Journey Fitness + Wellness Newsletter - March 7, 2021
Newsletter
- March 7, 2021
As spring nears,
it is so nice to see more
daylight. With the brighter days,
you may feel renewed energy after
a long winter spent mostly indoors
and under lockdown. This is also
often a time when we start to feel
like doing some spring cleaning of
our homes, garages and the
outdoors. It’s also a great time
to revisit any intentions you may
have set at the start of the year
and to think about what seeds to
plant when the frost lifts and the
ground thaws – both the seeds in
your outdoor garden and the garden
of your life. I look forward to
the warmer weather and to being
able to once again visit with
family and friends and enjoy the
outdoors and the longer days. I
also look forward to continuing
our virtual yoga and Pilates
practices together. There have
been a few changes to the schedule
including the addition of a 4-week
beginner yoga series and a 30-Day
Meditation Challenge which
includes 4 weekly classes to help
you establish and maintain a
consistent meditation practice.
You are welcome to propose new
class ideas for the upcoming
Summer Schedule to me@deborahnordstrom.ca
In the meantime, I hope to see you
on your mat for one of the series
of classes running this spring or
for your own private or
semi-private class to connect with
your family and friends to shake
out the cob webs or celebrate
spring’s arrival or any another
special event!
Spring
Class Schedule
Monday,
March 8 - May 9 (no class on
April 4)
Cost:
Sign up for any
of the eight-week class series for
$120. Sign up with a friend and
you both receive $10 off! Sign
up for two eight-week series for
$220.
Sign up for the
four-week Beginner Yoga series for
$60. Sign up with a friend and you
both receive $5 off!
Drop in to any
of the classes in the series for
$20
Purchase the
8-class Spring Pass and attend any
8 classes of the Spring series for
$130. Sign up with a friend and
you both receive $10 off!
For more
information on these classes and
to register visit: deborahnordstrom.ca
Meditation
Mondays, March 8-29, 7:00-8:00pm
Meditation may
not always be easy, yet it has too
many benefits not to do it. It
positively affects your health,
relationships and tasks. If you
think you don’t have the time to
meditate, would you change your
mind if you knew that for every
minute you meditate you can gain
back 9 minutes of your day? More
importantly, by meditating
regularly, you will experience
greater happiness and improve
the quality of your life
experiences!!
This 30-day
meditation challenge and the 4
weekly classes it includes will
help you establish and maintain a
consistent meditation practice
that can continue even after the
challenge is over. Whether you are
new to meditation, had a practice
and have fallen off your seat or
are a regular practitioner, coming
together in a group for meditation
can feel very powerful and
supportive.
I hope that you
will join me for the 30-day
Meditation Challenge which runs
from Monday, March 8 to Tuesday,
April 6. For four weeks, we come
together virtually on Monday
evenings, 7:00-8:00pm, March 8,
15, 22, 29. The rest of the time
you are left to meditate on your
own schedule. A private Facebook
Group will be created for you to
stay connected with one another
with any questions, thoughts or
for sharing your experiences
should you wish to.
Cost: $60 or
sign up with a friend and you both
receive $5 off.
STAY
CONNECTED!
Looking for new
ways to stay connected with family
and friends during these times?
Host your very
own virtual yoga class or series
of weekly yoga classes for up to
10 people. It’s also a great way
to celebrate a birthday,
retirement, or any other special
occasions like bridal shower, new
job, etc.
A 1-hour private
class costs $75 – shared by 10
that’s only $7.50/person*! You
choose the date/time, level and
style of practice from Hatha,
Meditation, Flow, Yin,
Restorative, Yoga-infused Pilates,
etc. Check out My Studio
for more details or contact
me@deborahnordstrom.ca
*cost/person
will vary with number of
participants.
“Yoga
is not about touching your
toes,
it’s
about what you learn on the
way down.”
Events
in March!!
March
is Nutrition Month!
The intention of
Nutrition Month is to increase
awareness of the importance of
healthy eating. This year’s theme
from Dieticians Canada is “Dieticians
can help you find your healthy”.
Visit Dieticians of Canada’s
website for nutrition resources
and activities to plan your
Nutrition Month activity.
Did you know
that what you feed your body
affects your mind and vice versa?
Nourish yourself well with the
things that you eat, think, watch,
and read as all these will affect
your wellbeing.
“The
gut-brain connection is no joke;
it can link anxiety to stomach
problems and vice versa.”-
-Harvard
University
…brain
research is the hope for
treatments, preventions, and
possible cures for brain
diseases and disorders and to
ensure a better quality of life
at all ages.” – Brain Awareness
Organization
March 11-17 is Brain
Awareness Week. Checkout
some of the activities
for all ages that you can plan in
your community to draw awareness
to brain health.
To improve your
brain health be sure to include
these Eleven
Brain Foods into your diet:
fish, coffee, blueberries,
turmeric, broccoli, pumpkin seeds,
dark chocolates, nuts, oranges,
eggs and green tea. Press the link
for a list of the benefits.
Why not be
creative and plan a special dinner
menu which includes as many brain
foods as possible during Brain
Awareness Week! Here’s my menu:
1/3
cup plain whole-milk Greek yogurt
(or mayonnaise or non-dairy
substitute)
2
tablespoons extra-virgin olive oil
½
teaspoon ground turmeric
1
clove garlic, minced
2
teaspoons lemon zest
1
tablespoon fresh lemon juice
1
teaspoon kosher salt
1
teaspoon black pepper
Mix
all ingredients together and serve
over your favourite raw, steamed
or roasted vegetables.
Did you know
that Happiness is a
skill that you can learn? “Western
neuroscience has now confirmed
what Eastern wisdom has known for
a long time. Research shows that
happiness, compassion and kindness
are the products of skills that
can be learned and enhanced
through training, thanks to the
neuroplasticity of our brains.”
March 20 is International
Day of Happiness. This is
annual event organised by the
United Nations to promote the idea
that feeling happy is a global
human right. Actionforhappiness.org
supports and organises the day,
with support from other groups.
“The theme for this year's
International Day of Happiness is
'Keep Calm. Stay Wise. Be Kind'
and is, of course, in response to
the COVID pandemic.” Why not join
a free
10-day Happiness Program to
boost your wellbeing during these
times or read a book that lifts
your spirits and makes you laugh!
“Happiness
is when what you think, what you
say, and what you do,
are
in harmony.” - - Mahatma
Gandhi
The
Happiness Project lays out
a road map for a personal year of
self-study. Everyone month, the
author, Gretchen, sets resolutions
for different areas of her life to
experience more happiness such as
..., vitality, marriage, work,
parenthood, leisure, friendship,
money, etc. In the final month
December, “Boot Camp Perfect
Happiness” she attempts to follow
all of the resolutions she set all
the time. As part of this project,
she also creates a blog and
invites others to comment
and share their own personal
experiences related to the
resolutions. The blog responses
offer others’ view points on the
happiness project monthly
challenges. You might just find
your story in one of the blog
posts 😉
Have a read and
maybe you'll be inspired to start
your own happiness project even if
only for a month!!
“The days
are long, but the years are
short” is a reminder “to
stay in the moment, to
appreciate the seasons, and to
revel in this time of life...”
p. 699
You
are welcome to share this
newsletter with your friends and
colleagues.