Physical Wellness Consulting:

Our physical wellness is more than a gym routine

I utilize personal training and behavior modification strategies to solidify positive fitness habits that lead to a happier, healthier you.

“When we prioritize “wellness” (the state of being in good health) we shift the focus from a physical goal (looking a certain way) to health and well being. “As a physical wellness consultant my focus is on wellness. I want to look at how we can realign ourselves, decrease imbalances and increase proficiency of movements. How we can efficiently train our bodies for the activities we love. What sort of training do our bodies and minds thrive on? How do we form healthy long lasting habits? How do we stay fluid with ourselves as we transition through life’s seasons? I’m a guide along my clients own journey.”

At the Core

What do you aspire to achieve with your clients? “I want to help people create lasting impactful changes in the way they think about physical fitness. “

What drives and motivates you most? “What motivates me the most is seeing clients succeed (become confident, self correct, become creative with movements, increase body awareness and intentionality, relieve pain, stress, and fight depression, while forming consistent routines).

What are your personal goals, and what do you feel is your primary purpose? ”My personal goal is to continue to better myself, I believe we continually change and evolve with time, and I want to grow not only as a trainer and teacher, but as a mother, partner, and writer. I want to continue to prioritize learning especially from clients, professionals, and from actual experiences. I believe my primary purpose is to share this knowledge.“

Bit About Me

I have been living in Creston since 2020 and I absolutely love it here! I grew up visiting Kootenay lake every summer and my husband grew up in Creston he moved to Alberta for a number of years but it wasn’t hard to convince him to move back home to raise a family. I feel truly blessed to get to call this gem of a small town home.

Prior to this big move I had been living in the outdoor recreation capital of Canada the one and only Squamish BC! Located between Whistler and Vancouver it was a meca for all adventure seekers. My years there were incredible and loved so much about my time there.

I am a certified personal trainer, functional movement specialist, and group fitness instructor. My practice primarily centres around mind body activation, connecting to our movements and creating healthy sustainable practices.

I grew up in Vancouver and after graduation spent a couple brief stints in Mexico and Australia. I completed my bachelor of Arts degree at the University of British Columbia with the intention of completing my Bachelor of Education. However for a number of reasons I decided this wasn’t the right path for me. Instead I followed my heart and pursued my passion! I continually apply my knowledge of human development, gender, psychology, and motivation, learned threw my degree to my work.

Philosophy 

I believe we have a soul, an essence if you will, that consists of our self talk, and consciousness, of our passions, desires, and our needs. Often in this day and age we become conditioned to ignore this sort of philosophical concept, and we are taught to exist within the machine of society. We may become wrapped up in the process of life; school, job, work, reproduce, work, die. I find this process of simply living for the system to be sad. I believe in order to truly achieve balance and happiness we need to stay true to our soul.

When I was younger I remember telling myself I would live everyday of the rest of my life as if it were summer vacation. Although there have been times I haven’t adhered wholeheartedly to this idea, for the most part I want to believe I have. I can honestly say I have lived the best life that I possibly could. Of course we need money to survive, and must therefore do things that aren’t always the ‘funnest’, but I have seized every opportunity, and attempted to learn from every misfortune. I still have a long way to go, with infinite things to cross off my list of wonders. But so far for me, my biggest accomplishment has been taking the time to look inside myself and ask what it is that makes my soul happy. I feel this is key, and it is never too early or too late to reconnect with the person you are, and who you may wish to become. To create a job out of something I love to do, and something that I want to spend my time doing is a thrill I had never experienced until becoming a personal trainer. I am so grateful for the life I have and I think this crazy world can offer some wonderful things. My hope is to help others along on their own unique journeys and to facilitate happiness

 My Fitness Story

          My fitness journey started with a goal. One summer I sat looking across Kootenay Lake and said to myself one day I want to swim right across to the other side (approx. 6-8km). Then, I decided that day should be that summer (2014) . So at the start of November (2013) I began swimming 3 days a week for 45 minutes. I would do about 1km in this time and would do a variety of stokes. I’ve always been a swimmer but have never taken lessons, it was just something I had picked up and used to do often with my father. Although I could swim, there was still a long way to go before I was set for a marathon distance like 8km (I realize for some people 6-8km might not be that far, but for me it was a very scary ambition). The main obstacle I had to overcome was learning to do the front crawl, this stroke had always been difficult for me and I could barley make it 25 meters before I would have to stop and catch my breath. I asked the lifeguards to give me pointers when they were free, and I slowly started to perfect my form and build my endurance. 25 meters turned into 50m then to 75m then 100m, and then one day I was swimming the crawl and it all just clicked. I thought to myself, I get it now, lets see how far I can go. I swam a full 1km straight, and from that point on there was no looking back. It became a part of my life, I craved it, and missed it if I was unable to swim. I increased my frequency and duration and by the end of March I was swimming 3km in 73 minutes (which I thought was quite good!). I also started adding in resistance training and although it was hard at first it became an equal favorite. Again by the end of March I was hitting the gym 3-4 days a week and feeling amazing.

It wasn’t long into my journey I started to notice many other changes besides my performance. I became much more centered and calm, and much more self confident, and empowered. I began eating healthier, and drinking more water, and much less alcohol. Clothes began to fit differently and I felt much more confident in my own skin, my body felt stronger. I became very appreciative of everything I had, and for the first time since I can remember, I made it the entire winter without getting sick. Not one cold or flu! I used to joke that I was in need of a new immune system because I was ill almost the entire winter. It wasn’t uncommon for me to be sick once or twice a month! So when everyone else I new fell victim to the winter cold I stayed strong, and that in itself was the best reward.

Unfortunately April was a tough month for me and although I decided a month of slacking off wouldn’t be detrimental, I hadn’t anticipated how it would end. On April 28th (2014) I was hit by a driver who ran a red light. I was driving my scooter home after a morning of swimming and grocery shopping, when he hit me on my right side. I was thrown about 20 feet and was taken to hospital in an ambulance. Although the hit was serious, my body (and I strongly believe this is because my body was in the best shape it had ever been in) survived without any major breaks. I left the hospital with a couple of fractured ribs and a generally horribly bruised body. For anyone who has had soft tissue damage before, there is nothing soft about it. I was in the worst pain of my life, and the saying “I feel like I’ve been hit by a truck” has taken on a whole new meaning for me. But all in all, what I experienced was nothing compared to what could have happened. I was extremely lucky! However me being lucky still meant months of recovery. This meant my goal to swim Kootenay Lake at the end of July wasn’t going to happen.

Then almost 10 months later, as I began training once again for my swimming goal I found out I was pregnant! Although I could have kept training and especially continued to swim I found myself needing to change my work hours in preparation for matt leave and simply could not afford to devote the time and energy into continuing to train at that intensity, and work, while still enjoying my pregnancy. After having my daughter I realized swimming laps is pretty much impossible with a child to supervise, and then I had another, and then another…so more then 10 years later this swim is still postponed! Maybe next summer 😉

In all of this I have learned the importance of staying positive, staying present, in the moment, and appreciating the fluidity of time. Nothing is forever; emotions, challenges, success, failure, stresses, pain, health, all fluctuate. Harnessing mindfulness and appreciating the now is a wonderful skill to continually work on.  I’ve attempted to draw strength from my physical set  back, as I want to adapt my misfortune, and hopefully use it as a point of shared understanding with clients. I understand that life happens and unexpected events arise, choosing to live a healthy lifestyle is just that, a lifestyle, and if you are set back physically there are still so many healthy things available to you. I understand how hard is to keep and regain motivation. And I understand disappointment.