popular figure in the community. As an ambassador for the city when he visits other regions across the country, it is obvious he loves the city he has made his home and is constantly thinking of ways to lead us forward. He enjoys attending community events and announcements when his schedule allows. These are always great reminders for him of the amazing community we live in.

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“Every Edmontonian I meet is passionate about our city and each has ideas to share on how to make things even better.” Under his watch, despite a huge hit to the economy when oil prices crashed and unemployment across the province rose, Edmonton has been able to do quite well. With a new arena and ICE District now in play thanks to the stage being set by his predecessor, the city’s physical infrastructure development has thrived during his tenure. Neighborhood renewal, bridge construction, recreation and policing are all improvements made by Iveson and City Council over the past decade. So how does a man who is responsible for a city that is approaching 1 million people take care of his own physical and mental health so he can stay healthy and continue to be the leader our city needs? “My days at work can be long so sometimes the only exercise I can fit in is my bike ride to work,” he says. I few other members of Council have made biking to work part of their routine over the years and this may be part of the reason for the development of the bike lane network in the downtown core. Getting people out of their vehicles and biking to work or school is a way of life in many other big cities around the world along with a functioning mass transit system, and for far too long it was something that was missing in Edmonton. More recently, he has worked to incorporate more meditation and reflection time for himself. “I am not always good at this piece,” he says. “I am a recovering perfectionist and I’ve been attempting to do a better job at forgiving myself when I make mistakes personally or professionally.

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“I have good days and bad days just like other people. The key is knowing yourself and your triggers and how best to manage them appropriately.”

As any leader can attest, every decision you make will be met with some opposition. Whether it’s Metro Line LRT issues or bike lanes and rising property taxes, you need a thick skin to be in his position.

“I need to be mindful of posture and get up and stand or walk from time to time to keep from seizing up,” he says. Advice that we could all take to heart in our daily work routine.

“I have good days and bad days just like other people. The key is knowing yourself and your triggers and how best to manage them appropriately,” he says.

The Mayor and City Council have some lofty goals for the city to foster healthy living and encourage everyone to lead an active lifestyle. Council approved a strategic plan for 2019-28 where one of the 4 key strategic goals is to build a Healthy City. Council described our Healthy City goal as follows: Edmonton is a neighbourly city with community and personal wellness that embodies and promotes equity for all Edmontonians.

When the media is grilling him about some of the hard decisions, it is easy to lose perspective and snap back. It’s always a work in progress trying to honour how he feels while also ensuring he doesn’t lash out at the people around him. Leadership is hard when you’re struggling, and to Iveson, that’s the most important time to ask for help. “It’s hard being in the spotlight every day because my stresses can easily come out in what I say, so sometimes I have to take an extra breath before I speak. A walk in the river valley or even a few minutes of quiet mindfulness in my office helps me reset,” he says. Being in public office is very demanding - there will always be those who aren’t happy and nowadays there is a lot more vicious reactivity on social media. He notes that he often needs to remind himself not to take things personally. “My job isn’t to make everyone happy - I’m doing my best to build a better city for the next generation, not keep everyone happy today.” Between being tall and having been rear-ended three times, Iveson has a lot of back and neck trouble. It’s well documented that sitting is the new smoking and sometimes it feels like many of us sit for a living in endless meetings. For Iveson, his back pain flares up under stress, so he needs to be mindful of all those factors to keep it from knocking him down.

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This can mean everything from maintaining our river valley trails, an expansion of active transportation modes, access and expansion to transit, recreational opportunities to ensuring we are a city that strives to address poverty and homelessness on a social-determinants-of-health basis. As for bike lanes, not only do they promote fitness and give people options other than their cars, but they are something more Edmonton employers, from Stantec to video game producers are looking for because it’s what their young workforce is demanding. For example, one of Amazon’s criteria in the HQ2 bid was having good cycling infrastructure in the city. “Ultimately, a healthy city is more than just fitness,” he says. “It’s about productivity, engagement and human thriving. Communities are only as strong as the health of their residents, particularly their marginalized residents. People make cities - in order to fully embody community wellness, we need to make sure all Edmontonians are treated fairly and that we’re not leaving people behind.” Well said Mayor. Well said.

The Evolution of The Modern Dad

Fatherhood has certainly changed over the generations. It wasn’t that long ago when a husband or partner dropped the mom to be at the hospital and either waited in the waiting room or headed back to work while waiting for the arrival of their child. It was something father’s to be were often excluded from by hospital staff or simply due to social norms at the time. Today’s dad is more “hands on” so to speak. Attending parenting classes with their partner before the arrival. Reading or taking a course together with their significant other to learn more about the labour process and how they can be supportive during that time. Even being in the room during the delivery is nor the norm rather than the exception. But for those that are already parents, you know that the act of birth is just the start of becoming a parent. Long nights with a colicky baby and 1am/3am/5am feedings leave you feeling drained and often lead to no time to focus on the relationship between both partners as you simply want to have a good night sleep when there is the opportunity. Date night? No thanks…. Just let me go to sleep. More and more fathers today are taking the time to take on many of the duties that were often left to the mother in past generations. Changing diapers and helping with feedings are no longer just the mom’s job and a little sour formula or dried breast milk on the back of a suit jacket is the sign of a true father today when he returns back to work. We reached out to a couple new dads to see how the buildup to fatherhood and the actual arrival of their child affected their lives. These two busy entrepreneurs have embraced the whole process with their partners and if you follow them on Instagram, you’ll see what we mean by the “Rise of the New Aged Dad.”

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Jesse Kupina 43 | Entrepreneur – Central Social Hall and newly inked motivator at YEG Cycle

Born and raised in Northeast Edmonton, my first love was hockey and plan A was to play in the NHL! As a plan B, I started working at Arby’s at the age of 13. This is where I started to develop my love and passion for the restaurant business. Since then, I have worked in many different restaurants, nightclubs and bars where I have done everything from wash dishes, tend bar, serve tables, all the way to managing, owning and creating independent concepts. It has always been my dream to own my own restaurant / bar which is why I absolutely love going to work every day with Central Social Hall. On a more personal level, the past 6 years I have really focused on personal development, growth, health and fitness. I have found a renewed energy and desire to pursue being the nest human I can possibly be. I am an early am work out guy! I love to get that 6am sweat session in; whether it be at YEG Cycle, Champs Boxing or the good 'ol fashioned GYM! Then its home to see my wife (Amber), pack my food and head off to work for the day. My work days are always unpredictable. Our industry takes you to different hours and times and directions each and every day. This is one of the reasons I love it so much. No two days are the same. Evenings, Amber and I would love to go out to eat and perhaps indulge in a few libations as well. It’s all about balance! To be honest, my schedule hasn’t changed much since our baby has arrived. I have to give my incredible wife pretty much all of the credit here. For the first couple weeks, it was all just Harlow, Amber and I together 24/7. However, I have found my way back to a similar routine of my morning workouts, work and spending all of my free time with my family. There has definitely been some minor adjustments like attending a variety of baby related appointments at various times of day, our evenings are now spent with some amazing family cuddles on the couch taking turns with Harlow, and I would say that the evenings out eating and drinking have turned into a home cooked meal with an occasional glass of wine and Coors Light! Amber was blessed with a healthy and happy pregnancy. For me, it did definitely bring up lots of thoughts, feelings and emotions around being a great provider for my family and what that would look like for me. Providing them with the necessities in life, emotional, mental, spiritual and physical support. The one thing I have learned that I am not alone in, is that the feeling when you are having your first baby can seem like you are about to write the biggest and most important test of your life and you have not studied OR don’t even know what the test will be on! I have been trying to settle into doing the best we can and embracing the learning, growing and evolving that Harlow will show us while we support her in her life’s journey. Becoming a new father has been amazing. I have appreciated everything so far. From looking into Amber’s eyes, both of us breathing through her contractions, seeing what an incredible woman she is, to holding my very own daughter for the very first time. I find myself just staring at Harlow in awe, thinking to myself, I can’t believe Amber and I created this person. Selfishly, one of the coolest parts is that, so far, she looks just like me! I really didn’t have much for expectations as this is my first baby. The one thing I will say is that I never was much of a “baby-guy”. I have a little dog named Frank, who is 13. For anyone that knows me well, they know how tight Frank and I are. I used to think, hey, if I loved my baby as much as I love Frank … I will be good! My business partner Vance had his twins only 3 weeks before we had Harlow; and, when I went to visit him and Morgan I didn’t feel comfortable holding the baby! I was concerned because I was about to have one of these “babies” in a few weeks. However, being there and watching Harlow come into this world, and holding her for the first time, I have experienced a love that I have truly never felt before. Despite what I did think, there has been a certain natural rhythm, comfort and ease that has occurred behind all the chaos of having a new baby!

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I was highly competitive and athletic growing up playing every sport available through school and spent my spares in the workout room. I started working at the restaurant my mom worked in when I was twelve, washing dishes and bussing tables, eventually moving my way up through the kitchen and held multiple kitchen and pizza driver jobs throughout high school. I worked for my uncle at Cook County as soon as I turned 18 where I bounced around between a few different clubs and started a pub-crawl company with my best friend. I moved away for a year to work at the Fairmont Chateau Lake Louise in a fine dining atmosphere. I then tried my hand at construction and in the oilfield like all typical Alberta boys, but always came back to restaurants. I returned to serving at Earls when I moved back to Edmonton and moved up quickly through the leadership grid before meeting Jerry and Jesse and eventually coming on board as a founding partner of Central Social Hall in 2012.

Vance Bosch 34 | Restaurateur | Regional Operating Partner at Central Social Hall

I used to take about an hour in the mornings for some quick and dirty cardio and yoga flows, chart out my day and respond to important emails and texts, then have breakfast and coffee before getting ready for work. I would be away from home 10-12 hours a day for work, including the drive time. Most days I'd be doing a group workout at one of my favourite studios like Xtherapy, Champs, YEG Cycle, and Orangetheory. If I was home in time for dinner I'd cook for my wife and I because it's still one of my passions. We'd run any errands in the evening and do housework, then I'd finish my day catching up on important emails and working on any of my remote restaurant work and projects that needed to get done. Since our twin boys are still only a few months old (born July 8), we haven't done sleep training with them yet, so the only constant in our life now is trying for 8pm bedtime for the boys and everything else is basically just surviving LOL! The morning routine now consists of waking up whenever they wake up hungry (usually around 8am), rushing to get them fed and then start the day. If I work early, I set an alarm for 4-5 hours before my work start time to make sure I'm all showered and ready and everything possible is prepared for the boys to wake up and feed before I leave for the day. I'm now only gone typically 8-10 hours for work, including drive time, and do my best to be home for the last feeding and bedtime because it is a BIG job for only one person! After the boys go to bed, we SHOULD go to bed too, but this is when we catch up on meal prepping, housework, and I spend any extra time working on my laptop until I'm falling asleep around 12-1am, then I go up to bed and get up with the boys for their night feed (usually around 4am). During pregnancy, my wife (Morgan) was very limited in her movement and workload, so I took on all of the housework, yard work, shopping, cooking, etc. that we used to share. I was also very anxious about being off work when the boys came, so I invested a lot of extra hours into developing my team and the leaders who would be running the business in my absence. Since we delivered by C-section, Morgan was even more limited for the first 6 weeks after delivery, so I continued with all of my home duties while we adjusted to taking care of the boys. Now that I'm back to work, my biggest stress is leaving Morgan to look after both of the boys and the house by herself when I know how difficult it can be. Besides all the little intricacies of keeping tiny humans alive and learning how incredible a mother my wife is, being a new dad has given me a lot of new perspective. It's taught me how valuable time is, how valuable sleep is, and it's shown me a new level of love and care that I didn't even think was possible. Morgan and I just had a really good insightful post-bedtime chat about how these boys must have been sent to teach us PATIENCE! Weâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve both been competitive busy body type Aâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s our whole lives, and the boys have really forced us to confront that lack in our lives and learn patience.

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ARE YOU TRAINING YOUR SHOULDERS PROPERLY? BY NAOMI SACHS

You stroll into the gym with that crazy look in your eye. It’s shoulder day again and you are about to go all in on your deltoids. As you push past the doors you chant to yourself, “shoulders like boulders…” You have repeated this mantra before every shoulder workout this year. Growing your shoulders has become your ultimate fixation as you spend your time away from the gym fantasizing about having 3D delts with more angles than a crystal prism. As you get ready for your training session you catch a glimpse of yourself in the mirror. Your shoulders look about as deflated as a helium balloon from last years birthday. It suddenly dawns on you that you don’t know anything about proper shoulder training. If your shoulders feel underdeveloped then this article is for you. Shoulders are an important muscle group. The three heads of the shoulder actually have a function aside from making your physique look bad ass. The anterior deltoid is required for humeral flexion, the lateral deltoid is used for humeral abduction and the posterior deltoid for humeral extension (basically moving your arm forward, to the side and backwards). Ok, that’s enough anatomy, lets go back to the real reason you are at the gym: epic shoulder growth. Here are my four favourite shoulder exercises to help you build a solid shoulder foundation:

BARBELL OVERHEAD PRESS A well-executed overhead press starts with a solid setup. Let’s talk about the orientation of the body from the bottom to the top. Begin with your feet in a bilateral stance. This will ensure the most optimal recruitment of the core. Grip the floor with your feet making sure the pinkie toe, big toe and heel are all in contact with the ground. Slightly bend the knees and externally rotate the femur to turn the glutes on. Now your lower body is consolidated. Take a bracing breath and draw the ribs down. Your ribs must stay down for the duration of the set. Brace the abdominal wall. Engage your lats to create a shelf which will act as a springboard for the triceps. Grip the barbell tightly with your hands slightly outside shoulder width. The optimal grip width for strength development occurs when the humerus sits 45 degrees to the torso in the bottom position. If the bar can be lowered to the upper chest, do so. At this point you can try to bend the barbell to create the necessary tightness in the lats. Extend your head backwards so the bar can move upwards in an unrestricted fashion. Use a full grip, not an open grip to help enhance neural drive. Maintain a straight line between the wrist and elbow as the weight is moved upwards. Execute each rep as fast as possible while avoiding hyperextending the elbows in the top position.

PHOTOS BY JEFFREY PAUL KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY AT EVOLVE STRENGTH

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DUMBBELL SUPPORTED SHOULDER PRESS - NEUTRAL GRIP Since barbell work is always performed with a pronated grip it is in your best interest to attack a lot of your dumbbell shoulder work with a neutral grip. This helps you to avoid pattern overload syndrome (think repetitive stress = increased injury risk). A neutral grip also supports improved growth as you stimulate the recruitment of fibers not used with a pronated grip. Prop up the backrest completely on an incline bench and take a seat with your dumbbells. Keep your head upright and pinned to the bench. Maintain a straight gaze. Take a bracing breath and draw ribs down. Ribs must stay down for the duration of the set. If you can feel your midback remain on the bench you know your ribs arenâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t flaring. Brace the abdominal wall and hold the dumbbells beside your shoulders with your palms facing each other. Try to maintain the distance between your elbows as you move the weight through its full range of motion. This part requires some skill. Reverse the motion with all of the same considerations.

L-LATERAL RAISES I believe everyone needs to master the L-Lateral raise before moving into standard lateral raises. This is because most people fail to properly recruit their lateral deltoid when doing lateral raises. The L-Lateral Raise helps to train both proprioception and connectivity to this muscle. Sit unsupported on a bench. Hold a weight lighter than what you would typically use for a lateral raise. With a neutral grip curl the weight up to form a 90-degree angle at the elbow joint. Elevate the elbows until they are inline with the shoulder. Extend the forearm until it is in-line with the elbow. Lower the weight for a count of three. Repeat for each rep of your working set.

NEUTRAL GRIP PRONE RAISES 30 DEGREE INCLINE Canâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;t feel your posterior deltoid? You may have never tapped into them. I find using this exercise far superior to bent over shoulder raises where I often observe poor recruitment of the posterior deltoid. Set an incline bench at 30 degrees. Lie prone on the bench. Grasp two dumbbells retracting the scapula. Raise the weight until the thumb is in line with the ear. Lower the weight back to starting position. Repeat this sequence for each rep of your working set.

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11 Ways To Get The Sweat Smell Out Of Your Workout Clothes BY KRISTEN CANNING

ometimes it’s hard to remember what everyone even wore before it became socially acceptable to run around in athleisure 24/7. The beauty of stretchy pants and sports bras is a no brainer—but cleaning them is another story. There’s a new buzzword making the rounds in the fitness community, and it’s called the “rebloom” effect. It refers to recently washed workout clothes that start smelling bad again shortly after you put them on. (If you’ve gotten a musty whiff of yourself after just a short walk to the spin studio, you know what we’re talking about.) Moisture-wicking performance fabrics, which do an amazing job of sending wetness to the surface of the fabric to keep you cool and dry, tend to have extra nooks and crannies that cling to dirt and odors, says laundry expert Mary Marlowe Leverette, who works as a consultant to detergent manufacturers, consumer textile distributors, and appliance developers. Laundry detergent has a hard time penetrating those grooves, and can even trap the bad stuff in. And since performance fabrics dry super-fast, you might even forget just how sweaty your clothes got. So instead of throwing them in the wash, you watch six episodes of Animal Kingdom, and then head out to grab a smoothie. It’s a stinking time bomb. Want to make sure your (sometimes absurdly expensive) sweat threads stay fresh? 1. Air your clothes out before tossing them in the hamper. Rolling super-sweaty workout clothes into a tight ball and sending them to the bottom of your hamper might help with your laundry anxiety, but those clothes will become a breeding ground for bacteria—and all those nasty odors will stay right where you left them, says Leverette. If you’re not doing laundry right away, lay out sweaty clothes so they can breathe in the fresh air. 2. Try freezing them for a quick stink fix. Can’t lay them out around your apartment before washing? Toss your workout clothes in a plastic bag and put them in the freezer until you can wash them. The cold air prevents bacteria from growing and nixes odor until you can do laundry. 3. Go easy on the detergent. Whether you’re using a special sports detergent or plain old laundry soap, don’t add extra suds to your washing machine with hopes that they’ll work overtime on sweat smells. (You’re asking for extra soap scum on your clothes, which can cause a buildup of mold and mildew—it’s actually a food source for bacteria, says Leverette.) Two teaspoons of high performing brands like Tide, Wisk, and Persil is usually more than plenty per load of laundry, says Leverette. Or, try half or three-quarters of the amount of detergent that you normally use and perform a sniff test to hit the sweet spot. 28

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4. Skip the fabric softener. Liquid or sheets, you don’t want this stuff near your workout gear. Fabric softeners can clog the fibers of performance fabrics, keeping water and detergent from getting into those grooves for a deep clean, and messing with moisture-wicking and odor-fighting properties. 5. Wash your clothes inside out. Flipping clothes—especially leggings—inside out helps detergent get to work on the smelliest parts of your threads (the areas that were in direct contact with your skin). It’s a great move to eliminate underarm odor too. Plus, this will help protect the color in your favorite neon yellow top, too. 6. Don’t wash them with heavy fabrics. Items like fleece pullovers, sweatshirts, and towels can transfer their lint to stretchy workout fabrics, which makes it harder for detergent and water to get through. 7. Toss ‘em with vinegar. To deep clean any odors that just won’t quit, try soaking clothes in one part white distilled vinegar and four parts cold water for 30 minutes. Another solution for stripping clothes of old odors is to mix a solution of oxygen bleach (like Oxi Clean) with cool water, and let the clothes soak overnight, says Leverette. 8. Add baking soda to your laundry load. Another option? Add a cup of baking soda to your laundry during the rinse cycle to neutralize bad odors for good. 9. Pour in lemon juice for added freshness. Sounds weird, but the citric acid in lemon juice can break down oils from your body in the clothes, which can help destroy odor. Plus, the lemon-y smell is a great way to get a boost of freshness without fragrance-heavy detergent. 10. Soak clothes in buttermilk to get rid of mildew. If you left your clothes in a plastic bag at the bottom of your gym bag for a few days (guilty!), you can get rid of that mildew-y smell by pre-soaking your clothes in buttermilk overnight before washing them. 11. Let your clothes hang dry. Machine-drying your performance fabrics is typically a no-no anyway, since it can wear down the fabric, but letting your clothes air-dry is another way to increase freshness. Sometimes, machines don’t get clothes all the way dry, and then they sit in a hot, moist pile waiting for you to take them out of the dryer. Not exactly the best move for freshness. Letting them hang-dry ensures they get constant air flow as moisture evaporates.

ADVERTORIAL

Well before indoor cycling studios became all the rage, brother and sister duo, Bill Pryor and Alex Klemmer, opened the doors to Spynergy. In 2014, Spynergy morphed into the CycleBar franchising brand. In just over a decade, what started as a small family business in Boston has now evolved into over 150 studios all over the world with 1 in Dubai, 1 in London and 2 right here in Canada. CycleBar Windermere is only the second franchise in Canada and the first in Western Canada, located in Southwest Edmonton, it is currently home to over 700 members.

CycleBar Windermere offers an inclusive and inspiring low-impact/high-intensity indoor cycling experience for all ages and body types. Riders have a choice between Connect, Classic and Performance rides so whether you want to clip in and ride to the beat or stay on top of your metrics, we truly have something for everyone. Our bikes and cycle theatre are equipped with the latest in performance metric technology. Using an algorithm which computes bio stats and performance, you will receive an email at the end of each class providing you with markers for energy expended, calories burned as well as your rank within the class and a copy of the playlist. No matter where you are in your fitness journey, our classes promise to calm your mind, elevate your mood and revive your senses. Studio owner, Loma Ammar created this space with the idea that everyone would walk out feeling better than how they walked in. And if you ask anyone who rides here, her dream has been fulfilled. 5242 Windermere Boulevard +1 (780) 760-7746 windermere@cyclebar.com Mon: 5:30am-11:30am | 5:15pm-9pm Tue & Thu: 5am-11:30am | 5:15pm-8:30pm Wed: 5:30am-11:30am | 5pm-9pm Fri: 5:30am-11:30am | 5:15pm-8:15pm Sat: 7:45am-1:30pm Sun: 7:45am-2pm

HOURS

CycleBar Windermere opened its doors on March 26, 2018. 6 am. 50 riders clipped in. Lights down. Beats up. It was hard not to walk out feeling amazing, and it was obvious to all that what happened between those four walls was (and continues to be) life-changing. Supported by a roster of vibrant instructors and front desk staff, the energy at CB Windy is contagious from the moment you walk through those doors.

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Battle Of The Ropes BY MICHAEL RODIA

Ropes are nothing new. Neither are battles. So it’s sort of surprising that one of the latest trends in fitness is an old-school piece of gear.

Do each set of rope exercises in a squat position. Make sure to stabilize your core and plant your feet shoulder-width apart.

That’s right: After years of being confined to martial arts gyms and football training rooms, weighted battle ropes are finally entering the mainstream—and that means it’s time to add them to your fitness routine.

Wave: Probably the most common battle rope swing, the standard wave is a great way to focus on your biceps. Tuck your elbows into your sides and alternate pumping your arms up and down, creating alternate waves in the rope. When you’re ready to step up the difficulty, switch to a double wave, where your arms move in tandem.

Battle ropes offer full body strength training as well as cardio. They’re especially great for targeting your core and upper body, since those are your primary movers in battle rope training. Battle ropes are valuable for those looking to build muscle (or simply change up their routines) without turning to ultra-heavy weights. Because ropes create forces and tension from angles that are harder to achieve with basic weight training, they confuse and surprise your muscles into making new gains. Most fitness supply stores carry battle ropes now—look for nylon ropes with rubber ends, which make it easier to grip the rope with sweaty hands. But if you’re the old-school type—or just prefer the vintage look in your athome sweatbox, you can always run down to your nearest hardware store and pick up about 50 feet of nylon or manila rope about 1.5 to 2 inches thick. Start by integrating a set of rope work to the end of your workout. We suggest doing a basic alternating wave over 30-second on/off intervals. Start with 3 or 4 intervals and then work up to 6 (or reduce the rest) once you’re comfortable. Once you’ve mastered the alternating waves, work both arms in tandem (the double wave) to ratchet up the intensity.

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Slam: Lift both ends of the rope overhead, and then slam the rope down with full force onto the ground. Make sure to maintain good posture. This move engages your shoulders, arms, back, and core, especially your abs. Circles: Move each arm in independent circles in front of you. You can rotate each arm outward (left counterclockwise, right clockwise) or inward (left clockwise, right counterclockwise). It’s a great way to focus on your shoulders. You can also hold both hands together and make a single circle with both ends of the rope—start moving clockwise, and then switch to counterclockwise halfway through the set. Flyes: Squat low and whip each end of the rope in tandem, as if you’re flapping your arms like wings. Keep your elbow bent only slightly. It’s a seriously challenging workout for your whole back. Grappler Throws: Keeping both your feet grounded, pivot your torso from side to side. During each pivot, flip the ropes over as if you were throwing them to the floor on the side you’re pivoting toward.

The Battle Rope Circuit Workout As with any new exercise routine or piece of equipment, make sure you’re totally comfortable and have plenty of practice before pushing yourself to the limit. If at any point you feel overworked, or if your form starts to suffer, take a break, recuperate, and only complete your workout if you feel like you can handle it. Once you’re comfortable using battle ropes and you’re ready to integrate them into a regular workout, we suggest you try this combo circuit of battle rope swings. Perform each move for 30 seconds with 30 seconds of rest. Once you’ve done all 6, rest for 2 full minutes and repeat. 1. Burpee slams: Alternate 3 double arm slams with one burpee, repeat and see how many burpee you can complete in 30 seconds. 2. Alternate wave/lateral lunge combo: Begin with feet close together and start to make alternate waves. Continue the alternate wave pattern with the arms as you lunge laterally (right to left) while swinging the ropes. 3. Single arm plank waves: Begin in a plank position. With one arm, grab one side of the rope. Complete 5 single arm waves from plank position, then switch. 4. Double wave/jump squat combo: Start with a wide stance. This will be done on a four count. Begin making double waves as you lower into a deep squat, counting to three. On four, jump and begin the cycle again. 5. Jacks: Hold both ends of the rope in your hands and walk towards the anchor a few steps so you have some slack. Next, perform jumping jacks with the ropes. 6. Claps: Standing in a squat position, move the ropes in and out as though you were drawing an “s” pattern on the floor. The ropes should hit and “clap” each other along the way.

BY CLARE NEWMAN PHOTOS BY JEFFREY PAUL KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY

How yoga can benefit recovery after pregnancy and birth?

Yoga is about more than just ‘stretching’ especially when it comes to prenatal + postnatal movement. The biggest misconception during pregnancy is that we need flexibility to labour and birth with more ease and this really couldn’t be further from the truth. Stretching the physical body is just one aspect needed to birth more consciously and eventually to heal from birth with more kindness and patience but there are other facets and layers to healing after pregnancy and birth. Preparing for labour and birth is more about cultivating a deeper connection with a mother’s body, her movements and trusting her innate wisdom and guidance. We can use the practice of yoga in terms of the breath to help facilitate mindfulness and awareness to move through contractions and release into ones’ fears and we can use the gentle movements in yoga to help become more aware of what a mother’s body is truly capable of during this transformational stage. Postpartum yoga and recovery should be taken very seriously. Labour and birth is a huge physical shift and so the body needs time to navigate and accept the new changes in a mother’s body. After birth, mothers are recovering from abdominal separation called ‘diastasis recti’, hyper-mobility in their ligaments and tissues,

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incontinence, lack of range in their shoulders and thoracic and an inability to engage their deeper core muscles. The intention in postpartum recovery after pregnancy and birth should always be about finding balance; in this case it’s the balance between flexibility and stability. When mothers just enrol in a strength class 6 weeks after birth, they are at a higher risk of injury and this not only prolongs their recovery, but it can also cause more issues as they age. Why? Because they haven’t given sufficient time to heal and forced their body into high impact movements without stabilizing muscles first. Postnatal yoga encourages mothers to cultivate a more mindful practice using their breath and building strength and stamina with more focused awareness while in postures and specific movement. The entire postpartum practice of yoga is about integrating strength from within to help combat postpartum depression and social anxieties that afflict new mothers. So, the practice of yoga for mothers becomes more about listening to the needs of their body while focusing on movements and postures that will help strengthen areas of weakness and offer a safer range of motion to heal from the inside - out.

pose #1 Naraviralasana (Sphinx Pose) with Prone Leg Lifts This pose is wonderful to help with slight contraction and compression on the uterus, it’s also a lovely gentle stretch for the lower back and can be practiced 6 weeks into postpartum recovery. The intention is to keep the lower belly supported on the mat, inhaling to lift the shoulders away from the ears while pressing into the mat with the forearms, and exhale allowing the lower back to soften towards the pubic bone. Adding the prone left lifts is a great way to create balance in the hip joints. Placing the forehead on the stacked forearms, lift one leg off the mat at a time and hold ensuring both hip pointers stay pressing down and into the mat.

pose #2 Utkatasana (Chair Pose) One of the many benefits of adding standing poses to a postpartum practice is to help strengthen the muscles of the legs. Strong gluteals for example help to create more stability and strength in the pelvic floor muscles. While practicing this posture, place a block between the thighs to help engage and strengthen the adductors (inner thigh) muscles. Draw the sides of the pelvis to the midline of the body to ensure the transverse abdominals are engaged and keep the knees slightly back so you can see the toes in the pose with weight centred through the tripod stance of the feet (big toe, little toe mound and centre of the heel).

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pose #3 Gomukhasana (Cow Facing Pose) ALL mothers have tightness in their shoulders and pectorals not to mention limited range of motion from feeding babies! This shoulder opening posture is a favourite for new mothers but you’ll need the use of a strap to safely practice this pose. Once you’re holding onto the strap, draw the sides of the pelvis to the midline of the body to ensure the core is engaged, move the front ribs down to connect to the hip pointers and take a slight bend into the knees to avoid an anterior pelvic tilt. The most challenging aspect of this pose is keeping the chin parallel and relaxing the shoulders!

pose #5 Anatasana (Vishnu’s Couch Pose) This is a postpartum variation of a yoga pose to help increase range and mobility in the rib cage for new moms. Pregnancy can wreak havoc on the thoracic so this pose helps to mobilize and create more range and reduce the risk of lower back injuries and ailments. Placing the block under the ribs with the knees stacked on top of one another and the elbow underneath the shoulder. Exhale to draw the shoulder back to open the chest within your range and inhale to slide the elbow to touch the opposite, repeat this a few times getting more range with each and every movement.

pose #4 Parivrtta Janu Sirsasana (Revolving Head to Knee Pose) This postures is wonderful to stretch the QL (quadratus lomborum) muscles that become quite tight during pregnancy. It’s the most amazing prenatal + postnatal stretch for lower back tightness. The QL muscles are actually abdominal muscles that connect to the lumbar spine and help to stabilize the trunk during pregnancy. If you press the sit bone into the mat and reach the fingertips beyond the crown of the head without lifting the shoulders towards the ears, you’ll create traction in the lateral side of the ribs!

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JENNIE MARSHALL

How Does One Of Edmontonâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Most Social Personalities PHOTOS BY JEFFREY PAUL KELLY PHOTOGRAPHY AT BAR 94 IN LUX STEAKHOUSE

Stay Fit While Being Social?

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Q. Ok give us the dime store run down; Who is Jennie Marshall? Well, I was born in Edmonton, as were both of my parents. So, my roots in this city grow deep. I'm known as your ‘Expert In Everything Edmonton’, A title I bestowed on myself, but in the ultimate Act Of Fruition, Edmonton Tourism actually branded me with the designation as one of their #YEG Explorer Edmonton Experts - And I have the solid gold pin to prove it! But seriously, being an ambassador for this city, exploring all there is in the City of Champions, brings me so much joy… We are truly blessed to live in such a vibrant, flourishing city.

Q. For those who follow you on Snapchat, Instagram & Twitter, it seems like your life is just one big party. Is that true or are looks deceiving? Ha, I actually hear that quite a lot. And yes, for as long as I can remember, life has been one party, function or event after another. Years ago the word ‘socialite’ was used, now it's ‘influencer’ - I’m not really into all that, all I know is that I thrive on being out on the town, meeting new people, trying new things, creating new experiences, all while supporting the local food, fashion and arts scene. In any given week I can be attending anywhere from 5 to 15 different events; from opening night of Alberta Ballet or Edmonton Opera, attending an Oiler Game, tasting new menus from the best and brightest chefs and restaurants in the city, or throwing my own swaray. And I REALLY love being able to let others know about all the amazing festivals, restaurants, shops, theatre, and everything else that’s crazy cool and happening in River City.

Q. The Holiday Season is approaching, which means lots of parties filled with food and alcohol, what are some ways to curb temptation and prevent over-indulging? First off, ‘Treat Yo-Self!’. You work hard, so you deserve to play hard… just make sure it’s a cheat day, not a cheat week (or month - December is a doozy!). But if you do have a ton of parties to attend, or a party not on a day you want to indulge, I suggest eating a healthy but small dinner before arriving; if you enter famished, you will destroy the cheese plate, and possibly the dessert table too. Limit your alcohol by subbing in blanks, a flavoured sparkling soda in a champagne flute usually does the trick - make a pact with a friend to keep each other accountable. And set a designated time to leave, if you find you get carried away and lose track of time, set an alarm on your phone to tell you it’s time to leave, or pre-order your Uber to pick you up at that predetermined time.

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Q. What are Your Top 3 “Pro Tips” for maintaining overall health? 1. Sleep. If I don’t get enough sleep, I don’t have the energy to get work done, to work out or do anything else and give it 100%. I don’t feel alert and present, and it’s easier to over eat, and drink too much. I honestly believe that sleep is the secret to success. Get as much as you can and make sleep a priority. We’ve come to live in a culture where lack of sleep is praised - it should be the opposite. If you got 10 hours of sleep last night, DM me so I can tell you what a Rock Star you are. 2. Hydration! Green tea, lemon water, coconut water, green juice. I am constantly hydrating. The more hydrated and lubricated you are, the better you’re going to feel, look and function. So, go suck down some liquids right now! 3. All The Fiber: For me, it’s all about breakfast and the rule of thumb: Fiber Is Your Friend. No seriously, fiber is not just your friend, it’s your BFF, your boo, your constant companion and compatriot. Because I eat out so often for lunch or dinner, every day I make breakfast the healthiest meal of the day, and I uber load up with fiber. Most days I eat an organic, Ancient Grains cereal loaded with fresh berries, psyllium husks, hemp seeds, and organic granola. In order to keep healthy and fit, you have got to keep your body constantly moving… on the outside, as well as on the inside (wink, wink).

Q. Let's talk fitness, how/where do you find time to get workouts in? Wherever and whenever I can. I’m not great at working out on my own, I’ll just never be the type of person who can solo walk into a gym, so I typically gravitate towards yoga, Pilates or barre classes. Especially classes that are constantly changing it up - I don’t feel motivated to do the same thing over and over. I don’t work a typical 9-5, evenings are often my busy time, so for me late mornings or early afternoons are the best time for me to work out, and unfortunately that’s not ‘peak’ period for group classes. Having a FitSet Pass is a real help. There are over 80 (mostly all locally owned) fitness facilities across the city that you can go to with your pass, so I can usually always find a class wherever I am, at the time of day I need. It is so brilliant!

I also have an amazing friend who works as a Personal Trainer, I try to see her once a week, and luckily she lives close to me and can work out during my desired hours. If you’re going to get out there, I find proximity is key - no one wants to drive across the city, especially in the winter, for a workout. And finally, I embrace the outdoors as much as possible, from skating and skiing in the winter, to sailing, hiking and golf in the summer. And all of those can be very social activities, if you let them be.

Q. So is it safe to say that you are a “Social Instigator” when it comes to fitness, as well? Yes, I’m definitely the instigator in my group of friends, for everything! The person who rallies everyone together, who makes the plans, and hounds everyone to Be There! Not everyone is a Squad Commander (as I’m often referred to), if you’re not, find one. And if you are one, shake things up with your friends. I often combine fitness with fun, to maintain a healthy Fit/Fun balance. For instance, having a backyard Margarita Party, and taking everyone on a hike through the river valley during the party. Brunches at my cabin always come with a side of fitness - either in the water, or long walks along it. And who doesn’t love après ski? There are lots of places in Edmonton to rent cross country skis, and trails all across the city, throughout the River Valley and quite a few golf courses, too! Follow that with a fondue and wine night, and you have a legit Winter Weekend in Edmonton.

Q. Final thoughts or tips. Dress for success: If I find myself getting in a rut of not working out, of feeling unmotivated, I dress the part. It’s like the saying “fake it till you make it” - if I wake up and put on my cutest, brightest set of lululemons and Nike Trainers, instead of jeans and a tee, guess what? I’m instantly motivated to not just look the part, but act on it. It truly is incredible the power of clothing; the right outfit for the job makes all the difference.

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Cannabis Legalization 2.0 BY GRANT SANDERSON

On December 17, 2019 – just over a year after Canada’s historic Legalization Day – we’ll enter a new phase of cannabis legalization in Canada. We’ve been referring to it as Legalization 2.0 around the office. Essentially, Health Canada and provincial regulators will add new categories to the legal market this December. This will include edibles, concentrates and beverages. This is going to significantly change the landscape of this fledgling industry, and many are excited to see how it unfolds. Based on insights from existing legal markets in the United States, we’re expecting dried flower sales to decrease once edibles and concentrates are available. Experts anticipate that concentrates will become the preferred mode of consumer consumption. We know that many customers are already very excited about concentrates – they can be consumed more discreetly than dried flower, purchased at a better value, and it’s a safer alternative to smoking. Concentrates are refined – essential oils and cannabinoids are separated from the plant material, creating a smoother inhale when vaporized. There is already a wide assortment of ingestible oils and capsules available, but in this new chapter of the legal recreational market, retailers will be able to offer a more diverse consumption experience. Opening up the market to include concentrates means customers can get the simple and refined experience of an oil – terpenes and cannabinoids only – and still enjoy the experience of inhalation, which can be a private ritual or a shared social experience. There is anticipation for three main categories in the vape concentrate category: All in Ones (ready to consume disposables), Cartridges and Pens (created to be compatible with competitors’ pens as well), and Closed Loop options (devices with smart technology that can link to your phone for functions like “Find My Vape,” “Dosage Control” and more). I’m especially excited about what Legalization 2.0 will mean to our CBD category. Wellness is becoming increasingly important to consumers, so I think that CBD concentrate vaporizers will be particularly popular.

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CBD-dominant strains with little to no THC are already highly sought after in the health and wellness industry, and it’ll only increase in popularity once presented in concentrates’ quick and easy format which will taste better than oils and will have the same fast onset time as smoking dried flower, but with greater safety and discretion. Edibles and Cannabis Beverages are the other new formats I’m looking forward to. With precise “per unit” dosing, these products will really allow new consumers to understand ingestible cannabis and its effects in a safe, controlled way. I expect to see all cannabinoid ranges offered in these categories, including customer favorites like High THC only, High CBD only, and balanced THC and CBD options. Taste, packaging, and value will be the major differentiators in the edible categories. Gummies and chocolates will likely be the preferred form, so licensed producers are paying special attention to their development. But it’s the cannabis beverage category that I think could surprise us most. With nano-emulsion technology leading the charge, consumers can expect very fast onsets, with the effects kicking in approximately 15 minutes after consumption and lasting roughly 90 minutes. Standard ingestible formats (oils and edibles) are much longer lasting; their effects can last up to 12 hours. Consuming these formats can mean that that you have to “clear your calendar” for the day, whereas this new type of beverage will allow the consumer to enjoy its effects over a shorter period. This could result in these products becoming options for special occasions, whether it be a happy hour pick-me-up or a holiday party. CBD beverages should also be a very strong option in this category, popular amongst those customers interested in wellness. I’m personally looking forward to this new phase of legalization not only for the industry growth it will bring, but for what it means for social responsibility, which is a priority for all retailers. Introducing these new categories to the legal recreational market will be very positive for both new and experienced consumers. These categories allow for more discreet methods of consumption and present several options that are safer than smoking. Dried cannabis flower will always have a place within the adult recreational cannabis market, but these new forms will be great entry level options for new consumers. As always, new consumers should start low (THC) and go slow until they determine the dosage that helps them best enjoy cannabis’ many benefits, whatever the occasion.

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LOWER BACK PAIN MANAGEMENT FOR OFFICE WORKERS People who sit for long hours at the office commonly suffer from lower back pain. Its symptoms vary from a sudden sharp pain to a dull but constant ache. Over 31 million Americans suffer from lower back pain according to the American Chiropractic Association, with the condition most often emerging around age 30 and worsening around age 60 to 65 due to physical changes the body undergoes. Although the discomfort can improve in a matter of weeks, it can be a recurring concern. Without proper attention, lower back pain can lead to challenges and musculoskeletal complications later on.

Sitting and Its Effect on the Lower Back Office employees are confined to their desk nearly 80 percent of the time at work. This makes them susceptible to poor posture habits like hunching and leaning forward while sitting, all of which contribute to the wear and tear of the spine. A fixed position like this also constricts the body’s blood circulation that deprives the spine of oxygen and nutrients. Sitting for eight hours in front of your office desk promotes a sedentary lifestyle. Experts said that this raises health issues worse than smoking. Prolonged sitting also promotes obesity, which can lead to diseases like diabetes and heart disease. Movement, therefore, is important if you work in this type environment. Take steps to lower the risks of sitting for a prolonged period and experiencing lower back pain at work: • Support the inward curve or your lower back with a pillow or rolled up towel. • When sitting, angle your hips and knees well by using a footstool. • Resist sitting with your legs crossed and keep both feet flat on the floor. • At home, take a side sleeping position and bend your knees. Your legs should have pillows in between for cushion and support. • Get a DIY massage treatment using a TENS machine to relieve muscle pain at the end of the day. • Ask your doctor about over-the-counter pain medicine if discomfort is affecting your ability to do your tasks.

Preventing Lower Back Pain at the Office 1. Pick a good chair Ergonomic chairs have been all the rage since the ’80s but having one at work is not enough. A good chair should also provide support specific to your needs.

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For instance, you’ll need to adjust your ergonomically designed chair to your proper height, eye-level, and arms and elbows rest level vis-a-vis your position at the desk. Also, check the chair’s back cushion comfort and make sure you don’t have to slouch or slump just to feel it. It should mold the curve of your spine well.

2. Move and do it often Shift your position from time to time. Get up from your seat to stretch or walk, perhaps head to the copy room, fetch a glass of water in the office’s snack room, or take a bathroom break. If you have a longer time, you might benefit from a good walk outside of your office for at least 20 minutes. A static posture makes your body feel more tired and stressed. In fact, more office workers file for sick leaves and absences because of issues with their lower back, hence you’ll need to get moving to warm up your muscles, ligaments, and joints that will prevent the pain and injury.

3. Raise your health issues with your employer These days, many companies invest in alternative work environments where employees are provided treadmills or static bikes for their desks aside from chairs. The concept of a standing desk has existed since the 1700s but it’s more popular than ever today because the office environment is changing. People at work are glued to the Internet more via laptops, tablets, and smartphones which encourages them to move their muscles less and less. You can also consider establishing a fitness program with your co-workers after work. Your company might be willing to pay a trainer for twicea-week full-hour exercise or yoga sessions. And consider speaking with your immediate superior to make adjustments to your tasks, especially if you have persistent lower back pain.

4. Get a doctor’s help Back pain might be a symptom of an underlying condition. It’s best to consult with a medical professional for diagnosis, advice, and recommendation. The earlier you get a diagnosis, the better your chances of managing back pain. If you want to take a more proactive approach, you can also start and end your day with home exercises. Stretching makes your muscles, joints, and ligaments more flexible and reduces sciatic pain that originates from the hips and travels to the lower back. Workouts that target the muscles of the back, abdomen, and hip also keep the lower back muscles and joints stronger.

Simply Put - Get The Results You Want In Far Less Time! YO UR RES ULTS Whether you are simply looking for a low impact way of adding resistance training to your fitness routine, or you are an elite athlete seeking that all important competitive edge, Charge Fitness will dial you into an EMS workout that is just right for you. EMS technology replicates the physical and physiological experience of lifting weights with no increased stress on your joints. SAF ET Y EMS training provides resistance for your muscles without the use of weights making it less stressful on joints. T IME SAVI NG We all lead busy lives. With all of the demands contemporary life places on us, having enough time to appropriately meet our fitness needs feels like an impossible luxury. Through the application of EMS technology Charge Fitness can help you work towards your goals while taking up little of your precious time.e Benefits IMPROVE CI RCU L ATI O N EMS training promotes the circulation of blood throughout the muscles which aids in cell growth and organ function, providing vitality and energy. R EDUCE CELLU LI TE Anti-cellulite treatment needs activity and stimulation. Instead of only treating the surface, EMS activates the muscular and connective tissue in its entirety, which leads to better circulation and the reduction of fat cells. The result is firmer, tighter looking skin. SAV E TIM E Meet your goals in as little as 2 X 20-minute workouts a week or save time and amplify your results by adding EMS training to your existing routine.

Charge Fitness – Aurora Yoga Spa justin@chargefitness.ca hello@aurorayogaspa.com

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AC H IE V E O P T IMA L B O DY FAT Since it is an effective strengthening workout, EMS training changes your metabolism and the way you burn calories. It is a very effective tool for weight loss and fat elimination beginning with your very first session. The more muscle you have, the more calories you burn, even at rest. E ASY O N T H E JO IN TS EMS training provides an incredible workout with very minimal impact on the joints. This makes it possible for people who can’t normally take part in strenuous conventional resistance training to gain muscle mass.

How Does EMS Work? T H E C O N T R ACT IO N Typically nerve impulses originate in the brain and travel along your nerves up to the motor end plates—the junction between nerves and muscles. From there, the impulses release neurochemicals that cause muscle fibres to shorten and your muscles to contract as a result. EMS electrodes transmit electrical impulses through the skin which stimulate motor nerves to signal the muscles to contract as well. MO RE MU S C L E REC RU IT ME N T During your workout opposing muscles are stimulated at the same time, which means that you activate 90% of the whole muscle loop between two electrodes, including the deep muscle layers. E F F ECT IV E N E SS Compared to conventional strength training EMS activates nearly all of your motor units at the same time. This means you can effectively train up to 10 major muscle groups simultaneously, compared to a typical gym session where muscle groups are trained one after another.

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20 Ways To Use The Power Of Colour To Improve Your Life BY FREDERICK MONTELL

Ever wonder why you choose to wear purple one day and black the next? Or why you feel happy in one friend’s living room, but sleepy in another’s? Or why you’d never ever buy a dull green car? There’s no doubt that we’re influenced by colors. A 2007 study, for example, found that even the brief perception of red prior to taking an important test could impair performance on that test. Eating off red plates, however, encouraged participants to eat less, in a 2014 study. Turns out the more we learn about color and how it affects our thinking, mood, and emotions, the more we can use it to improve our lives.

Color Therapy: The Basics

Here are 20 ways you can use color to shape your habits, the impression you give off, and how your spaces feel. 1. WHEN EXERCISING If you want to improve your performance, choose a red outfit, and take your route downtown where you’re more likely to see red road signs, red cars, and red stoplights. 2. WHEN YOU NEED TO REMEMBER SOMETHING Try to get yellow into the mix. Some research has suggested it may improve memorization. 3. WHEN YOU NEED TO GET WORK DONE Avoid white walls. Studies show that employees working in white-walled offices experience more side effects like headaches and nausea than those in red or blue workspaces.

Though there are variances, most of us respond in similar ways to certain colors. Of course, we have to remember the colors within the colors—a bright red, for example, might have an entirely different effect on the emotions than a warm, more subdued red.

4. WHEN YOU WANT SOME SPACE TO RELAX Get some green into the mix. Because of its connection to nature and the environment, it’s typically associated with relaxation and comfort.

Our past experiences can also create color associations that may be outside the norm. If you grew up loving the time you spent with your family in your blue-and-yellow kitchen, then you may feel similarly happy if you recreate that color scheme in your adult life.

5. WHEN YOU WANT TO REFRAIN FROM EATING TOO MUCH If you’re watching your weight, avoid yellow in your dining room. A 2007 study found that people in a yellow room ate twice as much as those in a red or blue room.

Research to date, however, has found that in general, we associate the following colors with the following emotions:

6. WHEN YOU WANT TO FEEL CONFIDENT Try a mix of red and black. Both are associated with confidence. If you’re going up in front of a room full of people, black can help you appear more authoritative and possibly sophisticated.

Red: aggressiveness, energy, movement, confidence, stimulation, intensity Yellow: happiness, vitality, improved mood, optimism, laughter White: sterility, cleanliness, purity, innocence, light Pink: calm, reduced appetite, sweetness, love and romance Green: renewal, openness, peace, prosperity, tranquility Black: strength, toughness, power, anger, authority, intelligence Blue: openness, space, contemplation, focus, serenity Orange: energy, ambition, activity, socialization, freeing Brown: reliability, stability, wholesome, organic, natural Purple: intuition, creativity, luxury, spiritual, wisdom, mystery

7. WHEN YOU NEED TO BE CREATIVE Go blue. A 2009 study found that people exposed to blue were better able to explore their creative sides. Use blue in your art, crafting, or writing room, or slap on a blue piece of jewelry for a creative boost on the go. 8. IF YOU WANT TO FEEL ENERGETIC AND HAPPY Combine orange and yellow in your wardrobe. Not only will you feel more sunny, but you’ll project that image onto others, potentially helping to lift their mood. 9. WHEN YOU NEED TO BE CALM Going into a stressful situation? Try a combination of pastel green and blue colors. These work well in rooms in the home where you want to relax after a stressful day at work, or somewhere within eyesight when you have to confront a stressful situation. Green is particularly helpful for promoting calm in health-oriented spaces, like hospitals, clinics, and counseling offices.

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10. WHEN YOU WANT TO BE ROMANTIC Add a little pink to your table decorations, your wardrobe, your jewelry, or your bedroom. Pink is the color of romance, and also tends to be calming and soothing. 11. WHEN YOU NEED TO FOCUS If you work at home or have your own office, you may want to be sure you have blue in the décor. It not only calms and stimulates creativity, but it can encourage focus, helping to limit distractions so you can get your work done. 12. TO HELP KEEP YOUR SPIRITS UP If life has been difficult lately, it may be time to bring in more yellow to your living and working spaces. Yellow is associated with optimism and good times. Choose bright and cheerful yellow pictures, molding, drapes, or other decorations to help you feel better. 13. WHEN YOU'RE HOSTING A PARTY Make sure you have some orange around! This is a lively, flamboyant color that helps stimulate energy between people, and promotes interaction. 14. WHEN YOU'RE TIRED AND JUST DON'T FEEL LIKE DOING ANYTHING Get some red on! This color creates energy and helps infuse your spirit with vitality. Rely on it to get you through a tough day. 15. IF YOU'RE HAVING TROUBLE EXPRESSING YOURSELF Go somewhere you can be exposed to orange. This color helps lift repressions and encourages freeing expression. If you’re in a relationship and it’s time to open up, use orange to give you a helping hand.

17. IF YOU'RE FEELING A BIT OFF-CENTER Get out in nature where you can be surrounded by green things. Green connects us to the spiritual center, and brings our attention to the heart, alleviating stress and letting all those small worries just fade away with the breeze. 18. WHEN YOU NEED TO CONNECT WITH YOUR INTUITION It’s time to incorporate purple into your life. Purple helps us get in touch with our intuition, and is also the color associated with dream activity and psychic powers. If your logical mind is running the show and it’s not going so well, get closer to your gut feelings by exposing yourself to more purple. 19. WHEN YOU'RE REDECORATING YOUR HOME Consider the effect of each color and what you want to feel in each room. Kitchens and bathrooms often incorporate yellow to convey happiness and joy. Dining rooms that use blue and green will feel more calm and may inhibit the impulse to eat too much. A little pink in the bedroom may stimulate romance, but you may want to combine it with blue or green to encourage a restful sleep. Your workout or exercise room would benefit from performance-enhancing red, and maybe a bit of energizing orange. A little purple in your guest room can make it feel luxurious, and is also great for creative rooms. 20. IF YOU WANT TO LOOK SMART Going for an interview, or trying to impress someone with your brainpower? Go for blue. It’s a soothing color, but also aids concentration and is perceived as conveying intelligence.

16. IF YOU'RE TAKING A CLASS Wear some yellow, as it will help stimulate your interest and curiosity. Yellow connects you to your learning self, and will help motivate you to open up your mind.

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Bayshore is an organization full of heart At Bayshore, we believe in creating special moments for our clients each and every day, whether at the bedside, on the phone or in the clinic. These moments touch the lives of our clients and our employees, and they guide the way we run our business. These moments inspire, change and encourage us. They are what we call the Bayshore difference.

Parkinson’s Care by Bayshore

Bayshore HealthCare is one of the country’s leading providers of home and community health care services and is a Canadian-owned company. Bayshore HealthCare has been a recipient of Canada’s Best Managed Companies award since 2006.

In addition to receiving care from a team of health care professionals, you may want to explore resources in your community. For example, the Parkinson Association of Alberta runs a wellness program at the Buchanan Centre, including physiotherapy, speech therapy and other services right here in Edmonton.

Our Caregivers believe in being the difference in our clients’ lives. They are passionate and caring and strive to go the extra mile and tailor our services to always make our clients feel special, comfortable and safe. “Many of us enjoy the high quality health care provided in our country,” says Izabella Roth, Area Director of the Edmonton Bayshore Branch. “But for those who have endured a traumatic or extended medical event, you know that customer service isn’t the strong suit.” Personal attention is at a premium. And as a result, when someone has a rough medical event, loved ones think that they need to either quit their job or take some time off to take care of their loved ones. “We had a young man who suffered from testicular cancer. It was a very difficult situation and the prognosis wasn’t good,” she says. The young man essentially had to decide how he wanted to spend the rest of his life. In ordinary circumstances, his family wouldn’t have much been involved. They would have been watching from the sidelines. “With this man, we were able to get him home to his family. We were able to bring him Thanksgiving dinner. We were able to make the final days of his life that much better because he got to live them on different terms. The term “hopeless” wasn’t there. It was hopeful.” We are the sum of our people, all working passionately towards a single vision. Whether that’s working directly with you and your family or offering administrative support, everything we do is delivered with care. We are grateful for the trust you put in us and are passionate about the difference we make in your lives.

Have you or someone in your family been affected by Parkinson’s disease? More than 100,000 Canadians live with this progressive neurological condition, and more than 25 people are diagnosed each day. Researchers do not yet know the causes of Parkinson’s, nor is there a cure.

Recently, the association partnered with the Edmonton Branch of Bayshore Home Health to support its respite programs and match clients with Parkinson’s disease to compatible in-home caregivers as needed. “The Buchanan Centre has wonderful programs, offered to people with Parkinson’s disease at a nominal cost,” says Izabella Roth, Area Director of the Edmonton Bayshore Branch. “Bayshore has its own room here, where our nurses can teach people how to use various aids and move safely – such as how to use a cane, or how to get in and out of the bathtub safely.” Bayshore’s commitment to supporting people with Parkinson’s disease extends beyond the centre as well. The Edmonton Branch is holding a series of fundraisers for the association, including events in Edmonton, Red Deer, Grande Prairie and Lloydminster.

“Our Mission at Parkinson Association of Alberta is to give everyone HELP & HOPE. Our members today are being affected as early as 30 years old. With your help and our unique partnership with Bayshore Home Health, we continue to make lives healthier and happier.” – JOHN PETRYSHEN

(CEO Parkinson Association of Alberta)

BAYSHORE.CA

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RECOVERY: Why do you need to care about it Recovery has been 2019’s buzz word, but what does it actually mean for your performance and how do you incorporate it? The fitness and sports performance world is constantly evolving – new studies, new fitness trends, new or different movements all with the aim to make us better, stronger, faster be it for recreational health and fitness or competitive sports pursuits. It can also become overwhelming and feel like you need to always be go, go, going to stay ahead of the curve. The reality is that’s not how our bodies work. Recovery is crucial in the performance game and regardless of the activity, we all need to factor it in as part of the training schedule. Training is a stimulus. You get fitter, your body adapts to the stimulus, while recovering, in between training sessions. You must allow time for that adaptation to occur. You need to support it. And yes, it can be really hard to incorporate.

Recovery is an elemental piece of the total performance puzzle. It is crucial for optimizing all the time spent working on skill, training, and physical preparedness. So here is the ‘why’

Why should we recover? We spend a lot of our time in a sympathetic state – which means our ‘fight and flight’ part of nervous system; it’s on much of our waking hours. If we are always adding stress to the system, even good stress in the form of working out, it is very important that we find ways to balance that out and get into a parasympathetic state (the rest and digest part of the system). The sympathetic system has a time and place and evolved from the necessity of outrunning predators. Today we aren’t outrunning tigers, but we have added more artificial stress in the form of work deadlines, social comparison and crazy schedules, etc. This can keep the body in fight and flight mode for prolonged times resulting in many adverse health issues and preventing you from the positive benefits of your training. Working with your body to create less internal body stress will advance your results more than adding training. Recovery options are vast. But be careful because some aren’t actually recovery! For example, the benefits of cold plunges or ice baths have been increasingly popular. Although there are many benefits of cold therapy (which we won’t get into in this article) what you need to know is cold is actually a stressor to the body, it is not solely a way to recover. Knowing the purpose of what you are doing is key when planning recovery. 46

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BY LAURIE PLOUFFE, BScPT, MCPA, GunnIMS, SFMA, TPImed, TPIfit Physical Therapist Owner of Propel Performance Institute and Propel Sports Physio

Some of the fancy technology and toys can be more gimmicky than beneficial, so knowing the purpose is key. Sleep

– The single most important recovery tool is quality sleep. It is simply crucial to the results you are looking for with your training. Researchers have found that chronic lack of sleep can be a contributor to depression and overall mental health. Sleep is where the magic happens (muscle rebuild and motor programming as well as metabolism changes). In the fully digital world we live in today, the top tip (and we know this already, but it is worth repeating here as we know we are still on our devices) is to eliminate screen time 1-2 hours before bedtime. The light in screens stimulates wakefulness of your brain. If you must be in front of a screen try blue light blocking glasses or using the built in mechanism in your device to cut the blue light emissions and give your brain a break.

Compression

– The past couple years have demonstrated an increasing demand for the inflatable legs (or arms) post hard training or racing sessions. The rhythmic compression and relaxation of the device as it surrounds your limbs increases blood and lymph flow which can aide in quicker uptake of lactic acid and circulation of anti-inflammatory metabolites which can assist in less time to feeling better to train again.

Massage

– With benefits similar to rhythmic compression, there is much more to massage than just feeling good. Many techniques have been developed to assist with flushing the metabolites of workouts, assisting with good fascial movement and muscle health as well as circulation.

Myofascial release/IASTM/cupping/skin rolling – The fascia is a more recently paid attention to frontier when it comes to the musculoskeletal system and its workings. Think of it like the webbing between muscles and muscle groups (kind of like that webbing when you peel apart the pieces of raw chicken). By releasing it through techniques such as foam rolling, skin massage, cupping or with other tools such as IASTM (metal tools that resemble butter knives that are used by therapists) you create more space and movement between the layers allowing for more movement within the muscles and muscle groups which in turn, help you to move more freely.

Myofascial release in recent literature reviews has shown to have positive outcomes on muscle soreness post exercise and range of motion. More variance is in the time and duration of treatments, but it can be safe to assume spending time as tolerated on these techniques will have a positive outcome for your recovery.

Stretching – Stretching techniques vary just about as much as training techniques

do, and so do opinions on the benefits. Although there is no hard evidence that stretching pre or post activity will improve flexibility (personally this physio doesn’t hang her hat on it), the movements can improve flushing of post exercise chemicals in the bloodstream to help recovery. The most important thing to consider is that technique is important. • Ensure the muscle you are trying to stretch is what you are actually stretching; • Safely move into positions so that you protect your joints; and • Be mindful of tightness in the body… sometimes it is a sign something else isn’t optimally working. So for example, if you have been stretching that hamstring for years it is in your best interest to have a full functional movement evaluation to determine how efficiently your body is actually working. Stress management – No matter how much you work out and eat well, if your body is under constant stress and sympathetic fight and flight mode it will not be taking advantage of the benefits of what you are doing and giving you the results you are looking for. Take time to work on mindfulness, breathing, and awareness of your mental and emotional wellbeing. When you can shift into parasympathetic states (rest and digest) your body metabolizes differently, and you progress getting stronger, fitter, and more resilient. Most important, be mindful of your purpose. The more aware you are of your physical, mental, and emotional state, the more aware you will be of what your body needs. Training too much or too hard can be detrimental to your outcomes. You put time and effort into achieving your goals and the proper recovery will help you get there.

The Health Benefits of Ginger BY JULIE STEWART You've probably sipped ginger ale to remedy a stomach ache, or topped sushi with some pickled slices, but it's time to find even more ways to use ginger root this superfood. It has both a powerful flavor and powerful nutrition. What Is Ginger? Ginger comes from the underground root, or rhizome, of the Zingiber officinale plant. It can be dried into a powder or consumed fresh, both with similar health benefits. The spicy flavor of ginger comes through a bit more when you use the fresh root, so a quarter teaspoon of ground ginger is roughly equivalent to a teaspoon of grated fresh ginger. The Health Benefits of Ginger A teaspoon of fresh ginger contains only two calories, but it's no lightweight. In addition to its long history as a remedy for upset stomachs, this spice has some hard science behind it. "Ginger root contains a number of compounds such as gingerols that are able to prevent or reduce immune cell synthesis of cytokines that cause inflammation," says David W. Hoskin, Ph.D., a professor at Dalhousie University in Canada. Ginger could help people with diseases caused by chronic inflammation, says Hoskin, and those anti-inflammatory properties might also protect against cancer. Ginger may also help prevent complications related to irregular blood sugar levels. In a study published the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, people with type 2 diabetes who consumed

ginger daily for 12 weeks reduced their blood sugar, insulin, and cholesterol levels, while those on a placebo did not. One exciting study found that the spicy root could also reduce the burn or ache of DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness). Published in the International Journal of Athletic Therapy & Training, researchers found that runners who supplemented with ginger three days before, the day of, and on the day after a long run felt less sore than those who took a placebo. How to Use Ginger Root When it comes to the uses of ginger root, this spicy ingredient does more than just give a kick to your fruit and veggie juices. You can add grated ginger to marinades and sauces. “Plop a one-inch chunk of fresh ginger into smoothies,” suggests Susan McQuillan, M.S., R.D.N., C.D.N., a dietitian based in New York City. Try making what McQuillan calls "ginger juice": Grate ginger root over a half piece of a paper towel, and then gather the edges. Squeeze the bundle of ginger over a small bowl to collect the juice. Then add that to a curry dish, butternut squash soup, or tea.

Ginger, Mint and Lime Iced Tea INGREDIENTS 6 oz. fresh ginger, peeled and thinly sliced 8 cups water 3 limes, zested and juiced 3-4 sprigs of mint 3 tablespoons honey DIRECTIONS 1. Boil water, ginger, and lime zest for 6-8 minutes. Add mint leaves. 2. Remove from heat, stir in honey, and let steep for 1 hour. 3. Stir in lime juice, and serve over ice or chill to serve.

McQuillan says you can also use ginger root as a topping. Julienne ginger root and saute it over medium-high heat with a bit of oil in a nonstick pan until crisp and slightly browned. “Sprinkle the crisp shreds over anything you like-its great on stir fries,” she adds. Ginger can also pump up the flavor on your next salad. “Add minced ginger root to homemade salad dressings, including olive oil and apple cider vinegar,” suggests Ruth Lahmayer Chipps, M.S., R.D.N., a registered dietitian nutritionist at Black River Memorial Hospital in Wisconsin. For more inspiration try making this ginger iced tea.

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The ABCs (And D) OF SUITING UP FOR WINTER RUNNING BY CARL TEEGAN

The bonus of winter running is a double up on the calorie burn as we burn calories to run and we also burn them to stay warm. There is also a joy in being the first to make those first fresh footsteps in the snow. So don't pass up the excitement of a crisp sunny run through the early morning or the delight of an evening run through the darkness as snowflakes float through the stillness of the evening. These cold winter days build character that you can use in the late stages of a long run. Here are some tips to get you ready for this year's winter running season. Most of the tips involve some good common sense in the severe conditions. • Adjust the intensity of your workout. When the temperature drops, it’s easier to strain muscles as you try to perform the same as you did in warmer weather. • Keep your head covered and your hands and feet warm as a significant amount of our heat loss comes from our extremities. Cold extremities and more likely to make you cut short on a long run. • Warm up properly, start your runs at a comfortable pace and slowly build up the pace to a pace slower than your normal training pace. • Shorten your stride to improve your footing on icy roads. Wear Ice Grips over the soles of your shoes allow for greater traction and less risk of injury. • On your first few runs on snow or ice, you may experience slight muscle soreness in your legs the next day. That is because your supporting muscles are working harder to control your balance on the slippery surface. • With the earlier sunsets and later sunrises, it’s likely that light will be limited in your pre or post work run. Wear reflective gear and run facing the traffic in order to be more visible. • Be aware of hypothermia for both yourself and those running with you. Hypothermia is a drop in your core body temperature. Signs of hypothermia include incoherent, slurred speech, clumsy fingers and poor coordination. At the first sign, get to a warm, dry place and seek medical attention. You are more likely to experience difficulty on a wet and windy day. • Make sure your changes in direction are gradual to avoid slipping or pulling muscles that are not properly warmed up. • Freezing your lungs just isn’t possible. The air is sufficiently warmed by the body prior to entering the lungs. If you find the cold air uncomfortable, wear a face mask to help warm the air. • Wear a single pair of thermal socks to stay warm. • Take your wet clothes off and get dry ones on as soon as possible after your run. There are some great moisture wicking fabrics out there that help keep you dry during your run but it’s still advisable to change your running gear asap post run. • Wear your water bottle under your jacket to keep it from freezing.

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Weather and Running You know that not every day will be a nice fall morning or a brisk spring evening, so we need to prepare. What do you wear? How do you alter your training schedule? How do you protect yourself from the elements?

Cold-Weather Running Tips • If it’s -30°C or colder, don’t be a hero. Find an alternative to running outside. This could be a great day for cross-training. • Wear layers: a base layer, an insulating layer and a windproof shell. As mentioned earlier, some clothing is quite efficient at wicking away moisture and also retaining heat, so if you have this then two layers will suffice. • Don’t expose too much skin. Keep your extremities covered. • Tell someone where you are going (provide them with a route map if possible) and give that person an idea of your approximate time of arrival. • If you start to detect frostbite, seek shelter immediately and warm up.

How to Know if You Have Frostbite and What to Do if You Get It Frostbite is nasty business. Once you have been frostbitten, you can have circulation problems in the affected areas for the rest of your life. You get frostbite when you have skin exposed to severe cold temperatures for a period of time (the amount of time depends on body type, size and other factors) and your body stops sending blood to that area to save the rest of the body. Once this happens, freezing is not far off. You know when you have frostbite because the affected area feels numb to the touch. The area becomes white and can often have blotchy patches. If you pressed the area, the flesh will not come back into shape immediately. When you come into the warmth and start to thaw, there will be a tingling sensation and some pain. It can vary from mild to excruciating. Severe frostbite can result in the affected parts having to be amputated. The best method for bringing back warmth to the affected area is to use warm (not hot) water. Soak or rinse the area until feeling comes back. It is necessary that you seek medical attention if you have suffered from frostbite.

PL A N T-BASE D F OR TOTA L H E A LT H BY RAVI ARBINDER

Once upon a time, eating on the go was synonymous with soggy drive-thru burgers and chemical-filled “nutrition” shakes. However, the food landscape is not what it once was—and healthy eaters on the run no longer have to settle for junk. In fact, eating healthy—anywhere and anytime—has never been easier, thanks in part to a new generation of plant-based protein bars. Made with natural ingredients such as seeds, fruit, nut butters, and various vegan-friendly protein powders, these revamped bites are wholesome, easy on your tummy, and better for your weight loss goals than their chemical-filled ancestors. Plus, these plant-based bars are potentially better than whey-spiked bars because animal-based protein can sometimes cause bloating.

Sound like something you’d like to try? Grab one of these protein-packed picks. They all have sufficient counts of muscle-building protein and no more than 16 grams of sugar—which is truly a hard find when so many plant-based bars rely on fruit, honey, and nectar to make up their bulk and binding. Grab one of these plant-based protein bars for healthier eating on the go.

KIND Protein From Real Food, Double Dark Chocolate Nut PER BAR (50 G): 250 calories, 17 g fat (4 g saturated fat), 125 mg sodium, 17 g carbs (5 g fiber, 8 g sugar), 12 g protein Coming in at 12 grams of blood-sugar stabilizing protein and a mere eight grams of sugar is this crunchy, just-sweet-enough post-workout snack from KIND. They’re made with a mix of peanuts, almonds, soy protein isolate, and chicory root fiber for a well-rounded bite filled with real ingredients and hearthealthy fats. We tried all four flavors—Double Dark Chocolate Nut, Crunchy Peanut Butter, Toasted Caramel Nut, and White Chocolate Cinnamon Almond—and found them all to be equally delicious.

Simply Protein Bar, Peanut Butter Chocolate PER BAR (40 G): 160 calories, 5 g fat (1.5 g saturated fat), 230 mg sodium, 15 g carbs (7 g fiber, 3 g sugar), 14 g protein Simply Protein’s motto is, “The most protein for the least calories” and boy, do they deliver! Each of these sweet bars is packed with 14 grams of protein for just 160 calories. Plus, each one only has one gram of sugar and no artificial sweeteners—it doesn’t get much better than that.

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Square Organics, Chocolate Coated Cherry Coconut PER BAR (48): 210 calories, 9 g fat (6 g saturated fat), 30 mg sodium, 23 g carbs (2 g fiber, 14 g sugar), 12 g protein This gluten-free, vegan protein bar is packed with flat-belly superfoods like oats and coconut oil, a prime source of cancer-fighting conjugated linoleic acid. And with 12 grams of protein and 9 grams of healthy, satiating fat, this tropical-inspired bar sure to tide you over until you can sit down to a full meal.

Rise, Lemon Cashew PER BAR (60G): 260 calories, 13 g fat (2.5 g saturated fat), 25 mg sodium, 23 g carbs (1 g fiber, 12 g sugar), 15 g protein Made with just four whole food ingredients including organic cashews, organic coconut nectar, pea protein, and organic lemon extract, this sweet and tangy bar is a clear nutritional winner. The calories are on the higher side, mainly because of the cashews, but it’s also a larger, dense bar that takes longer to consume. Nosh on this one along with an apple or a pear for a fast and filling on-the-go breakfast.

22 Days Nutrition, Fudge Brownie PER BAR (44 G): 160 calories, 4 g fat (2 g saturated fat), 10 mg sodium, 19 g carbs (9 g fiber, 4 g sugar), 15 g protein Organic brown rice is the main source of protein in this delectable, not-so-guilty-pleasure bar. A touch of virgin coconut oil plays a supporting role and helps to make this bar as filling as it is delicious.

Aloha Organic Protein Bar, Chocolate Fudge Brownie PER BAR (56 G): 220 calories, 11 g fat (3.5 g saturated fat), 10 mg sodium, 26 g carbs (12 g fiber, 5 g sugar), 14 g protein Say “Aloha” to one of our favorite bars taking the health world by storm, succeeding by creating convenient snacks without convenience store quality ingredients. One scan of the ingredient panel is all it takes to see that they’re legit. Whole food ingredients like cashews, pumpkin seeds, pumpkin seed protein, and brown rice protein make up the bulk of this bar.

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Vega 20g Protein Bar, Chocolate Peanut Butter PER BAR (70G): 290 calories, 10 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 290 mg sodium, 27 g carb (4 g fiber, 18 g sugar), 20 g protein Created by a former Ironman triathlete, this balanced protein bar is the perfect meal replacement, and will definitely satisfy your sweet cravings. Chocolate combines with peanuts, sea salt, and all the other good stuff—your taste buds will go wild, and your body will thank you for choosing this plant-based bar.

Orgain Simple Protein Bar, Chocolate Almond Sea Salt PER BAR (58G): 220 calories, 10 g fat (1 g saturated fat), 65 mg sodium, 25 g carbs (8 g fiber, 14 g sugar), 12 g protein This plant-based protein bar is primarily made of sweet dates, organic peanut flour, and almond butter. You know you’re sinking your teeth into a smooth treat when those are the top ingredients! Organic chia protein and almonds also contribute to the 12 grams of protein in this bar.

Clif Builder’s Protein Bar, Cinnamon Nut Swirl PER BAR (68G): 270 calories, 9 g fat (5 g saturated fat), 220 mg sodium, 30 g carbs (1 g fiber, 22 g sugar), 20 g protein Clif Builder’s protein bar, Cinnamon Nut Swirl flavor, is loaded in protein at 20 grams! The only pitfall to this bar is that it’s high in sugar and low in fiber. The reason why it’s so high in the sweet stuff is because it’s sweetened with not one, or even two, but three syrups: beet syrup, organic brown rice syrup, and organic dried cane syrup. Nonetheless, it is still a quality plant-based protein bar and deserves to be featured on this list—and eaten in moderation.

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BEST HEALTHY

CHRISTMAS APPETIZERS & PARTY FOOD IDEAS

From appetizers, to mains, to desserts and midnight snacks, the holiday meal may be the biggest (and longest) of the entire year. We like to keep the holidays going on for as long as possible, from Christmas morning ‘til the clock strikes midnight. And the best way to do that without tapping out at turkey is Christmas appetizers on appetizers on appetizers. Being surrounded by food 24/7 throughout the holiday season, there’s no question that you’ll be tempted to reach for anything and everything that you lay your eyes on. But we’re here to help: healthy Christmas appetizers and party food ideas for the holidays that aren’t a complete bust! We’ve come up with a list (and checked it twice) of healthy, mouth-watering healthy appetizers and party foods that are sure to make your taste buds sing without that post-holiday guilt factor. We’re not trying to be the Grinch by taking away all the fun in holiday food, but we have to draw the line somewhere, right?

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HEALTHY BLUE CHEESE MOUSSE PROSCIUTTO CUP WITH GIN POACHED PEAR This healthy blue cheese mousse prosciutto cup recipe is the perfect balance of decadence and nutrition. They will easily become a crowd favourite at any holiday spread. INGREDIENTS Prosciutto Cups 24 slices prosciutto thinly sliced Salad Juice of 1/4 lemon 1 tbsp olive oil 1/2 tbsp gin 1/2 tsp honey Salt and pepper to taste 2 cups arugula chiffonade Blue Cheese Mousse 1/2 cup soft blue cheese 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp reduced fat cream cheese 1/3 cup plain 0% Greek yogurt 2 tbsp 1 or 2 % milk Pears and Garnish 1/2 cup plus 2 tbsp white sugar 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp water 1/4 cup plus 2 tbsp Ungava gin 5 pears peeled, cored and balled with a melon baller Cinnamon Spiced nuts crushed White truffle or good quality truffle oil

INSTRUCTIONS Prosciutto Cups 1. Preheat oven to 375 F. 2. Cut the prosciutto slices in half. Place one slice half (overlapping any tears) in each mini muffin tin hole (you will get 48). Bake until the fat turns golden brown, about 7-8 minutes. Transfer to a paper towel to drain and cool completely. This can be done a day in advance and kept in the muffin tins covered in plastic wrap in the fridge. Salad 1. Mix together the lemon juice, oil, gin, honey and a pinch each of salt and pepper, to taste. 2. Toss with the arugula and set aside. Blue Cheese Mousse 1. Puree the cheeses, yogurt and milk in a food processor until smooth and transfer to a piping bag. Pears and Garnish 1. Put the sugar, water and gin in a small saucepan over medium high heat. Reduce the heat to medium low and simmer until the sugar has dissolved, about 5 minutes. 2. Add in the pear balls and cook on medium low heat for about 6-7 minutes, until tender but still holding their shape. 3. Remove from heat and allow to cool in the gin syrup. ASSEMBLY Put a tiny bed of arugula salad into each prosciutto cup. Pipe in a little rosette of blue cheese mousse. Top with a pear ball, a sprinkle of the spiced nuts and a shaving of truffle (using a rasp).

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TURKEY CRANBERRY MEATBALLS These sweet and tangy meatballs are perfect for a main dish when served over rice, or served on toothpicks for a fun appetizer! INGREDIENTS 1 egg white 1 (20 ounce) package ground turkey 3 green onions (chopped small) 1/2 cup Craisins 1 Tablespoon soy sauce salt and pepper, to taste 1 cup barbecue sauce 4 cups cooked white rice INSTRUCTIONS 1. In a medium bowl place the egg white and beat lightly. 2. Add uncooked ground turkey, green onions, Craisins, soy sauce, salt and pepper. 3. Mix well with a large spoon or your hands until well blended. 4. Shape into 28 balls. 5. Spray large nonstick skillet with nonstick cooking spray. Add your meatballs to the skillet; cook over medium high heat for 10 to 12 minutes or until meatballs are no longer pink in center, carefully turning occasionally to brown evenly. 6. Pour your BBQ sauce over your meatballs and stir them around until they are all completely covered. Place the lid on and let them simmer on low heat for about 3 minutes. 7. Serve over rice. NOTES You can also serve with toothpicks as an appetizer or potluck recipe.

SWEET POTATO ROUNDS WITH HERBED RICOTTA AND WALNUTS Sweet potato rounds roasted with herbed ricotta, walnuts, cranberries, and honey make for baller appetizers (slash dinner). INGREDIENTS 1 large sweet potato sliced into ¼-inch rounds 1 Tbsp avocado oil 1 pinch Ground cinnamon HERBED RICOTTA: 1 cup whole milk ricotta cheese 1-½ tsp Italian seasoning 1 Tbsp + 1 tsp honey ¼ tsp sea salt or to taste

FOR SERVING: 1 cup raw walnuts roasted and chopped ¾ cup dried cranberries honey

INSTRUCTIONS 1. Add all of the ingredients for the herbed ricotta to a small bowl and stir well to combine. Refrigerate until ready to use. 2. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F. Add the sweet potato slices to a large mixing bowl and drizzle with grapeseed or olive oil. Sprinkle sea salt and ground cinnamon over rounds. Use your hands to rub the oil and seasoning on both sides of the sweet potato rounds. Arrange rounds on a large baking sheet (or two if necessary). Bake for 20 minutes. Flip the rounds, then bake for another 17 to 20 minutes, or until rounds are cooked through and crispy on the edges 3. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet. 10 minutes before the potato rounds are finished cooking, place the walnuts in the oven to roast. 4. Remove sweet potato rounds and walnuts from the oven. Place walnuts on a cutting board and chop. 5. Place oven on high broil setting and move the oven rack second to the top shelf. Place a dollop of herbed ricotta on each sweet potato round and place in the oven for 2 minutes, just until ricotta is melty and warm. 6. Add chopped walnuts and dried cranberries to the rounds. Drizzle with honey and serve!

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How a Daily Meditation Practice Will Make You a More Successful Person BY SHANNON DROESKE

As I sit here writing this article, I can’t help but laugh at the irony taking place right now. I’m about to talk to you about the ways in which meditation will reduce your stress, so you can increase your success in whatever way you define it, and yet, here I am – completely stressed out. Currently, my life is in a season of massive transition and I’ve been experiencing the effects of unresolved conflict within some close personal relationships. It’s a real time reminder of what I need to share.

so, that I believe that we are living in a state of chronic stress. Why would this be?

We all experience stress. In fact, our instinctual experience of acute stress actually keeps us alive. In order to do this, we come equipped with a primal response to stress, which we know as our Fight or Flight response. This is what gets us out of the way of the car that is about to hit us or choke out the mountain lion that is about to make us his lunch (did anyone else read that story?!). When our livelihood is in danger we experience overwhelm, our stress response is triggered and our brain has seconds (or less) to decide what we’re going to do about it – fight, or flight.

Nearly two decades ago, Harvard University conducted a study where researchers found that the average human experiences 50,000 – 80,000 thoughts per day. Keeping in mind that 20 years ago we didn’t have access to text messaging, email, or social media. Of these thoughts, we have an awareness of only 1% of them. While we’re processing these thoughts through our conscious mind, the other 99% of them are being filtered through our subconscious mind.

Inside of our bodies, sensory systems begin to communicate, and a physiological reaction is triggered. During this reaction, cortisol (our stress hormone) is released and our bodies generate large amounts of strength and endurance very rapidly. We experience a quick burst of energy, increased immunity and a lower sensitivity to pain. Our heart rates and respiration increase and our blood flow races to our larger muscles that are required for action. In moments of action, our Sympathetic Nervous System (SNS) takes over, so become alert and reactive. Once the threat has been eliminated, our Parasympathetic Nervous System (PNS) get back in the driver’s seat and we return to a restful state of awareness. The human brain has been functioning this way since the beginning of our existence. While the instinctual part of our brain – the reptilian brain – has remained the same, our way of life has changed drastically. We’re no longer faced with the same threats we once were. So, here we are. It’s 2019 and I have yet to battle a sabre-toothed tiger in the aisles of City Market (I’d like to think that all my time spent hitting the bags at Champs Boxing Studio has set me up for a fair fight though). We’ve got the same instincts paired with a much more evolved standard of living. It would be fair to assume that we’re experiencing this acute stress response less frequently, if ever, right? We know what they say about assuming… Studies now show that we’re experiencing our stress response more now, than ever. So much

Every person shares the same fundamental needs; to feel safe/secure (food, shelter, finance etc.…), to feel that we belong, to feel that we’re loved, to feel that we’re seen and to feel that we’re heard. All of our negative thoughts are rooted in one of these needs being unmet and we’ve come to experience them as if they were a direct threat to our survival.

Our reptilian brain doesn’t know the difference between a threatening thought and a threatening experience. As a result, our stress response is now triggered by our thoughts and we’re entering the state of Fight or Flight 15-30 times every single day. The cycle of shifting from alert to aware, then back again, is a very inefficient use of energy and our bodies know better than to do that. Why would we come all the way down into a state of rest and recovery when we know we’re just going to have to race into reaction mode again? This is where the benefits of meditation come in. Stripping away all of the ‘woo-woo’ talk, meditation is really just a tool that help us live a more mindful (aware) life. In meditation, we’re creating a separation from our thoughts. As we create this separation, we become an observer of them. This is the space where we realize; we are not our thoughts – we’re the one who hears them. When we sit in meditation, we set the intention of peace. We then use the conscious part of our brain to guide us into a state of mindfulness, or, single-pointed awareness. This activity allows are SNS to sit on standby, while our PNS takes over. With a regular practice of meditation, we begin to re-write the baseline from which our bodies operate from. In the same fashion that we’ve unconsciously programmed our body to be on alert for stress, we are now consciously re-programming our mind and body for a natural

state of restful awareness. If you’re a new student to the practice, you will likely experience more thoughts than normal and become much more aware of your high resting heart rate. With a continued practice, your mind and body will recognize what you’re doing and begin to enter a resting state quicker and quicker each time. In meditation, we can experience: a decrease in heart rate, lowered blood pressure, more efficient use of oxygen, more regulated and increased digestion, an increased immune system, greater clarity and of course, a greater sense of peace. More than that, our workouts become more efficient, as our bodies start to function at a higher level. We make better decisions as we have a less ‘personalized’ view on our reality. We gain creativity and improve our problem-solving skills. Our relationships improve as we become less reactive and proactive. We’re able to set clear goals, rooted in integrity with who we are, and maintain the focus required to achieve them. Sounds pretty good, right?

Here are some recommendations on ways that you can incorporate this practice into your daily routine (without having: 1. Download the free app Insight Timer. This app is full of thousands of different guided meditations. Try the different styles to see which resonates with you the most. 2. Create a space for your practice. Having a designated area that you go to, will help your brain recognize what’s about to happen. This will help you to reach a restful state quicker over time. 3. Be comfortable. Having your legs crossed and index-finger to thumb is not a requirement. Find a position that is comfortable for your body – just try not to fall asleep! 4. Start small. 5-10mins. That’s all you need. You can build onto your practice as you become more comfortable. 5. Be kind to yourself. You are starting something knew. It requires practice. That’s worth celebrating!

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