Three Branches Wellness

Spend your downtime well. Another Crown Land adventure avec Monsieur

Join the Monthly Movers Club! 🕺🏼🏌🏻🤸🏽‍♀️🏊🏻‍♀️🚴🏽‍♀️

Regardless of your age, possessing good mobility is a bit of a superpower. 🦸🏽‍♀️ 🦸🏻‍♂️  It allows you to perform a wonderful range of activities - anything from long walks to dancing to martial arts to rock climbing.

Join me on the first Saturday of Oct/Nov/Dec, 1pm-3pm in the Yoga Room at , 2100 Bloor St. W., for this fun, informative and invigorating dive into anatomy, biomechanics and dynamic movement study. These workshops are all-levels, no previous experience is required.

Suggested to wear/bring:

Comfortable activewear (long pants recommended), socks, knee pads (optional), yoga mat (if you don’t have one, we have a few extra on hand), water bottle.

You can sign up for individual sessions or for the entire series at a discounted rate. For full details and to reserve your spot, visit the link in my bio.

Feel free to DM with questions. I look forward to moving with you!

NEW WORKSHOP SERIES 📣

The Monthly Movers Club classes are designed to help fuel the energy that accompanies the approaching cooler days, as well as providing conditioning for the winter months that invariably follow.

These all-levels sessions explore principles for healthy and sustainable dynamic movement. Learn to improve your mobility, strength, balance and confidence, moving on the ground and upright.

The material varies from workshop to workshop, and includes elements of:

· Joint and tissue conditioning – warm-ups, self-massage, rebounding and jiggling

· Ground movement – rolling, crawling, mid-plane transitions

· Upright movement – walking, running, skipping, bounding, jumping

· Strength-building developmental and primal movement

No previous movement study experience is required. The classes are suitable for a wide range of ages and abilities and are particularly useful if you are an older adult seeking to maintain or improve mobility in your later years.

Visit https://threebrancheswellness.com/2024/09/monthly-movers-club-at-conquer-fitness-bloor-west/ for full details and to register for individual sessions or for the full series at a discounted rate. You can also sign up at the gym’s front desk.

A post on pain, injury, fear and persistence.

PLYOMETRICS AT 55 🦘 Back in 2014, I was diagnosed with a torn medial meniscus in my right knee (a byproduct of being on the receiving end of misinformed yoga instruction, which is a whole other story of its own). After a CT scan, my doctor referred me to the sedentary, 60-something year-old rheumatologist with which they shared office space. They tut-tutted at the damage, told me to stop running and recommended cortisol shots. Thankfully, I ignored both suggestions, instead opting for a hamstring strengthening regimen that had me running pain-free within a couple of months. In 2022, participating in my first, post-pandemic movement study intensive, I pushed too hard and was rewarded with a 5th metatarsal (baby toe side) fracture in my left foot. As soon as I reached the suggested window to allow it to heal, I was out doing short runs on it. A few weeks later, I was back to my usual 5-7 km distances. Fast forward to now, where I’m prepping for Masters (age 35+) athletics – specifically long jump, an event I excelled at in high school. The training involves the intense plyometrics shown in the videos above. Launching (pun intended) this practice at 55 is no small feat, but my body has responded well and I’m excited to see if I can get close to or even surpass the Canadian record for my age group, which currently sits at 5.46m. My point is, whether it’s a torn cartilage, a broken foot, busyness or fatigue, setbacks happen. If I’d listened to the physician, or after the fracture let the fear of resuming activity decide my course of action, I likely would not be doing sprint drills, box jumps and single-leg hopping. Pain, and often injury, are a natural part of being alive. Movement is risk, and for myriad reasons there are a lot of folk out there who are low-risk when it comes to being active. My hope is that this post will show that backed with the proper knowledge* it’s o.k. to take risks and even push your boundaries. You might find yourself surprised at what you can accomplish. #plyometrics #mastersathletics #longjump #painscience #persistence #personaltraining #highpark #bloorwestvillage #junctionTO

Scenes from a thoroughly enriching, life-affirming week at Spiral Camp with and . Met, studied and moved with some fascinating souls, shared many stories, geeked out on anatomy and biomechanics, and when not workshopping, spent my days savouring fresh air, serene vistas, cooling ocean water, and meals crafted with so much love. Returned brimming with new vantages and concepts to explore, integrate and pass on to others. If you'd like to learn some yourself, join in an upcoming class or workshop. Next one is this Saturday.

THE SCIENCE OF BREATHING WORKSHOP AT CONQUER FITNESS 🫁

"I'm just happy to be breathing."

That sentence came from a friend during a discussion about gratitude, and the succinctness of their expression has stuck with me ever since.

Such a simple bodily function to be thankful for, but also one so complex that without it, we cease to function.

Years ago, I became fascinated with the various breathing techniques offered in yoga, and when I returned to both cycling and distance running, I began to delve more into the science of respiration and options to promote healthy breathing.

You can explore some of these options for yourself at my next workshop, The Science of Breathing, on Saturday, July 13, from 1 pm - 2:30 pm at .

During this workshop, we will look at:

- The anatomy of the lungs and surrounding musculature.
- How to release diaphragmatic tension to enable easier breathing.
- The concept of three-dimensional respiration and how it can help to improve lung capacity and pelvic floor health.
- Techniques to down-regulate nervous activity, reducing stress.
- Why nasal-only breathing is vital to well-being.
 
The workshop is all-levels, no prior practice is required. Early-bird pricing is available for a limited time, and the class size will be kept small - preregistration is recommended.

Full details, including workshop outline, suggested attire, pricing, and booking information are available in the link in the bio.

You're also welcome to DM me with any questions.

https://threebrancheswellness.com/2024/02/moving-into-spring-movement-labs-at-conquer-fitness-bloor-west/

While we're still in the midst of a rather see-saw Toronto winter, we're getting closer to those consistently warmer, longer and brighter days, and the increased energy that accompanies.

Will you be ready to come out of hibernation and move into spring?

On Saturday, March 23, and Saturday, April 6, 1 pm - 3 pm, shake off the outgoing season with these two fun and informative movement study workshops at Conquer Fitness Bloor West.

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗜: 𝗚𝗲𝘁𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗗𝗼𝘄𝗻 - 𝗡𝗲𝗴𝗼𝘁𝗶𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗧𝗵𝗲 𝗚𝗿𝗼𝘂𝗻𝗱: 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗠𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵 𝟮𝟯, 𝟭𝗽𝗺 - 𝟯𝗽𝗺

𝗪𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀𝗵𝗼𝗽 𝗜𝗜: 𝗨𝗽 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗔𝘁 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗺 - 𝗨𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗴𝗵𝘁 𝗠𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁: 𝗦𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗱𝗮𝘆, 𝗔𝗽𝗿𝗶𝗹 𝟲, 𝟭𝗽𝗺 - 𝟯𝗽𝗺

These sessions will give you opportunity to:

• Explore options for healthy, sustainable movement.
• Refine your understanding of how your body moves, and how it 𝘤𝘢𝘯 move.
• Get answers to questions about your movement and mobility.
• Gain confidence in your ability to move well and with ease.
• Connect with a community of curious movers.

The classes are all-levels, no prior movement study experience is required. Early-bird pricing is available for a limited time, and class sizes will be kept small - preregistration is recommended.

Full details, including workshop outlines, suggested attire, pricing, and booking information are available in the link at the top of the post. You're also welcome to DM me with any questions.