Move Your Body Every Day!

Exercise alone is not the key to overall wellbeing, but it sure plays a huge part in it. The scientific benefits of moving your body daily can’t be denied, but the variety of options out there these days can be overwhelming. Getting out into nature with my dog, hiking, camping, canoeing and yoga have totally changed my life and body. Talking a 5-10-minute walk daily can be enough to kick start a whole new experience of your own body and start to build a new picture of optimal health. The first 30 years of my life were spent in front of the TV. The only time I got outdoors for any form of physical activity was to do some pretty low level car camping. That consisted of putting up a tent and sitting by the fire to consume 10,000 calories of alcohol, hotdogs and s’mores. After rescuing a stray Rottweiler, we discovered back country canoe camping. She couldn’t be put in a kennel or looked after by anyone other than me or my partner, so we needed to find creative ways to vacation that included her. Getting out on the water and into nature didn’t only sooth our savage beastie, it did the same for me. The calm I felt out in the Ontario wilderness was something I had never experienced camping at family camp grounds. Anyone who has taken a walk through the forest knows how healing it can be. There is even some science popping up that walking barefoot in the forest can help to significantly reduce pain in the body and improve sleep! Yoga changed my life and I strive to share this passion with anyone who’s willing and firmly believe that the benefits are accessible to everyone. Yoga and meditation allow time to disconnect from day-to-day stresses and go within. Every body and mind can find healing through consistent, compassionate, practice. Growing up extremely overweight; body image issues were a constant for most of my life. My life was filled with stress, anxiety, chronic pain and self-judgement. Years spent working in the food service industry had left me totally unhealthy. Yoga shifted that. The physical practice challenges my limiting beliefs. It leaves me feeling empowered in my own body, something previously unknown to me. Yoga, meditation and focused breath have allowed me to find deep inner calmness and self-acceptance. This practice transformed me. Not just physically, but emotionally as well. Ten months after my first yoga experience, I was in yoga teacher training! Today I’m an ERYT-500 Baptiste certified yoga teacher; I teach 10+ classes weekly and run workshops all over the GTA. This stuff works and I’m determined to share the magic with anyone who is open to shifting what they think is possible. If you would like to check out my teaching schedule at Power Yoga Canada, click here for PYC City Centre, and here for PYC Etobicoke. To book group or private sessions, please email me at info@mikemurdoch.ca