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Have you lost your "mojo" as a result of the pandemic? You are not alone! When life throws us curve balls, we tend to drop one of the most important components of health, movement. The reality is that motivation often leaves us when we need it most but you can choose to accept that it is missing, complain and deal with the effects of a complacent mind/body or you can stand up, dust yourself off and get back in the game. Here are some strategies for you to try:

It is probable that most people have experienced adverse trauma and other stressors in the past year. Becoming more resilient gets one through a difficult time; resilience is the ability to cope with adversity and to use life challenges to build strength. It is like working out in the gym, it takes time to build our resiliency muscle; a psychological attribute that allows us to maintain our sense of self in spite of stressors. 

Resilience is a set of traits that allows one to move forward when life gets hard, you aren't born with them, you must learn and earn them. In the words of Glennon Doyle, "we can do hard things!" It is important to focus on cultivating resilience. How do we become more resilient?

The holiday season can be a cause of weight gain, stress, seasonal 'blues' and overscheduled calendars, so this year, give yourself the gift of fitness! A general recommendation is to incorporate activities that celebrate the season; social gatherings with friends that involve something other than the usual overindulgence of food and drink.

You can enjoy the celebrations AND maintain a healthy focus. You can adjust your exercise program by reducing the number of days or by scheduling shorter bouts of exercise throughout the day. However it is recommended that every adult get a minimum of 150 minutes of moderate exercise per week. (ACSM).

Most holiday challenges or 'stressors' are predictable because we feed into the pattern year after year. Are you ready for a change?  You can create new possibilities by following these THREE strategies to welcome the 'new'. 

The key to implementing a better strategy to manage the holiday season is to practice it beforehand, and not fall into the pattern of managing crisis or putting out fires.

With the impact of the pandemic and the uncertainty over the past couple of years, people have been forced to think outside of the box and adapt to new ways of staying healthy and fit. Fitness centres and gyms have been closed down completely or reduced to minimal capacity. Not everybody wants to go to a gym, or pound the pavement, but how does one determine the best practice for themselves? The American Council of Sports Medicine recommends that people get a minimum of 30 minutes of moderate exercise per day (150 minutes per week), to improve health and reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease. Spending less minutes being sedentary is the next best step!

Did you know humans are the only species who project into the future? Worrying about what might happen or planning for what is next without being present in the now. Did you know that focusing on the future breeds anxiety? All other species, plants and animals collectively focus on the present, they go with the flow of the life cycle and truly thrive in the moment.

Striving for a perfect work-life balance can cause us to feel anxious and overwhelmed and it will set us up for failure. Sometimes we are focused on one or two areas in our lives, whether that's for a day, a few months, even a year. But things change and our priorities and focus in life changes over time.

Most everyone has experienced depressive type symptoms in their life span and may or may not have actually been diagnosed with depression. Depression affects millions of people around the globe, whether mild or severe.

Self compassion is a value that provides a great foundation for emotional wellness, self-love, and kindness without suffering or self-criticism. Yet so many clients struggle with feeling unworthy and are plagued with feelings of guilt, shame, doubt,fear and stress.

If you could flip a switch to get to the state of health you want – would you do it? This sounds simple doesn't it, and it actually works. It`s simply a matter of wanting something new and creating new habits. What's complicated is when people want something new but also want to keep the old habits at the same time.