Search Our Blog
Categories
-
Subscribe for Updates
By signing up, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy.
Spynga Locations
Tags
Chef Jordan Wagman class cleaneatz cleanse cleanse for life cold-pressed comfort food cycling Delivery Room downward dog essential oils fitness fitness tips fresh goals having a baby healthy living healthy living toronto healthy meal hollow body position inspiration juice kids yoga massage meal plan mental health Motherhood motivation my first wheels myFood coach natural OperationSWEAT spyngaFide post natal soghrati tanya carinci technology toronto yoga tracey training pairings workout yin yin/yang yin yoga yoga yoga teacher trainingSpynga on Instagram
Instagram has returned invalid data.
Category Archives: life & wellness coaching
The Most Unusual Piece of Advice I Got Before Becoming a Mom
Moms are heroes. Remember those pesky little things called pregnancy and labour? Remember how much reading and preparing we did for those things? Well, creating a human inside you then pushing it out through a tiny hole is just the beginning. It’s the beginning of something harder, something you can’t prepare for, something that requires on-the-job, minute by minute training. Oh, and also, it starts right after you create a human inside you and then push it out through a tiny hole. You’re freakin’ tired, your body aches, your abs are torn apart, you might have staples in places a stapler should NEVER be and it starts whether you’re ready or not. Looking back, this is the easy part. Soon they’re walking, then talking (probably talking back) and the next thing you know they want nothing to do with you, and they leave to go to a party where you’re worried they’ll get pregnant because you probably gave them self esteem issues. (Just a little glimpse in to my scary mommy brain…)
Posted in healthy living, life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal, toronto studio
Tagged Motherhood, yoga
Leave a comment
Why the Benefits of Returning to Fitness with Caution after Baby Are Lifelong
There are a few things new moms want to be mindful of when returning to a fitness routine after having a baby, particularly after consecutive pregnancies. 30-40% of mothers still experience symptoms of pelvic dysfunction one or more years after giving birth (i.e. diastasis recti AKA abdominal separation, pelvic organ prolapse, urinary incontinence, etc). This a significant chunk of the maternal population to be experiencing a sub-optimal recovery experience, the symptoms of which are not inconsequential.
I am one of these mothers. For me, my postnatal pelvic dysfunction was characterized by severe difficulty regenerating core strength, which as a woman who prides herself and relies upon my physical strength to live life effectively, has been devastating. I’ve also experienced stubborn knock-on effects from inadequate postnatal care that are very hard to undo. Don’t make the same mistakes I have!
Statistically I am not alone, but the sad thing is that many women suffer in silence because there is not much support or information that is readily available. Our capability, wellbeing, self-esteem and long-term health as mothers becomes compromised because we haven’t had the opportunity to recover as fully as we might have.
Posted in life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal
Tagged fitness, fitness tips, having a baby, post natal
Leave a comment
Confessions from a Broken Belly Mama
Pregnancy took my belly for a big, bumpy, RIP roaring ride. It never occurred to me that as the baby (and your belly) grows, the chances of tearing your abdominal muscles grow as well. With each pregnancy (there were 3) my #DiastasisRecti (DR) expanded and 6 fingers deep to be precise! For those of you who haven’t heard of the DR, it is defined as a separation of your rectus abdominis, AKA your six-pack! When the abdominal muscles move aside, your uterus, bowels and other organs have only a thin band of connective tissue in front to hold them ALL in place. After baby, this condition causes your belly to stick out (yes, just like it did when I was about 5 months pregnant). I was so excited to feel good in my own body again, however, this unfortunate symptom has been quite hard at times on this mama’s soul. People (mostly women) constantly ask me if I am pregnant again. “So…you are going for the fourth?” and “When are you due?” are the most frequent questions that I get. Being a fitness instructor and wearing spandex for a living doesn’t allow me to wear “looser” attire!
Posted in life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal, toronto studio
Tagged having a baby, Motherhood, post natal
3 Comments
My Cleanse for Life Story
My Cleanse for life story starts before I met Dr. Jodi Larry.
In April of 2014 I began spinning at Spynga as a way to train for the Ride to Conquer Cancer. Spynga gave me a comfortable place to workout. The exercise felt different. The space felt warm and welcoming and I wanted to be there. I spent time on the bike thinking about my intention, I yearned to do yoga, but truly felt I couldn’t. In spin class I was hearing about gratitude and setting intentions, and I was finding that my mind was thinking about these ideas as well as patience both on and off the bike. I was starting to think more about how I could take care of myself, and what I really needed to do for me.
That summer I began following Jodi’s posts. Friends of mine had participated in the Cleanse for Life program and said it was great. I thought that maybe it would help me lose unwanted weight. Like yoga, I was pretty sure I couldn’t do it. I couldn’t give up sugar and crackers and cheese – not even for 10 days. But, somehow I found the courage and I signed up to cleanse.
Posted in healthy living, life & wellness coaching
Tagged cleanse, cleanse for life, healthy meal, motivation
Leave a comment
What I Packed as I Wait for Baby!
So I made it. 40 weeks and no baby yet!
I was 5 days overdue with my first and beginning to think that my babies like to arrive fashionably late. What I did wake up with 2 days ago on my due date was a head cold and fever! An indication of labour or something I caught from my toddler? The latter is my guess. My daughter is a very affectionate 2 year old and is always holding hands or hugging the boogery kids when I go to pick her up from nursery school at the end of the day. Although, I have heard that when labour is eminent, symptoms are similar to that of the flu or a common cold.
So I am just resting and waiting for baby, trying everything I can to cure this cold. I need to have enough energy for the labour, delivery, and the first 2 nights with baby (yes, I did ring for a nurse to ask her what to do with my baby who wouldn’t stop crying all night as my husband, looked upon me, panic stricken as if we were in over our heads!) You need extra pre-labour/delivery sleep if you have the luxury of a little time to yourself.
Posted in healthy living, life & wellness coaching, pre/post natal
Tagged Delivery Room, fitness, having a baby, Motherhood, motivation
Leave a comment
myStory of inspiration
My name is Danielle Adler and I am a CYCLE instructor at the SpyngaNorth studio in Thornhill, Ontario and SpyngaSouth studio in Toronto, Ontario. I have been a committed Spyngee since the first location in Toronto opened at Bathurst and St. Clair in 2007.
After I read the post below (thanks for the shout out Patrick!) I thought I’d share with all of you a bit about the journey that I have been on with Spynga for the past six years. Through postpartum depression and the insanity of having babies twenty months apart, to giant weight loss, to finding enormous reward as a stay-at-home mom, to discovering that you really can LOVE what you do for a living, and now the surgery that I will have in April to shed the skin and reshape the parts of my body that will never change, no matter how much I exercise – Spynga has been with me through it all. I owe an enormous debt of gratitude to Casey and Sari for opening not just a yoga and cycling studio, but a second home for me, my family, and so many women and men. A place where lives and bodies are literally transformed. My before and after pics are posted here so that you can all see that it really is possible. And it feels FANTASTIC!!
-Danielle Adler
Spynga and Body Love
I’ve always been an perfectionist. For seven years through my late teens and early twenties, this trait manifested as a roller coaster of yo-yo diets, disordered eating behaviour and punishing workouts, in an endless pursuit of my own concept of the perfect body. Four years ago, on the verge of starting yet another diet cycle, I discovered an online community of people who believe in size acceptance and Health at Every Size (HAES), drastically shifting my goals and my frame of mind.
HAES posits that pursuing improved health outcomes can occur independent of deliberate changes in body size. In other words, healthy behaviours like eating well and exercising have value whether or not you become thinner as a result of these behaviours. From its website (http://www.haescommunity.org/), HAES encourages:
● Accepting and respecting the natural diversity of body sizes and shapes.
● Eating in a flexible manner that values pleasure and honours internal cues of hunger, satiety, and appetite.
● Finding the joy in moving one’s body and becoming more physically vital.
stack the good by being grateful
Do you ever notice that when you are feeling sincerely grateful there is this softness to your current space and time.¬†¬† When we take the time to stop and notice and are grateful for what is in front of our eyes, we instantly step out of our bubbles and connect with a higher means.¬† When we are grateful, we shift out of our own hurts and acknowledge what the universe has provided.¬† If only momentarily.¬† What would happen if this genuine feeling of gratitude was to expand where we experience thankfulness and appreciation in every bone in our bodies.¬† And – not just think it and say it but envelop ourselves in gratitude.¬† Can you imagine the bright beings we would all become?
When we are feeling grateful, this creates a surge of good emotions that begin to flood the body and elevate us.  As we stack the gratitude continuously, we can create momentum and feel better all the time, on most days and not sometimes.  Start stacking today. sn
Posted in life & wellness coaching
Leave a comment