Category Archives: Making Life Good Recommends

Making Life Good Recommends July 2020

Posted on July 31, 2020 | Leave a comment

This month marks 20 years of being a fitness trainer for me. With a worldwide pandemic, life certainly is very different, which requires adaptation and at the same time maintaining our health and fitness is more important than ever. Traditional chinese medicine acupuncture will soon be an additional service I offer. Fitness remains my first love and I very much hope to get back to teaching classes again soon.

It has been my habit to read every book that inspires me or comes highly recommended for many years now. I started keeping track of what I read over a decade ago when a friend asked how many books I read in a year. My answer was 20 and when I actually checked to be sure I was telling the truth…it was the truth and the number of books has only increased over the years. What is measured, improves-

Here are my book recommendations for this month:

Atomic Habits by James Clear-great book that breaks down how we can make effective small changes that add up to be consistent new habits that vastly improve our live.

The Power of Habit by Charles Duhigg-I cannot recommend Atomic Habits without also recommending this book, as it was also an excellent perhaps slightly more entertaining book. I very much appreciated learning about the ways our habits are shaped without our knowing.

The Death of Expertise by Tom Nichols-this book came to by attention based on this clip: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/problem-thinking-know-experts In this current environment of rampant misinformation, I found this book to be helpful in comprehending how we came to this sad state of affairs. I laughed a few times and also realized the gravity of having large groups of people be led by their feelings and bypassing any form of reasoning. One of the recommendations Tom Nichols had for having a more functional democracy is for the American population to be more engaged in civics and understand their political system. Interestingly, just before finishing the book, I learned of A Starting Point platform which Captain America (Chris Evans) launched for the purpose of educating and engaging more of the population https://www.astartingpoint.com

Being in the field of health and fitness, it has been so disheartening to find so much misinformation being shared on social media. This podcast was incredibly informative in understanding the forces behind the phenomenon: https://rebelwisdom.podbean.com/e/can-truth-survive-big-tech-tristan-harris/

This TED talk is shorter: https://www.ted.com/talks/tristan_harris_how_a_handful_of_tech_companies_control_billions_of_minds_every_day?language=en

So we really must be mindful of where we place our attention, plus sanity doesn’t sell

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Vivian Recommends June 2020

Posted on June 30, 2020 | Leave a comment

This has been a challenging time, as gyms are still closed and I have been unable to engage with my pretend cult of fitness, a joke I like to tell at my classes. I thought about writing a rant or at least a strong statement for what I stand for and then realized I have had this blog for 8 years. I have held myself to the standard of speaking lasting truths and share positive energy, so this body of work can grow…I better stick with that and here are some recommendations I have:

I read a few books this month and I highly recommend:

Defending Jacob by William Landay. I watched the Apple Tv show of the same name first and found the emotional story along with the character’s perception of reality to be very engaging. Both the book and the show are great.

Evolve Your Brain by Joe Dispenza. This is a fantastic book that goes into the neuroscience of how emotions are held in the body and how we can rewire our minds to build a better version of ourselves.

Deep and Simple by Bo Lozoff. This is a book that Mr Rogers bought many copies of to give away and he lived by the principle himself in his shows of delivering a message that was deep and simple. Great book on important philosophies to adopt in life

These articles:

It has been my experience lately and it has also been building up in the past few years that it has become more challenging to have a civil discussion, where both sides are actually heard. It seems more and more people are experts of their own right with no education in addition to feeling entitled to impose their opinions.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/show/problem-thinking-know-experts

Looking deeper into the Buddhist philosophy I came across this article:

Mara and the Buddha – Embracing our Suffering

It’s a long one and such a great reminder in what a mindfulness practice actually involves.

Here is a hilarious album by Chromeo, a Canadian band my brother and I discovered at a Canadian music week many years ago. The name Quarantine Casanova says it all and my fave track is Roni’s Got me Stressed Out:

This meditation I have managed to do a few times this month and have found it to be so helpful, building on the practice of the concepts Joe Dispenza teaches:

https://podcasts.apple.com/nz/podcast/dr-joe-dispenza-guided-space-meditation/id955266444?i=1000335916470

Hope you find these recommendations helpful in making life good-

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Mindful isolation living

Posted on March 31, 2020 | Leave a comment

Our daily in life in Canada changed very suddenly a couple weeks ago with the closing of schools and businesses. Having seen the lockdown that happened in China a couple months ago, it seemed implausible that we would see such restriction of freedom here in North America with our cultural norms being so different. When I saw the news of lockdown for friends in Italy, I learned there is no discrimination for a virus. This is a global issue that will be resolved most effectively with the collective cooperation of humanity as a whole.

The field of health and wellness involves connecting with and being around groups of people. Traditional chinese medicine which I’m about to start practicing involves physical touch for diagnosis. It has been a real adjustment to learn and accept that work I know as essential to being healthy is considered a health risk at the moment. All human contact is viewed as a potential health risk for now. How will this affect our psyche in the long term?

How do we cope with our world being so suddenly disrupted? Surely, we will be distracted on some level and we need to find a way to bring ourselves back to balance. The best way to optimize emotional, mental, physical balance and health is to focus on what is within our control. Top priority being how we utilize our time. Depending on our field of work and family situation, we may be busier than usual, adjusting to working from home or completely out of work with time on our hands. For all situations, we need to own our time and cultivate acceptance for the present moment.

Here are some mindful habits I recommend to feel more at peace at this uncertain time:

  • Practice meditation daily, any form for any length of time. I’ve made it a habit to start and end the day with meditation with additional short pieces at sunset and 3 minutes at 9pm daily to join in a collective meditation with friends around the world.
  • Prioritize sleep. With a pandemic illness circulating around the world and no treatment available, the defence is to be as strong and healthy as you can. Sleep is crucial to having optimal health and wellness.
  • Limit the amount of news or social media you consume as it can affect your emotional/mental well being and focus. I decided to stay away from one form of social media and notice feeling much better.
  • Get into a consistent hand washing habit and sanitize your smart phone and computer keyboard with alcohol frequently
  • Maintain healthy eating habits-drinking water, eating veggies and fruit daily, minimizing caffeine intake, and moderate alcohol intake
  • Get fresh air and physical activity daily. We have limited access to fitness facilities at the moment and we’ll need to be creative with the resources and space we have for now. A yoga mat is sufficient to practice yoga, some weights, gliders, tubing, anything that works in your space for strength training.
  • Be creative, try something new! Cook, dance, draw, garden, sing, write, anything that inspires you. Take the opportunity to work on something you’ve always meant to.
  • Most importantly connect with family and friends any way we can, practice gratitude together and reflect on how fortunate we are to be Canadian and we are all in this together with the world.

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Healthy Eating On Holiday

Posted on February 29, 2020 | Leave a comment

It’s been a week of fun in the sun with my good friend and fellow fitness professional K here in Jamaica. We taught fitness classes and enjoyed some amazing food…all included! Being fitness professionals we need to stay in shape, so I’ll share my strategies for eating all you can within reason for the sake of being healthy:

-The buffet is your friend for healthy eating with the most choice of healthy foods- prepared vegetables and fruit. Take the great variety of food as a visual meditation to see which foods you will most enjoy for that meal.

-Make it your plan to have one plate of food with an additional plate for dessert or extra food you like.

-Your main plate, start with your choices for veggies first, then add your choices of carbs and protein to create your own custom meal.

-Take time to thoroughly enjoy your meal, then check in to see if you are still hungry. If so, get some more food, otherwise take a breather and enjoy another course.

-I love desserts, so that is always on my list at a buffet. Depending on the size of the treats, I choose one or two pieces and enjoy with some fruit at the end of a meal. Papaya and pineapple contain digestive enzymes to help digest food.

-Be sure to get some exercise in between enjoying all the delicious food

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Exercise Intensity: the cult of sweat

Posted on January 31, 2020 | Leave a comment

Teaching more group classes I notice January can bring more people into the gym in developing a new habit of exercise. Exercise is a lifelong habit I believe in wholeheartedly. Last week I came to the conclusion I have a passion for exercise and physical education that can be humorously described as belonging to the ‘cult of sweat’.

There seems to be a general trend to ‘high intensity’ exercise which led me to look further at the research and various programs that are widely available. It seems the concept that short, high intensity interval workouts produced more ‘results’ of fat loss has been accepted as a most effective workout to achieve an ideal body composition and overall fitness.

‘High intensity’ exercises require you to utilize most major muscle groups of your body and some of the movements can be complex compound movements. For example, a ‘burpee’ requires a pushup, squat, moving into a plank, jump to a squat and vertical jump. Many new and seasoned exercisers need work to improve any of the above mentioned movements and the emphasis on ‘intensity’ allows for poorly executed movements.

There is no magic bullet to being fit and healthy. It requires commitment and regular practice to have exercise as a part of your lifestyle. Being fit, which I will define as being able to perform a variety of physical activities and movements requires BOTH cardio vascular and strength training. HIIT workouts can only be performed well once you have the fitness to sustain physical activity at a higher heart rate AND have developed the basic strength movement skills of squats, planks, pushups, lunges, etc.

Make it your goal to keep yourself healthy and moving well with a variety of exercise you enjoy. If you don’t enjoy exercise, you still need to move regularly to be healthy and maybe one day you will enjoy it.

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The Best Pizza in Toronto

Posted on September 1, 2019 | Leave a comment

My bestie Kathryn and I love pizza. We have eaten a lot of pizza in our time around the world. She knows a pizza blogger and we’ve decided we need to share our pizza picks. We are qualified pizza connoisseurs because we’re living the dream when we eat pizza by a pool with Taylor Swift blaring. This project became more serious last year when we conducted a pizza taste test and were surprised to learn that Blaze pizza, a chain from the US was a real winner with their spicy sauce. Since then we have tried a few pizzas and here is our list so far, which will be updated as we try more pizza. 

  • 1. Blaze Pizza (150 John St)-We are huge fans of Blaze pizza for the spicy sauce, the gluten free crust option, and all the toppings you can choose for yourself. The pizzas are made to order and are thin crust deliciousness. 
  • 2. General Assembly Pizza (318 Adelaide St W)-This pizza is a winner with a light, thin, slightly chewy crust made to order from a menu of interesting topping combinations. The kale salad is excellent. 
  • 3. Via Mercanti (188 Augusta Ave)-Italian style pizza with just the right amount of chew that tastes homemade and professional, like nonna would make. 
  • 4. Farm Boy (1005 Lakeshore Boulevard E)-makes a pretty tasty cauliflower pizza for people on restricted carbohydrate diets. I was willing to eat this pizza and it was more than acceptable-good news!

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Posted in Making Life Good Recommends, Restaurant review, Toronto, Vivian Law

Restful Sleep

Posted on June 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

As a traditional chinese medicine practitioner in training, natural wholistic health(lifestyle) is integral to the treatment approach. Having been in the field of health and fitness for 19 years this week, I learned many years ago that sleep is hugely important to being truly healthy. Sleep is a healthy habit that requires daily practice. Sleep restores your body and mind-it needs to be a priority. For many years I have advised people that quality sleep comes before the ambitious start to exercise first thing in the morning. It is also easier to make healthier food choices with better sleep. Sleep, exercise and nutrition are 3 pillars of being healthy.

Sleep has had much more air time in the field of health information in recent years. What actually happens with a person’s sleep is a different story, as sleep is a subjective experience. Here are my views on what quality sleep is:

  1. Falling asleep easily in a relaxed state
  2. Staying asleep with possible waking for urination
  3. Waking up feeling energized and well rested 7-8 hours later

This is the sleep standard I strive for. There are plenty of nights that are below this standard, and I keep practicing. Being able to manage your emotions and daily stressors is helpful to relaxing at the end of a day and letting go to fall asleep. Staying asleep and/or falling back asleep easily is a condition that I find traditional chinese medicine to be extremely helpful for. Waking up feeling energized, I find comes naturally with the habit of regular exercise, and being enthusiastic about life. Well rested, the science shows 7-8 hours of sleep is needed for optimal health. Consider it a required investment of 7-8 hours to start the day on the right track, so you can live well.

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Posted in Making Life Good Recommends, Meditation, Relaxation, stress relief, Vivian Law

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Observing your thinking

Posted on April 30, 2019 | Leave a comment

I taught yoga on Easter Sunday this year. I mentioned the idea to watch our thinking, as we can easily be carried away and fall into extreme forms of thought. I told a story of attending a church away from home and being questioned harshly that I apparently did not conform to their proclamation of accepting Jesus. Then I made a light hearted remark-here we are at the cult of yoga.

Having been in the field of fitness, health and wellness for over 18 years, I have seen various trends. Sometimes the trend easily becomes a form of entrenched belief so that people feel the need to convert others. Diet is the most obvious cycle of trends that people get caught up with and start insisting others follow their thinking. Forms of exercise with rigid programs dictate that movement must be performed in a certain way. Yoga can be an example of this with some forms of yoga being based on a very rigid, extreme routine.

After I made my comment on the cult of yoga, various articles came into my consciousness this week which highlighted the potential and existence of abuse in rigid practices of yoga. Being a yoga teacher, I felt disappointed to learn of this abuse in the community. I believe a way to prevent this type of cult following is to always be observing our thinking. 95% of our actions and thinking is unconscious, so it is a real daily practice to become more conscious of our behaviour and thinking. With consciousness and education, we are much more capable of thinking for ourselves. Add mindful meditation to thought watch, and we can have more peace within ourselves. The practice of yoga first and foremost is practicing being peaceful-

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Posted in Making Life Good Recommends, Vivian Law, Yoga Practice

Healthy Eating at the Buffet

Posted on February 28, 2019 | Leave a comment

I was at a wonderful all inclusive resort last week in Rose Hall Montego Bay teaching fitness and enjoying some sunshine. I was planning on giving a quick nutrition talk on healthy eating on vacation and at the buffet, however the plans were changed. I still gave the talk plenty of thought and wish to share it here.

All you can eat buffet, does that mean we should eat all we can? The short answer is no it is not a good idea to eat all that you can. Food is for nourishment and enjoyment. Our body is rebuilt on a daily basis, so we need food as fuel. Eating excessive quantities of food essentially causes illness when there is too much food for your system to digest. There is a spectrum of how much food our appetite and bodies can handle. Ever notice how special occasions like Christmas and Thanksgiving can prompt us to eat extra? A buffet is a similar concept with even more choice and more volume of food. At an all inclusive resort, we have the privilege to choose just about anything we want. That’s the first concept to keep in mind, it is a privilege to have access to such a vast quantity of food, so the first rule is to minimize waste.

The most appealing aspect of a buffet is the huge variety and choice there is. I recommend taking a walk around the entire food selection and noting what seems most appealing to you. Often the desserts appeal most to me, which is something I have loved since childhood. A sweet childhood memory is going to look at the desserts right away and plotting out which ones I would try first.

Once you have taken it all in, carefully select the foods the have the most appeal to you. I like trying many different dishes, so I partake in a few bites of many things. I find inspiration in learning new flavours and cooking techniques. In addition, make yourself a proper meal that has a mixture of protein, fat, carbohydrates and most importantly, vegetables with the selection that is available.

There was one day that I tested out the possibility of eating all that I could, so I ate a bit extra. I noticed my appetite decreased the next day and then I continued to stick with the concepts I mention here for the rest of my holiday. I did manage to put on a pound or two even with daily exercise. An all you can eat buffet is a lesson in self mastery with a little self discipline.

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Posted in Greens, Healthy food, Making Life Good Recommends, Vivian Law

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Now is the time for workouts

Posted on November 30, 2018 | Leave a comment

At a cycle class I taught last week just after American Thanksgiving, I shared that now is the time to be extra serious about workouts. We all enjoy some extra food and drink during the upcoming festive season. Being sure to make time for exercise is an important step to staying healthy. This way January is a fresh new year without any major work such as weight loss required.

In other words the best weight loss program is prevention. Many life changes/circumstances can result in weight gain. However, the holiday season is an easily avoidable situation if we carve out the time to keep up with workouts, eating healthy while not at celebrations, and getting high quality sleep. Yes, you will skip some workouts. My recommendation is to maintain the greater majority of your activity level. For example, if you usually are active or work out 20 times/month, make a commitment to yourself to do at least 15 workouts in December. This is Making Life Good formula for enjoying the holidays and staying in shape. Cheers!

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