Category: Adventures In Yoga

To get the most out of your Yoga Boot Camp experience, it’s essential that you eat immediately after class.

Not 30 minutes later, not “Oh, I’ll just go home and make myself a meal” – bring your shake with you. Your body needs the nourishment right away.

Yoga Boot Camp is about empowering yourself and strengthening your body.

Boot Camp is early, I am sure you know, and that’s awesome. Exercising first thing in the morning is an incredible way to get in shape fast. But, if you don’t eat right after class you could be working out for nothing, and that’s no good.

Seriously, if you’re not eating till lunch, you can kiss good by any results you hope to achieve.

Skipping meals or not eating after workouts trains your body to go into starvation mode and hang on to fat. You don’t want this. After a while, your metabolism will slow down. This is why the American Dietetic Association calls breakfast the most important meal of the day.

After boot camp your body is thirsty for nutrients; you have just completed an incredibly effective workout and all your fat and carb fuel sources will be used up.

The only thing left to keep you going is muscle, and if your body starts to burn muscle as energy that’s not going to help you achieve the body that boot camp brings.

Muscle is what keeps you lean, so you don’t want to lose it!

Read More “Why You Need To Eat After Yoga Boot Camp”

I have some inspiration for you; a catalyst for change, if you will…

Every day you work out and do yoga it makes you stronger.

Each time you come to camp you can push a little harder, because you’re expanding your capacity.

This is how we change: Day by day.

It can happen quickly, but it still comes gradually, and with consistency.

I was just looking at some photos of me before I did a boot camp, which completely changed my attitude towards fitness. I noticed that my arms and thighs were a bit softer then and, well, bigger than they are now.

I’ve also noticed a huge change in the amount of strength and core awareness in my yoga practice and day to day life since then. I can rock out arm balances and other fun levitation type poses that were hard for me before boot camp.

If you’ve been coming to camp regularly, you’ve likely noticed a change in yourself.

Maybe you can do more push-ups or hold plank longer. Perhaps your clothes are fitting differently or you see more definition in your muscles.

So many people increase their self-confidence and feeling of self-worth as well when they come to camp and actually have FUN working out. They find that they can get strong and centered at the same time.

But sometimes it’s hard to keep coming.

I know it’s EARLY, but when do you work out otherwise?

If you’ve been struggling, take this to heart: a consistent practice creates change faster than anything else.

If you haven’t been coming to camp, or if you have lapsed in your fitness routine, I have good news for you…

You can change that TODAY!

I love giving things away! I’ve just chosen the first two winners of the Super Student Prizes for my yoga and boot camp students, which are part of the Kamloops Local Business Love project I’ve launched.

Each week I’ll add the latest winners to this blog page, so you can follow along and read about people’s experiences with whatever they’ve won!

The happy surprise and glowing responses from the people who receive these gifts is so special. It just makes me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. 🙂

Remember to enter your name every time you come to class. The more often you come to yoga or boot camp, the higher your chances of winning a prize!

This isn’t all about prizes, of course. It’s simply one more way to motivate and reward you for staying dedicated to your practice and taking care of yourself.

Read About The Winners (and Imagine Yourself Among Them)

Week 1:

Super Student #1. The lovely Tana won the Yoga Boot Camp prize this morning, and will be going for a pedicure at Pink With Envy. The girls at Pink With Envy use natural products and are very good at what they do, so I can’t wait to hear from Tana about her experience there.

After class Tana told me “I’m actually excited about this – I never win anything!”

For a little girl, I eat a LOT! More than my share, to be honest. (I’m only 5 feet tall and I often eat as much as my boyfriend.) It’s one of the reasons I need to work out and do a lot of yoga – to try to make up for my appetite.

But I’ve also been working on not eating quite so much. One of the things you’re supposed to do as a practitioner of yoga is eat moderately. Heh. Practice, practice.

I know you might struggle with overeating as well. Food can be so good! And addicting.

But even healthy food isn’t good for you when you put far more in your belly than you need.

So I thought I’d put together some suggestions for you and I to try in the pursuit of finding moderation.

Tips to not over eat:

Read More “7 Tips to Avoid Overeating”

When you do something as full-on as the Yoga Fitness Boot Camp, you want to get the most out of it.

Here are some tips to help keep you focused and committed to your goals:

1. Show up. You’ve paid for it, and some part of you is really motivated to get in shape, so make sure you actually come to camp. Yes, it can be really hard to get up some days, but you’re strong. You can do it. Keep your consistency and you’ll be rewarded.
2. Bring your breakfast. Make sure you have a nutritious and easily digested meal right after camp. Bring your protein shake or have your green smoothie with you so you can feed your muscles when they need it the most. If you do start with a green smoothie (highly recommended), just make sure you have a protein drink as soon as you’re hungry (45-60 minutes later.)
3. Nourish your body. Take a high quality vitamin and mineral supplement. Every process of your body relies on having the right amount and combination of vitamins and minerals, including building muscles and burning fat.

   Read More “7 Tips To Maximize Your Results From Kamloops Yoga Boot Camp”

This month we’re starting something new – prizes for dedicated and hard working boot campers, as well as yoga students!

This will be an ongoing thing for each boot camp and yoga classes, so when you come to consecutive sessions you have more opportunities to win!

Click here to learn more and register for Yoga Fitness Boot Camp, or check out my Kamloops Yoga Class Schedule.

The Boot Camp and Yoga Bag

Each day you show up to camp, write your name on a little slip of paper and put it in the boot camp bag. Every Friday one name will be drawn to win a prize!

I’m also going to do the same thing for my yoga classes, with the difference that the prize will be drawn once a month. (UPDATE: I’ve decided I really like the idea of giving things away, so the yoga class gifts will likely be every week as well, depending on the amount of prizes I have available.)

Prizes include:

• A pedicure from Pink With Envy
• A free Semi-Private Yoga Therapy session with Katrina
• A massage or reflexology session
• Free meals at wonderful local restaurants
• And more!

Because you get to put in your name each time you come to camp and class, the more often you show up the higher the chance of winning a prize!

Read More “Kamloops Yoga Boot Camp (and Class) Prizes!”

As I write this, the sky is a perfect blue above the legendary Mt. Shasta. This enormous mountain was created as a volcano, and is said to be a portal to different dimensions, an incredible place of healing, self discovery, and transformation.

It is very sacred, and people make pilgrimages here from all over the world.

My partner, Casey and I are here for the first time. We came down for a workshop on 10-10-10 (October 10^th, 2010). I’ll try to give you the story in a nutshell here.

I road tripped down from Kamloops, BC on my own, taking 3 days to get to San Francisco where I picked Casey up at the airport. It was a perfect day as I drove into the Bay area with my window down and the radio up. I was singing classic rock and dancing in my seat. The American dream of freedom on the road. Really a great day.

I finally left SFO airport with my man once his delayed plane came in and we headed out. After crossing the Golden Gate bridge,

Read More “A Journey to Mt. Shasta”

Are you looking for a positive change in your life? Whether you are the type who needs a little extra motivation to get exercising, a casual exerciser, or even a star veteran.

Early morning exercise can help you in many ways. You are about to learn the benefits of early morning exercise in detail.

Be More Productive Throughout the Day

Early morning exercise will get your brain juices flowing.

In some cases, increased mental activity was recorded for up to 10 hours following completion of exercise in controlled lab studies. So around 4:00 pm when everyone is tired from working, you will still be alert.

This means that you will be able to accomplish more in less time during your work day, whether it’s getting the kids out of the door or taking charge at the office.

Increase Your Metabolic Rate

Getting a sweat on early wakes you up mentally, studies have shown that

Read More “Is Committing to Early Morning Exercise in Kamloops Worth It?”

Getting fit is a lot easier than you think. If you need some help getting started, check out the following 10 tips that will help transform your body.

1. Be active most days of the week. Physical activity will help you burn more fat and control your weight.Walking, running, participating in an organized exercise class, raking leaves, and playing outside with the kids are all examples of physical activity that can burn calories and help you maintain or lose weight.
2. Eat mindfully. Many people go through the day eating all types of food without thinking about it. This can add up to a lot of extra calories and pounds.Scraping the last spoonful of food from a bowl when cleaning up after dinner can run up your calorie tab. Think about what you are eating and why. Are you really hungry or eating for some other reason?
3. Eat more fruits and vegetables. Fruits and vegetables are low in fat and are good sources of fiber. Fiber makes you feel full so you eat less. Eating less will help you maintain your weight.Fruits and vegetables also contain important nutrients that keep the body functioning well. Fill half of your plate with vegetables when eating lunch or dinner.
4. Drink plenty of

   Read More “10 Tips to Transform Your Body in Kamloops”

No one wants to be in pain, yet so many of us go around with one or more areas of our bodies hurting, aching, or otherwise saying “Ouch!”

Here’s the thing: pain is your body communicating with you. It’s saying “Something here isn’t working, so can you please change it?”

The really helpful part about pain is that it gives you feedback. If you do one thing, say rounding your lower back, and your back hurts, you know something about that isn’t working. If you do it differently, such as lifting your lower back in and up to create the natural curve, and your back feels fine, you now know that change DOES work, and that’s what your body has been asking you to do (or at least part of it).

It isn’t personal – it’s not like you’ve done something wrong because you never learned how your shoulders want to be held so your neck doesn’t hurt, or that flattening your lower back can lead to serious discomfort.

On the contrary, it’s surprising how few doctors and body workers actually understand the principles of optimal alignment. I frequently work with someone who has exercises from their physio that don’t feel good. When they understand and apply optimal alignment to the same exercises, all of a sudden they feel good.

It isn’t necessarily the action or exercise that brings pain or relief, but the alignment itself that makes all the difference.

How Yoga Therapy Works

I love teaching Yoga Therapy, because generally the person I’m helping gets instant feedback from their body, and they’re grinning from ear to ear in the first five minutes of the private because we’ve already found the cause of the pain and they’ve had a taste of how simple it is to be pain free.

Read More “How Yoga Therapy Brings Freedom From Pain”