Three Branches Wellness

Just mid-50s jumping things.

Recovering from a mild heel bruise, today was a good day for landing practice.

Getting your legs out in front for that extra reach takes strong hip flexors and quick reflexes. Like most movement, overcoming the fear of landing on your ass requires repetition and a healthy degree of self-trust.

1. Warm-up - legs up, drive arms down.
2. Add height and cushioning - same movement, first starting level with the pads, then decreasing box height to increase challenge. This one was off a 3" platform.
3. In the pit. Even with it piled up, sand isn't nearly as forgiving from a standing jump as the high jump cushions; allowing your legs to absorb some of the shock helps.

Regardless of your age and current ability, If you're looking to recover, maintain, or augment your capacity for movement and fitness, I can help. Specializing in older bodies, DM and we can discuss.

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.

What do you do when you’re 55 and have a whole long weekend free?

If you’re me, you trek out to the backcountry with friends ten years your junior and go on gruelling, hours-long hikes with 11kg of gear and food on your back, through often thorny and swampy paths, over beaver dams, and grabbing saplings to hoist yourself up craggy, 75° inclines. All so you can finally land in a secluded spot next to a pristine, clear lake, where there are no other people and the only sounds are those of the local fauna – crows, owls, frogs, the occasional splash of a fish surfacing to dine.

Why? For me, it's so that hopefully, 10, 15 and 20 years from now, I can continue to do the same thing.

Maintaining strength, mobility, balance, resilience, and endurance is hard work, and truth be told, it does get harder as you get older. Fortunately, regardless of your age, the effort is equally rewarding.

The best way to mitigate this is to make health and fitness a priority early in life - something that is not imparted nearly enough in our largely desk, car, and couch-bound society. Barring that, the next best way is to start from where you are now.

It’s now going on fifteen years since I started helping people of all ages with their health and fitness, and I am always looking for more effective ways to do this.

In June, I head out to Salt Spring Island in B.C. to work with Shira Yaziv and Sebastian Grubb at Spiral Camp, a week-long movement study intensive. I plan on returning with a bagful of new options and fresh perspectives.

When I get back, I will be hosting a workshop on Saturday, July 13 at Conquer Fitness Bloor West Village - “The Science of Breathing”. Learning to breathe well gives us control over nervous activity, and when we have that in our pocket, everything else tends to flow more smoothly. The workshop will be open to gym members and non-members alike.

Lastly, I am also working on a rebranding of my services. Many of my clients want to focus on getting stronger, and while I have resistance bands and kettlebells to assist with that, some people will quickly graduate from that equipment, and will do well to move on a more diverse training system. Fortunately, I have a space where there are free weights, cardio equipment, a running track, as well as a room for movement study and yoga practice – the aforementioned Conquer Fitness.

Bespoke personal training, coming soon – stay tuned for details. 💪🏽

MOVING INTO SPRING II – THIS SATURDAY, APRIL 6

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

Here are some scenes from our March 23 session at Conquer Fitness. A big thanks to everyone who made it out, we had a great group that brought oodles of curiosity and enthusiasm!

We had fun with ground exploration, learning about allowing gravity to assist in our movements, using the elasticity of our bodies’ tissues to reduce effort, finding landing pads that provide cushioning when falling and rolling, and arranging our bodies in ways that create easeful transitions.

This Saturday’s workshop is all about upright movement. We’ll delve into gait analysis, exploring how to walk and run using your spine, the role of the psoas muscle, hip, knee, and foot mechanics and how they all work together, and much more.

Moving Into Spring II runs from 1 p.m. – 3 p.m. in the Yoga Room. Cost is $40 for non-members, $28 for members. You can register via the link at the top, or at the gym’s front desk. There are still a few non-member spots available, but if you plan on dropping in on Saturday, please call the gym beforehand to ensure space is available.

FASCIAL FLOW: ANALYZING SEATED TO PRONE ROLLING

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

With my two Moving Into Spring movement study workshops coming up (March 23 and April 6, details in the above link), I want to give primers on some basic movements we explore in these sessions. Get these down pat, and you’ll be able to fall and roll with ease, as well as expand them into more dynamic sequences.

1. LEAN INTO THE FALL: When we fall, our instinct tends to be to avoid doing so, typically by leaning away and bracing. Even from a short distance, this actually accelerates your velocity - meaning, you’ll fall faster and harder, increasing risk of injury. It might seem counterintuitive at first, but leaning into a fall makes for a softer landing, with more options to transition out of it.

2. HAND PLACEMENT MATTERS: Landing your hand before the rest of your body allows you to use your whole arm as a shock absorber. Place your hand out too far, you’ll likely impact your elbow and/or strain your shoulder - too close and you’ll reduce the range you have to lower down. There’s a sweet spot for your hand where it feels relatively effortless to both land and push away.

3. USE YOUR SQUISHY PARTS: It doesn’t feel good to land on bony protrusions like elbows and knees. Try to land and roll onto your body’s natural pads: in this case, the pinky side of your hand, the back of your forearms, and the meaty part of your shoulder.

4. SLIDE TO SWITCH: As you roll your torso to a prone position, your legs need to follow. Slide the leg closest to the ground under the top one, rather than lifting the top one over. Much less effort, and also helps the pelvis to drop and makes completing the roll easier.

5. PUT IT ALL TOGETHER: Moving from prone to seated means doing everything we covered in reverse. To make it all smooth and fluid, start slowly – as your body begins to memorize the key placements, you can add both speed and power, giving you all sorts of options for further transitions.

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.

Starting after the civic holiday weekend, I'll be bringing my practice to the midtown-based, Reflexology & Shiatsu Services of Toronto. Every Thursday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Click the link for full details.

Starting August, 2023 - New Midtown Clinic Space