One Rising Star

#thebestisyettocome2021 “Perseverance: persistence in doing something despite difficulty or delay in achieving success.” It has been a very busy, challenging and rewarding few months. A lot of blood, sweat and tears went into getting back into ‘competition’ shape. I am thrilled to be taking a short ‘break’ now and what’s great about it is that I can ‘rest’ knowing that I have given it my all and ‘left it all out on the floor’. Alot of people seem to ignore the amount of work and sacrifice that most athletes must put in/make to achieve success. Often, people think professional athletes are just born with the necessary talent to be successful. In some cases, this may be true, but for many others, the fight to get to the top is a gruelling journey. Now, I am by no means a professional athlete myself, but I have experienced an effortful journey with Figure Skating, Soccer, Running and CrossFit. When I began each of these sports, some may have said that I was a little better than average, b

#thebestisyettocome2021   "Be your biggest competitor.  Challenge yourself each day to be better than you were yesterday." A few months ago, I felt like I needed a concrete goal to keep my mind focused on something positive and to allow myself to keep growing as an athlete as well as an individual. For that reason, I decided I wanted to commit to some 'CrossFit' competitions (again).   This past weekend, I finally got that opportunity to compete again. I was blessed to do it along side some of the most amazing athletes at an event called the Turf Games. My team did really well, finishing 16th out of 45 teams. It was an absolutely wonderful experience!   Several weeks prior to the competition, I knew that I was nowhere near ready to compete. I was all over the place mentally and physically and my training wasn't at all tailored to get me ready for a CrossFit competition. That said, as soon as I set myself up with a goal, dedicated myself to the preparation process

#thebestisyettocome2021   "Un%!#&withable (adj.) When you are truly at peace and in touch with yourself, and nothing anyone says or does bothers you, and no negativity or drama can touch you."  A few months back, at the beginning of July, I was sitting on an Emirates flight, headed back to Canada. As I sat comfortably accross my 3 seats ( Thank you COVID! ) and listened attentively to some personal growth videos ( by Vishen Lakhiani from Mindvalley ) available on the in-flight entertainment system, I heard the word ' un%!#&withable ' for the very first time. I'm generally not known for using profanity, but ( so ) this word definitely caught my attention and it ended up sticking in my mind.  Fast forward a couple weeks later, towards the end of August, and you could find me sitting around reading the popular book called ' The subtle art of not giving a %!#& '.  Around the same time, I began attending some hypnotherapy sessions during which my th

#thebestisyettocome2021 “If you don’t know how to say no, your body will say it for you...” My latest study has been of a book titled ‘When the body says no - The cost of hidden stress” by Gabor Mate, a Hungarian-Canadian physician. This publication further explores the mind-body connection; it uses medical research, interviews and case studies to show the relationship between our brain and our bodily systems ( particularly our immune system ) as well as the effects of stress on our health ( especially the hidden stresses we all generate from our early programming ).  As I read the first few chapters of the book and learned about the mind-body link with conditions such as multiple sclerosis, cancer, ALS, arthritis, Alzheimer’s, asthma, ulcerative colitis, inflammatory bowel disease and irritable bowel syndrome, I felt unsurprised, yet I also felt an overwhelming sense of sadness and fear. That said, as I wrapped up the final pages and embarked on a journey to better understand why I am

#thebestisyettocome2021   “Make every breath count.” Seeing as I’m currently on a mission to gain a better understanding of the human body and how to optimize health, wellbeing and performance, it only seems fitting that I look into one of the most basic human instincts - breathing. I feel like practicing breathing techniques has become somewhat of ‘a trend’ these last few years and that it is regularly being recommended to individuals dealing with stress in particular. That said, I have often wondered if people ( including myself ) truly understand why breathing is of such a large importance.  The book “Breath”, by James Nestor, was recently recommended to me by a friend and I am so delighted to have had the time to read it over the last few weeks. Throughout the book, the author shares some of his own experiences related to breathing; tests he did, experiments he participated in, researches he pursued and encounters he had with a variety of individuals from around the world. The book

#thebestisyettocome2021 “Go with the flow.” About 6 or 7 months ago, I started developing a greater interest in weightlifing and powerlifting. As I increasingly trained these 2 disciplines, I noticed more than ever that my body didn’t quite feel the same week to week; some weeks I felt incredibly strong and others I felt astonishingly weak using the same amount of weight on the barbell ( or less ). There’s no doubt that we all have good and bad days when we train and that there are a variety of factors that could impact our performance in the gym, such as sleep, nutrition and stress just to name a few, but as the weeks progressed I began noticing a pattern and I felt the need to inquire a little further into what was happening within my body. At the same time when I started developing an interest in learning more about the female body and its relationship with training, a close friend of mine was experimenting with dietary changes to help with other female-related issues she was experi

#thebestisyettocome2021 "A stressed out mind and body usually leads to a stressed out gut."  If you've spoken to me over the last 2 years, I've probably told you all about how I've been experiencing odd "stomach" problems.  Despite the fact that I look completely normal on the outside and can perform all of my daily tasks, including working out, unfortunately these persistent "stomach" problems I have been experiencing have taken a toll on my sleep quality and quantity as well as on my overall sense of wellbeing.  At this point, I've seen several doctors, I've done many tests, I have cut out numerous food items, I have invested in a long list of supplements and I have changed some of my daily habits, all of which have sadly led to very little relief.  I've just recently finished reading a book called "The Mind-Gut Connection" by Dr. Emeran Mayer and though I couldn't quite grasp and retain all of its contents (it was q

#thebestisyettocome2021 "One of the best feelings in the world is bouncing back.  Bouncing back from heartbreak, “failure”, paralyzing fear, self-doubt, low self-esteem, and lack of self-confidence. " Just over two months after my first ever weightlifting competition,  I made the decision to compete once again.  As I prepared for my second competition, many thoughts went through my mind.  To begin with, I have still been trying to sort out my ‘gut’ issues and this has been causing me to lose weight, strength and energy.  Of course, life in general (adulting as I like to call it) has been keeping me and my mind very busy too. Lastly, I did so well in my first competition, I honestly wondered if I could live up to those same standards a second time around.  Nonetheless, I decided I’d give it a go...because you know how much I like a challenge! This time however, I tried to alter my expectations for myself. My main goal: be consistent and don’t fail any lifts. I felt fairly good