Motivated to get outside (and save lives)!

Every three years I need to re-certify my Wilderness First Responder certification. This is an 80-hr first aid course that I'd highly suggest to anyone who spends time in remote outdoor settings. We are taught first aid protocol from clearing spines to administering epinephrine, reducing dislocations and dealing with any (and all?) first aid emergency. The re-cert is a 24 or 40 hr course with the majority of the time spent outdoors practicing drills or simulations. 

I love these intensive courses for many reasons. I tend to enrol in courses being held in locations that I've never visited before, so there's a built in road trip, a new place to explore plus I get the opportunity to meet like minded, passionate individuals whose paths I find inspiring.

This week I've been in Squamish, BC staying with friends of a friend and taking the course at Quest University. The course itself is intense, 9 hour days of heavy discussion and practical applications. The first two evenings I hiked The Chief, a trail up to the top of a multi-pitch cliff. The surroundings here are breathtaking! As were the hikes themselves, 1.7km up 590m (peak #2, night 1), 1.5km up 540m (peak #1, night 2) with the trails including some chains and ladders at the higher elevations. 

I will be returning to Victoria tomorrow night exhausted yet impassioned. I feel ready to make some decisions and possibly changes in my life. Most of all I feel ready to get outside and be active! It is where I feel most alive, most excited and most productive.

(Photos to follow once I'm home)

Where do you feel you're at your best? How do you re-energize? And how do you best focus this energy (I feel a little scattered in my excitement right now so could really use the advice)?

I can go with the flow...

Always hard to know where to start one of these little entries; so much to say and yet no words come to mind...Well first off thank you Katy for the great idea for this month's challenge! I have to admit that I too thought it would be a relatively easy one (compared to Paleo at least!), and fully agree that it has not been more difficult than expected.

It's been quite eye opening in regards to how easy it can be to fall into a habit of going straight to work, staying inside for lunch as there's too much to do, staying inside for gym since it's raining and I don't want to get wet any more than my students do, and then going to the gym or pool after work 'cause it's of course still raining. So yeah on the one hand, I usually do get at least 30 mins of exercise a day, but without the outdoor time there definitely seems to be a piece missing, and my mood is usually the first thing to suffer.

After a week and a half of almost entirely outdoor time in Costa-Rica, and then coming back to a long Easter weekend of sunshine and amazing weather, it was tough to face going back to work and facing the rain and not so warm weather that usually goes with it. However, since I want to try to meet this challenge as much as possible, there were a few instances last week where I decided to go out and walk or run outside even if it was drizzling, and ended up feeling 1000 times better afterwards (and the nausea/ headaches I was feeling before getting out magically disappeared afterwards!).


So yeah all in all, this challenge has been helping me get out when I don't feel like it and to be somewhat fore flexible with my routine, and has led to a better overall mood which I'm sure other people are thankful for too!

Hope it's been working out nicely for everyone else!

Happy weekend :)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcHKOC64KnE

10 days in…

I initially thought that this challenge would be an automatic success for me. The sun was out, and I was motivated to get outside and get active.

And then the rain returned and life got busy (yes, I’m making excuses) and I didn’t workout for 2 days (Thurs, Fri). On Saturday, I went on a motorcycle ride as a passenger for about 2 hours, we’ve debated it and Daniele and I agree that this counts as a workout.

Since the weekend I’ve kicked it up a notch and have gone on daily hikes and a long bike ride. I feel like I’m gaining momentum and that all the fresh air is a huge part of that.

How has everyone else been doing? What do you do when you lose momentum? Do you have a favourite rainy day activity?

Nature Deficit Disorder

Yesterday, while reading my Women’s Health at the beach I came across an article that is very applicable to this month’s challenge. The article “Are You Getting Enough Vitamin N?” discusses the concept of Nature Deficit Disorder (see Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv), that humans are spending less and less time outdoors and that this is leading to physical and mental health issues.

I worked as a wilderness therapy guide for about 5 years, during this time I experienced first-hand the many benefits of removing youth from their home environments and behaviour patterns and immersing them in the outdoors. They were challenged to view themselves in new ways and focus more on the immediate natural consequences of their actions. I’ve heard from youth that they continued to turn to the outdoors in times of stress after returning home.

Since moving to the city and working in a more 9-5 job I have felt negative effects of not spending the majority of my time active in the outdoors. Not only am I not as fit as I once was but I even bought a “SAD light” this winter to help combat the winter blues. I've also made the commitment to myself to find more excuses to be outside and to make time for extended trips.

How do you deal with stress? Is there an outdoor activity that you find particularly grounding?