Ahhh, autumn, such a beautiful season and yet a prelude, for many, to a winter spent enduring months of cold symptoms ranging from a stuffy nose to a hacking cough. Well, never fear because there are a number of natural remedies that you can start using now to help ward off those germs.
The first step to staying healthy in any season is a strong and healthy immune system, and no, that does not mean carrying around a month’s supply of Purell. In order for your body to build an immune system, your body must be exposed to germs, if you avoid them like the plague, when that little cold bug hits, it will hit you like a typhoon!
So stop slathering yourself in alcohol and let’s talk turkey about immune boosting options;
1. Everyone’s favourite, Echinacea! So let’s be honest, we all pretend that we take this magic little herb all year round, but the full shelves at the Health Shoppe belie our words, so let’s get honest. Forget the past and start popping some Echinacea in whatever form you feel comfortable. I recommend anywhere from 900mg to 3gm/day, starting with around 900-100mg and slowly increasing your dosage. Studies in Canada have found that taking Echinacea can cut your risk of catching a cold by more than half and can cut the duration of a cold by 1.4 days. So start enjoying this wonderful herb, pop a pill, take a tincture or add some drops to your tea, however you take it, take it now!
2. Vitamin C! Vitamin C has been a staple for years, even those Flintstone chewable vitamins from when I was a kid advertised Vitamin C! What you may not know is that Vitamin C is actually Echinacea’s partner in crime. When Vitamin C and Echinacea were taken together, studies shows that they can cut your chances of catching a cold virus by 86%! That is incredible.
Vitamin C does a ton of other great things for your body and mind, so grab a Vitamin C supplement or choose a multi vitamin that gets you at least 1000 mg in each pill. The average person, man woman or child, should be getting at least 3000mg of Vitamin C every day. There is a fair amount of Vitamin C in the foods we eat, so start with around 1000mg and see how much better you feel…. In fact, I’m pretty sure they still make adult chewable vitamins, so check out your health shop for some tasty and healthful options.
3. Have a Cup-O-Tea - I know on those cold mornings you are tempted to reach for that extra cup of cappuccino or non-fat Latte, but beware, caffeine can negatively effect your immune system. Caffeine stresses the adrenal glands that sit near your kidneys, the cold weather adds stress to your kidneys as it is, making you more sluggish. Add in the stress of caffeine and you are begging your immune system to let a little virus through the dront door.
Instead of your regular cup-o-joe, try an herbal tea, or a nettle tea! The warmth will seep into your body and help you energize for the day, and you’ll also reap the benefits that tea always brings, antioxidants etc.
4. Tingly Throat, Swish with Sea Salt Water - How many times have you gone to bed with a tickle, knowing you will awaken to a full blown cold? Well, nip it in the bud now. When you first feel that tingle, grab a glass of filtered water (Brita type filters are great) and throw in some sea salt. I usually make a pile in my palm about the size of a quarter and throw it in. Sea Salt is the best option for many reasons; first, table salt is the bad stuff that clogs your arteries and often has MSG. Sea Salt has none of those bad qualities, and on top of that, is also a natural option without any chemical concerns. Moreover, sea salts are LOADED with minerals from, well, the sea! Most larger grocery store now carry a large variety of sea salts, all harvested from a natural salt deposit or sea salt farm.
Take a mouthful of the salt water at a time and swish or gargle concentrating on the tingle spot. Try and keep each mouthful in your mouth, gargling for 20-30 seconds. Repeat 2-8 times until you can feel the tingle diminish slightly. The tingle won’t go away entirely right away, but when you wake up in the morning, should be all gone.
5. Eat some Mushrooms! These are immune super boosters, kind of like virus crime fighters. Mushrooms super charge your blood with disease fighting white blood cells, making any virus shake in it’s viral boots! I love mushrooms in soups and stews in the winter, they can often be used as a meat substitute. You can throw them in salads, in casseroles, sauces any just about anything you can imagine. There are also great medicinal mushrooms that you can get dried or tincture form such as Changa, Reishi, Cordyceps and many others. Add those to drinks, shakes or take them alone. Not only are mushrooms great immune boosters, but they also taste great, so grab a paper bag and get picking.
6. Take a Breathe - This means something different for everyone, but take time for yourself. Take a yoga class, grab a head massage or find a quiet moment to meditate in your office. Your immune system can be directly linked to your stress and cortisone levels. This is a similar link as stress and cortisone levels to weight loss and retention.
You may call if hooey, but humour yourself and even if you don’t feel your stuffy nos clear up, you won’t be able to say that you don’t feel better on some level.
Taking a moment to breathe properly, focus attention inward and allow your body and mind to quiet, can be all you need to finally ditch that bug that has been plaguing you.
Get warm and fuzzy and just be, your body will take care of itself if you allow it to, so step back, breath deep and just chill….
So there you have it, some great, natural and cheap ways to help keep yourself virus free as the weather gets colder and the winds get stronger. Stay tuned for my next segment, simple remedies for when your friends and family (who didn’t read this article) get sick. Lots of simple little ways to make yourself and your family more comfortable when the sniffles finally battle past those white blood cells.
Until then, stay healthy, happy and connected!
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
Friday, September 19, 2008
GRAND OPENING!!
Quickie today...just announcing the GRAND OPENING of ............
THE BODY TEMPLE
High Performance Personal Training Studio
When: Sat. Sept. 27th, 2008
Where: The Body Temple
3287A Yonge St
Toronto ON
M4N 2L8
Time: 12pm-6pm
Come and drop in anytime between 12pm-6pm and sneek a peek inside one of the most unique and exciting training studios in the city. Taste some delicious super food goodies and even a healthy, raw food shake. Meet the owners and the trainers.
Demonstrations happening all day, introductory packages available during this special event.
Come and check out an adult playground designed specifically to kick your butt in fun, challenging and unique ways.
See you there!
Friday, August 15, 2008
THE BODY TEMPLE
Dun duh duh dun.........THE BODY TEMPLE has finally arrived!
The culmination of all of my research, studying and hard work has finally materialized, THE BODY TEMPLE, High Performance Personal Training Studio and Holistic Nutrition Counseling space is now open for business at
3287A Yonge St just north of the Lawrence subway station.
This blog has been a great place for me to sort my thoughts as we drew ever closer to opening THE BODY TEMPLE and I look forward to continuing this journey and these blog entries as the business grows.
My husband, Jon and I are are the sole proprietors but have brought in some of the most talented and highly touted fitness professionals in Toronto to teach our clients privately for a very reasonable fee. The pros include Christine Felstead, who is the creator and teacher of Yoga for Runners. We also have a number of well rounded trainers and instructors to offer everything a person could ever want in personal training and development.
SO, without further ado, I introduce you to the new owners and operators of THE BODY TEMPLE. Check out our website for more pictures and details.
Cheers
Wednesday, July 16, 2008
Mrs. Kellett's First Post
Well hello!
So, as I am sure you have noticed, I haven' t written in over a month and for once in my life, I have a reasonable excuse...I was getting married! (see pic)
So, after an extended absence, I am now promising to write more frequently.
A few exciting pieces of news to pass on; my husband and I have officially registered our new fitness studio, THE BODY TEMPLE!
Let's go ahead and call a spade a spade, this entry is pure and shameless self promotion, but if I don't do it, who will right?
So here is a great example of what you can do when you work for it and focus on the positive.
2 years ago, the idea for this space was born, a large membership type gym that was the brainchild of myself, my husband and our great and talented friend, Adam.
2 years later, the idea has mutated and changed dramatically, but the day when THE BODY TEMPLE finally opens it's doors for business fast approaches.
There have been a number of people who have supported us and our idea from the beginning and to those people, I say THANK YOU!
But I also want to thank those people who were skeptical and unsure because those are the people who helped us to refine the idea to a point where it is a truly viable and potentially successful business plan. Without the nay-sayers to make us rethink again and again, we may have gone through the entire process AFTER we invested money and time and when it was much more difficult to make drastic changes to our initial business model.
The important thing was that through every step of the process, every change, every negative person and comment, we both stayed true to the reasons that we wanted the gym and those reasons are what led us to finally settle on a personal training facility and holistic health and fitness co-op.
Thank you to all of you...we are very excited to open ur doors.
I will post contact info as well as the website once everything is up and running.
I've been researching some very interesting topics recently and will have some great posts for you in the future.
I will be accountable to you, my readers (even if it is only me and Jon's mom! ;)
I vow to post bi-weekly from now on...so holler at me if I miss!
CHeers
Alayna KELLETT!!!
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Food or Fuel?
Hello Guys and Dolls,
Things in my world have been happening fast and furious lately and as a result, I am not free as often to muse and ruminate which are essential ingredients if I am going to write you an interesting entry. However, I am going to continue in my attempts to make time for writing….
Today, my thoughts have settled on the seemingly parallel issues of the rise in gas and food prices. It seems that every day we are hearing dire predictions associated with the rising prices of crude oil and staple foods like rice and corn. But what do those predictions mean for me, for you and for us, as aware consumers who are hopefully looking at the long term viability of our economy as well as our environment?
Let’s start with some of the factors contributing to the rising cost of food; gas prices are an integral part of the equation, however, these have been on the rise with the same list of sort-of explanations for years. I’ll focus on the new issues related to the inflation of food prices and we can see how the two run similar paths. In fact, one of the largest contributing factors to the price increase is the rising cost for transportation and energy required simply for manufacturing and transporting the food from the farm to the store. As gas prices rise, the more it costs to fill up that huge truck that carries thousands of pounds of corn from the field in the prairies to our store in Ontario.
Another factor is the emergence of a defined middle class in several Eastern countries, Asia and India for example. As Western influence has assaulted their way of life, the citizens of these countries work towards the ‘beaver cleaver’ middle class and expect to have a similar standard of living to the average (or perceived average) American family. This means that cultures that previously consumed very little fossil fuel and meat are now getting their very own Vespas and Big Macs. Obviously, this increases the demand across the board. Now, just to interject, although this may seem to have a negative effect on our lives, here in North America, I am not insinuating in any way that we should not be improving the standard of living around the world, however, we just need to begin to foresee these amazing strides forward and making plans to sustain both our quality of life as well as our quality of environment.
That being said, the fact that the US dollar has been performing so poorly is another factor that brings up the cost of our food. With the dollar dipping dangerously in the world market, smaller portions of food are being earmarked for North American sale and thus there is less supply available to the average consumer. The countries that control the largest percentage of the production (be it crude oil or grain) are going to sell the majority of the stock to the countries with stronger currency as that is more valuable to the vendors.
Another great environmental stride has begun to have a negative backlash in the grocery store, ethanol. The production of ethanol, an alternative fuel source created primarily from corn, now eats up almost one third of the entire corn production in America. Corn is also becoming a very valuable commodity and with it rise the stocks of the companies riding the wave of technology. As a result, companies that purchase corn for ethanol production and experimentation can afford to drive the prices higher than the average consumer because that allows them to have access to a larger surplus of corn. Again, I am not trying to point out the ‘profit-hungry’ ethanol producers, in fact I am 100% behind the exploration of alternative fuel sources, I am merely listing the many contributing factors that are going to make it painful to go to the grocery store this summer.
Continuing on the corn bandwagon, many soybean farmers have discovered that it is much more lucrative to grow corn, and lots of it, than it is to grow soybeans. As a result, soybeans, a very healthy and nutritious food eaten around the globe, are growing scarce. Strangely enough, these soybean farmers may end up kicking themselves in a year or so because if the soybean continues to lose out to it’s more popular friend, corn, we may have an endangered fauna on our hands (figuratively speaking of course) and they may find that their own actions drive the cost of soybeans and thus their own potential profit margin up, (or at least the profits of those still growing those delicious soybeans).
I’m going to throw some figures out there, just so you can see the exponential increase. Canadians haven’t been hit by the brunt of this storm yet as we are slightly sheltered by America, but give it a few months and unfortunately, I hear that our prices will begin to reflect these scary numbers;
From January 2007 until April 30th, 2008
Egg prices have increased by 25%
Dairy prices have increased by 13% (milk, yoghurt, cheese etc)
Poultry prices have increased by 7%
Corn prices have increased by 44%
Wheat prices have increased by 92%
92%!!!!!!!
That is crazy to me!
Another fun little fact, The Food Bank board sent out letters to be posted in every Food Bank across America stating that the Food Bank prices were going to increase by 20%!
Now, I have one final fun little tidbit that makes my stomach churn as a raw nutrition enthusiast, 60% of mothers polled in a middle class grocery store in the US admitted that their children were now primarily drinking soda because it is cheaper than milk. (Globe and Mail )
I think a puppy just died. That is possibly one of the saddest things I have ever heard (nutritionally). To think that we have gotten to a point where it is simply cheaper to poison ourselves than it is to live a healthy life….
I have a saying, a little metaphor if you will.
Treat your body like a premium, high performance vehicle, because that is what you want it to be, right? You want to look great, have strong, consistent performance (even if that performance is just getting out of bed and walking one foot ahead of the next to make it to work every day). You want your body to be a prime piece of work, or at least that seems to make sense, why would you want your body to be like a beater car?
Anyway, so your body is a premium car. If you had a high performance race car, maybe a Porsche or something else flashy, you would be putting premium fuel in that baby, wouldn’t you?
If the dealer told you to put premium in, you’d do it right? I mean who spends a half million dollars on a car and then puts in regular unleaded?
Well, think about your body like a car. Do you want to be putting in the bare minimum in order to get from home to the store or do you want your high performance machine to purr like a kitten? Food works the same way. Yeah, that Big Mac may fill you up at first and sure, calories can be calories, and yeah, why not, we can call that limp piece of lettuce on there your ‘vegetables’. But is it the premium stuff? If there was a fuel called ‘Big Mac’ or at least one that was reminiscent of those fast food ‘burgers’, would you want to put it in your shiny Jag or bitchin Porsche?
No?
Ahhhhh, so tell me, why would you put it in your body?
I went off the beaten track there for a moment, but let’s bring it all back. Food prices are going up, let’s all do our part and help local farmers and organic growers, but be realistic, for the time being, food prices are creeping higher. Gas prices are climbing. Sure, Hilary Clinton wants to give the US a tax break on gas, but is that a long term solution? No. So, again, let’s be realistic, we will all do our part, campaign for cleaner fuels, take public transit and carpool, but gas prices are going up. We don’t have any dinosaurs to make more oil, so eventually we are going to run out.
So here we are, both gas and food prices are climbing and I’m sitting here wondering, which machine will you fill with premium and which will get the old, Big Mac?
PS. I will be writing some tips for saving money, fuel and food that I find helpful when dealing with the conflicting worlds of media and common sense.
Things in my world have been happening fast and furious lately and as a result, I am not free as often to muse and ruminate which are essential ingredients if I am going to write you an interesting entry. However, I am going to continue in my attempts to make time for writing….
Today, my thoughts have settled on the seemingly parallel issues of the rise in gas and food prices. It seems that every day we are hearing dire predictions associated with the rising prices of crude oil and staple foods like rice and corn. But what do those predictions mean for me, for you and for us, as aware consumers who are hopefully looking at the long term viability of our economy as well as our environment?
Let’s start with some of the factors contributing to the rising cost of food; gas prices are an integral part of the equation, however, these have been on the rise with the same list of sort-of explanations for years. I’ll focus on the new issues related to the inflation of food prices and we can see how the two run similar paths. In fact, one of the largest contributing factors to the price increase is the rising cost for transportation and energy required simply for manufacturing and transporting the food from the farm to the store. As gas prices rise, the more it costs to fill up that huge truck that carries thousands of pounds of corn from the field in the prairies to our store in Ontario.
Another factor is the emergence of a defined middle class in several Eastern countries, Asia and India for example. As Western influence has assaulted their way of life, the citizens of these countries work towards the ‘beaver cleaver’ middle class and expect to have a similar standard of living to the average (or perceived average) American family. This means that cultures that previously consumed very little fossil fuel and meat are now getting their very own Vespas and Big Macs. Obviously, this increases the demand across the board. Now, just to interject, although this may seem to have a negative effect on our lives, here in North America, I am not insinuating in any way that we should not be improving the standard of living around the world, however, we just need to begin to foresee these amazing strides forward and making plans to sustain both our quality of life as well as our quality of environment.
That being said, the fact that the US dollar has been performing so poorly is another factor that brings up the cost of our food. With the dollar dipping dangerously in the world market, smaller portions of food are being earmarked for North American sale and thus there is less supply available to the average consumer. The countries that control the largest percentage of the production (be it crude oil or grain) are going to sell the majority of the stock to the countries with stronger currency as that is more valuable to the vendors.
Another great environmental stride has begun to have a negative backlash in the grocery store, ethanol. The production of ethanol, an alternative fuel source created primarily from corn, now eats up almost one third of the entire corn production in America. Corn is also becoming a very valuable commodity and with it rise the stocks of the companies riding the wave of technology. As a result, companies that purchase corn for ethanol production and experimentation can afford to drive the prices higher than the average consumer because that allows them to have access to a larger surplus of corn. Again, I am not trying to point out the ‘profit-hungry’ ethanol producers, in fact I am 100% behind the exploration of alternative fuel sources, I am merely listing the many contributing factors that are going to make it painful to go to the grocery store this summer.
Continuing on the corn bandwagon, many soybean farmers have discovered that it is much more lucrative to grow corn, and lots of it, than it is to grow soybeans. As a result, soybeans, a very healthy and nutritious food eaten around the globe, are growing scarce. Strangely enough, these soybean farmers may end up kicking themselves in a year or so because if the soybean continues to lose out to it’s more popular friend, corn, we may have an endangered fauna on our hands (figuratively speaking of course) and they may find that their own actions drive the cost of soybeans and thus their own potential profit margin up, (or at least the profits of those still growing those delicious soybeans).
I’m going to throw some figures out there, just so you can see the exponential increase. Canadians haven’t been hit by the brunt of this storm yet as we are slightly sheltered by America, but give it a few months and unfortunately, I hear that our prices will begin to reflect these scary numbers;
From January 2007 until April 30th, 2008
Egg prices have increased by 25%
Dairy prices have increased by 13% (milk, yoghurt, cheese etc)
Poultry prices have increased by 7%
Corn prices have increased by 44%
Wheat prices have increased by 92%
92%!!!!!!!
That is crazy to me!
Another fun little fact, The Food Bank board sent out letters to be posted in every Food Bank across America stating that the Food Bank prices were going to increase by 20%!
Now, I have one final fun little tidbit that makes my stomach churn as a raw nutrition enthusiast, 60% of mothers polled in a middle class grocery store in the US admitted that their children were now primarily drinking soda because it is cheaper than milk. (Globe and Mail )
I think a puppy just died. That is possibly one of the saddest things I have ever heard (nutritionally). To think that we have gotten to a point where it is simply cheaper to poison ourselves than it is to live a healthy life….
I have a saying, a little metaphor if you will.
Treat your body like a premium, high performance vehicle, because that is what you want it to be, right? You want to look great, have strong, consistent performance (even if that performance is just getting out of bed and walking one foot ahead of the next to make it to work every day). You want your body to be a prime piece of work, or at least that seems to make sense, why would you want your body to be like a beater car?
Anyway, so your body is a premium car. If you had a high performance race car, maybe a Porsche or something else flashy, you would be putting premium fuel in that baby, wouldn’t you?
If the dealer told you to put premium in, you’d do it right? I mean who spends a half million dollars on a car and then puts in regular unleaded?
Well, think about your body like a car. Do you want to be putting in the bare minimum in order to get from home to the store or do you want your high performance machine to purr like a kitten? Food works the same way. Yeah, that Big Mac may fill you up at first and sure, calories can be calories, and yeah, why not, we can call that limp piece of lettuce on there your ‘vegetables’. But is it the premium stuff? If there was a fuel called ‘Big Mac’ or at least one that was reminiscent of those fast food ‘burgers’, would you want to put it in your shiny Jag or bitchin Porsche?
No?
Ahhhhh, so tell me, why would you put it in your body?
I went off the beaten track there for a moment, but let’s bring it all back. Food prices are going up, let’s all do our part and help local farmers and organic growers, but be realistic, for the time being, food prices are creeping higher. Gas prices are climbing. Sure, Hilary Clinton wants to give the US a tax break on gas, but is that a long term solution? No. So, again, let’s be realistic, we will all do our part, campaign for cleaner fuels, take public transit and carpool, but gas prices are going up. We don’t have any dinosaurs to make more oil, so eventually we are going to run out.
So here we are, both gas and food prices are climbing and I’m sitting here wondering, which machine will you fill with premium and which will get the old, Big Mac?
PS. I will be writing some tips for saving money, fuel and food that I find helpful when dealing with the conflicting worlds of media and common sense.
Saturday, May 3, 2008
Am I Crazy??!?
Ok, just a quickie here, a rhetorical question wrapped in confusion from my end.
Who else saw those charming photos of young Miley Cyrus ?
(http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities_blog/mileyvanity.jpg)
I mean, don't get my wrong, compositionally and lighting wise, the image is gorgeous and yes, Miley is a striking young lady...but I feel like the emphasis should have been placed more on the word 'Young'. I mean, stop me if I'm wrong, but I thought that 15 was a little young to be sexualized by a fashion magazine. Call me crazy....
And yes, I realize that we don't actually see any nipples or anything, but who in their right mind can look at that image and not immediately feel that gut punch of her tousled hair, naked back and sheet pulled 'demurely ' up to cover her chest? This is a child for crying out loud!
We have chosen her by public approval to make this girl one of our favorite role models for our young girls, girls who are about to embark on a very confusing journey through our already highly sexualized media jungle and we have just handed them a picture of their role model looking like she just had a really great role in the hay. Am I the only one who sees a slight imbalance?
And lets look at the current trends. We have 13 year old girls sending cell phone pictures of themselves naked to boys at school. We have 14 year olds setting up meetings with random males whom they've met on the internet who could be just about anyone. And to top off this great mess, we have now shown them a picture of their previously age appropriate role model, posing provocatively, basically naked. Should we really be shocked when they start sending similar images across the internet and text message world?
Don't get me wrong, I've done provocative photo shoots, however, I didn't even begin modeling until after 18. I also made decisions early on about what I would do and where I would draw my lines, somehow I don't think the Cyrus family went in planning to take topless shots....
I've also heard the argument in the past, (from pre-Federline fiasco Britney) that these girls shouldn't be expected to be living up to a position of role model because they are young, however, they (and their handlers or parents who are making the majority of the decisions) have chosen to follow a career path that places them in the limelight and as a result of that, they have to foresee that they will influence their audience and to not consider the impact is negligent and shortsighted.
I realize that it can be easier to pass judgment looking in from the outside, but this is just my two cents. Take it as you please, just a little rant from me....
Keep living healthy and happy lives, I'll try to be a little more positive next time ;)
Who else saw those charming photos of young Miley Cyrus ?
(http://weblogs.newsday.com/entertainment/celebrities_blog/mileyvanity.jpg)
I mean, don't get my wrong, compositionally and lighting wise, the image is gorgeous and yes, Miley is a striking young lady...but I feel like the emphasis should have been placed more on the word 'Young'. I mean, stop me if I'm wrong, but I thought that 15 was a little young to be sexualized by a fashion magazine. Call me crazy....
And yes, I realize that we don't actually see any nipples or anything, but who in their right mind can look at that image and not immediately feel that gut punch of her tousled hair, naked back and sheet pulled 'demurely ' up to cover her chest? This is a child for crying out loud!
We have chosen her by public approval to make this girl one of our favorite role models for our young girls, girls who are about to embark on a very confusing journey through our already highly sexualized media jungle and we have just handed them a picture of their role model looking like she just had a really great role in the hay. Am I the only one who sees a slight imbalance?
And lets look at the current trends. We have 13 year old girls sending cell phone pictures of themselves naked to boys at school. We have 14 year olds setting up meetings with random males whom they've met on the internet who could be just about anyone. And to top off this great mess, we have now shown them a picture of their previously age appropriate role model, posing provocatively, basically naked. Should we really be shocked when they start sending similar images across the internet and text message world?
Don't get me wrong, I've done provocative photo shoots, however, I didn't even begin modeling until after 18. I also made decisions early on about what I would do and where I would draw my lines, somehow I don't think the Cyrus family went in planning to take topless shots....
I've also heard the argument in the past, (from pre-Federline fiasco Britney) that these girls shouldn't be expected to be living up to a position of role model because they are young, however, they (and their handlers or parents who are making the majority of the decisions) have chosen to follow a career path that places them in the limelight and as a result of that, they have to foresee that they will influence their audience and to not consider the impact is negligent and shortsighted.
I realize that it can be easier to pass judgment looking in from the outside, but this is just my two cents. Take it as you please, just a little rant from me....
Keep living healthy and happy lives, I'll try to be a little more positive next time ;)
Sunday, April 13, 2008
Motivation at Any Age
So, I was recently asked to model lingerie for a Canadian Cancer Society fundraiser and while I was there, I was fortunate enough to meet a very inspirational woman. This lady, let’s call her Sheila, was also modeling and somehow Jon and I began talking to her about her career path and life. It seems that at around 40, she had gone through a tough divorce and had to transition from being a full-time mom to the full-time supporter of her children.
When she went for career guidance and divulged that she had always wanted to get into fitness, she was shot down, told that fitness was a young person’s game and was guided toward social work. Believing that the individual dispensing advice couldn’t possibly be wrong, Sheila went ahead and worked hard to earn her certificate for social work and when we met her, was diligently looking for a position.
I’m still not sure how we got into these topics, I think we started out by talking about her 16 year old son and his interest in boxing (funny how conversations lead you into unexpected areas..) Anyway, Jon and I were both appalled to hear that this woman was trying valiantly to put aside her own ideas of a great career and conform to someone else’s ideas of a successful career option. After much discussion, we were able to convince Sheila that fitness was an attainable goal for everyone, in every walk of life and if that is true, then fitness professionals should come from every walk of life, not just ripped 20-somethings or knowledgeable thirty-something’s.
During the conversation we were able to point out that her recent education wouldn’t necessarily have to go to waste. Sheila lives in a rural area of Ontario where being a regular personal trainer may not make sense financially, but she can look at filling a niche for the individuals who live in rural areas but are perhaps not as mobile. She can work with families and groups in mid-low income areas live healthier lives while also helping them get their career choices in order.
Sheila seemed amazed that not everyone agreed that there should be an age limit for fitness professionals. To my way of thinking, I would much rather have a fit person training me, whether they are 25 or 64 as opposed to some of those ‘Master Trainers’ you see eating donuts and trying to hide their beer bellies under lose fitting athletic shirts.
If anyone at any age can get fit and change their lives, then why can’t there be a trainer at any age who can share their inspirational story?
I’ve considered this a lot recently, as I get a little older, I remember how I used to look at my mid-twenties and feel that if I hadn’t made some major decisions and started along my final career path, I would be a failure. Luckily, I get to meet amazing people like Sheila who remind me that you can have, do or be anything you want, at any age!
People used to have one-two careers in a lifetime, today, the average person goes through five different careers in their lifetime. I figure if I am already heading down my first career path, I must at least have SOMETHING working…right?
So don’t stress…your life can change at any time and with that, your goals may change, and that’s ok. I intend to mess up a number of times in the next few years, let alone in the next few decades and if I can’t pick up and start again, I’d be in deep trouble…but then again, so would millions of people. Didn’t Ben Franklin mess up thousands of experiments before finally getting some electricity into that key? If he’s allowed, then so are we, and I wish ‘Sheila’ all the best. Jon and I send her our love and encouragement, she is an amazing woman and all she needs to do is remember that!
When she went for career guidance and divulged that she had always wanted to get into fitness, she was shot down, told that fitness was a young person’s game and was guided toward social work. Believing that the individual dispensing advice couldn’t possibly be wrong, Sheila went ahead and worked hard to earn her certificate for social work and when we met her, was diligently looking for a position.
I’m still not sure how we got into these topics, I think we started out by talking about her 16 year old son and his interest in boxing (funny how conversations lead you into unexpected areas..) Anyway, Jon and I were both appalled to hear that this woman was trying valiantly to put aside her own ideas of a great career and conform to someone else’s ideas of a successful career option. After much discussion, we were able to convince Sheila that fitness was an attainable goal for everyone, in every walk of life and if that is true, then fitness professionals should come from every walk of life, not just ripped 20-somethings or knowledgeable thirty-something’s.
During the conversation we were able to point out that her recent education wouldn’t necessarily have to go to waste. Sheila lives in a rural area of Ontario where being a regular personal trainer may not make sense financially, but she can look at filling a niche for the individuals who live in rural areas but are perhaps not as mobile. She can work with families and groups in mid-low income areas live healthier lives while also helping them get their career choices in order.
Sheila seemed amazed that not everyone agreed that there should be an age limit for fitness professionals. To my way of thinking, I would much rather have a fit person training me, whether they are 25 or 64 as opposed to some of those ‘Master Trainers’ you see eating donuts and trying to hide their beer bellies under lose fitting athletic shirts.
If anyone at any age can get fit and change their lives, then why can’t there be a trainer at any age who can share their inspirational story?
I’ve considered this a lot recently, as I get a little older, I remember how I used to look at my mid-twenties and feel that if I hadn’t made some major decisions and started along my final career path, I would be a failure. Luckily, I get to meet amazing people like Sheila who remind me that you can have, do or be anything you want, at any age!
People used to have one-two careers in a lifetime, today, the average person goes through five different careers in their lifetime. I figure if I am already heading down my first career path, I must at least have SOMETHING working…right?
So don’t stress…your life can change at any time and with that, your goals may change, and that’s ok. I intend to mess up a number of times in the next few years, let alone in the next few decades and if I can’t pick up and start again, I’d be in deep trouble…but then again, so would millions of people. Didn’t Ben Franklin mess up thousands of experiments before finally getting some electricity into that key? If he’s allowed, then so are we, and I wish ‘Sheila’ all the best. Jon and I send her our love and encouragement, she is an amazing woman and all she needs to do is remember that!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
