Too busy being just plain AWESOME!
So much AWESOME
Apologies for being M.I.A. recently….we at ellephysio have been too busy being AWESOME!
Where do I start?
The end of 2013 was a whirlwind of activity! So busy I have barely had time to breathe, let alone blog. What have I been up to? Well, funny you should ask. Sit down, make yourself comfy. I’m about to play show-and-tell…
barre-none
At the end of August I took the barre-none teacher training and became officially certified. It was an intense weekend of plies and relevees (say what!?) filled with laughter and joy. The barre-none teacher community has been very welcoming and supportive and I can’t wait to take further training to add more to my repertoire.
Along with my fellow awesome instructor Ashley, we now offer barre-none Classic and barre-none Sculpt here at the clinic. The response has been great and I’m hoping to offer more classes in 2014!
Dirty Girl
The first Saturday in September was cool and damp but that didn’t stop our team of 11 women strong, “Elle Girls Like It Dirty” from having a blast in the Dirty Girl Mud Run in Buffalo, NY. This was a girls only 5km mud run in support of breast cancer. Let me tell you, this was some GOOD QUALITY mud. Other races that I have participated in were mostly just dirty water, this was MUD! Of course this meant that we were all targets for each other to be dunked and swathed in the thick stuff – just think of all the exfoliating benefits. People pay good money to soak in that stuff, we were doing it for cancer!
In true ellephysio team fashion, we linked arms at the end and splashed through that muddy finish line together in the pouring rain. Awesome. Once we got cleaned up and a little bit warmer, our Dirty Girls enjoyed a great Mexican celebration meal! Ole!
Want to let your inner girl power shine? Well the Elle Girls will be getting down and dirty once again at next years Dirty Girl in Buffalo on Saturday, Sep 6, 2014. We’re in the 10:30am wave and our team name is once again “Elle Girls Like It Dirty”. We promise tonnes of laughter, fun and most of all…mud!
Tough Mudder 2.0
Always a glutton for punishment. The Mudders from Elle made a second appearance in the Toronto Fall Tough Mudder on Saturday, September 28th. Compared to our experience in May, this days weather couldn’t have been more perfect! The sun was shining and the air was warm. Our team was neither hot or cold. It was a smaller contingent this time around with 4 strong chicks sporting neon orange shirts with pylons on our chest and nicknames on our backs. Granny, Gimp, Rookie and Little One were joined on the day by two friends who were teamless and from then on fondly called Coco and The Beast. We had a great time shouting out our names to cheer each other on throughout the course! It was awesome.
Apart from a crazy searing calf spasm when trying to jump over bales of hay, this round of Tough Mudder was so much easier than my last. I chock it up to experience and the help of participating in a twice weekly rock climbing club at Climber’s Rock and weekly bootcamp with DBodz Fitness throughout the summer. I surprised myself with my ability to pull my mud-soaked body up, over and through all 24 obstacles and 19 kilometers. I totally felt like Canada’s Next Ninja Warrior! The course was 3 km longer than May but I think they took out at least 3 of those monstrous hills. I was very grateful for the kinder terrain. Trekking up those ski hills was the only thing that didn’t really feel that much easier. Honestly, I don’t think will ever feel easy for me.
Guess what? Call us crazy but the Mudders From Elle will be at it again at next years Toronto Tough Mudder on Saturday, August 16th! Are you interested and need a team to train with? I am coercing our resident obstacle course expert and personal trainer, Ryan Couri, to put us mudders through the paces and get us ready. We’ve got nearly a year to train, so there are no excuses! Join us and I promise that the awesome sense of accomplishment (not to mention bragging rights) that you have once you finish are like no other! HOO-RAH! PS- Teamname is “Mudders from Elle”, the password is “ellephysio”
International March for Elephants
On a rainy Friday in October, I participated in a peaceful march organized by the David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust called the International March for the Elephants. This march was to bring about awareness and call on our government to help put an end to the ivory trade and the poaching of our earth’s beautiful elephants.
I must say, I felt a little badass marching in that group holding up a sign and chanting. My first ever protest.
If you’re interested in helping out the DSWT and their cause, please visit www.iworry.org or www.sheldrickwildlifetrust.org, where you can even adopt an orphan rhino or elephant!
Simply Blossoming Retreat
Mid-October brought with it crisp air, beautiful fall colours and a pilgrimage of 100 women out to Camp Wanakita in Haliburton for the 3rd Annual Simply Blossoming Retreat. I was proud to be a repeat sponsor of the event which I hold very dear to my heart. The founders of Simply Blossoming, Laurel and Cathy, are dear friends who have played a role in ellephysio becoming what it is now. They believe in supporting women and helping them to re-connect with themselves in mind, body and spirit. Something that resonates strongly with ellephysio.
It was a magical weekend filled with joy, laughter, love and tears! Oh the tears! The weekend kicked off with a beautiful welcoming ceremony by Laura Reid, then presentations and a mix and mingle of all us Cabin Sponsors. I must admit, I think ellephysio kind of stole the show that night with our little improv skit and mini fitness challenges at our table in exchange for healthy gluten-free cookies. What a woman will do for a cookie! Apparently planks, push-ups and squats! Awesome!
For more information on this amazing weekend for women, please visit www.simplyblossoming.com or give Laurel and Cathy a shout. Tell them I sent you 😉
Lolë
October also brought with it some exciting news. Lolë had selected little ol’ me to represent their brand as an Ambassador! I was just tickled pink. If you have never heard of Lolë before, they are an activewear company that was born in Montreal in 2002. The Lolë woman is active, full of life, loves nature and is feminine. What do you think? Am I a good fit? 🙂
Keep an eye out for Lolë #meet-ups or go in and visit our local Atelier in downtown Oakville on Lakeshore at Thomas St. They have free yoga there almost daily!
#KitestringCocktailColourStory
My good friends at Kitestring, the wonderful people that concocted my beautiful brand, asked me and a small group of other female entrepreneurs to be a part of their special holiday project this year. I was honoured to say the least.
Throughout the year, every Friday, Kitestring would end their work week with one of their staff members featuring a cocktail complete with matching outfit and pantone colour swatches. And this is how #KitestringCocktailColourStory was born. Upon the loss of one of their staff members mother to cancer, Kitestring opened up their heart of hearts and decided to put their weekly cocktail sessions into a book that featured 12 cocktails, 16 amazing women all dolled up and their fabulous businesses. How awesome is that?! The book was released just in time for Christmas gift giving but don’t fret, you can still order one now! All the proceeds from the sale of the book go to the Canadian Cancer Society. So order yours now and then you can say, “You knew me when….”.
To put a cherry on top of my Christmas sundae. Kitestring also featured my photo on the cover of the holiday issue of their quarterly magazine *blush*. I guess I can add “cover model” to my resume now.
Santa Shuffle 5K
We took a “break” from events for the month of November and stuck to training our first time runners for the Oakville Santa Shuffle 5K race. I couldn’t be prouder of this group of women that came together every Sunday for our training runs, with dropping temps and rain and the Chedoke Stairs. They plowed on and came out shining stars with Santa greeting them with their medal at the finish line.
Shoebox Project
I was honoured to be a part of the Oakville Chapter of the Shoebox Project. A non-profit initiative that brings wrapped shoeboxes filled with small luxuries like soaps and scarves to women located in local shelters for Christmas. Spearheaded by our team leader, Sandra Janicki of Shoebox Tax Prep, we collected and distributed over 225 shoeboxes to women in need in Oakville and the surrounding area. A big thank you to all of YOU, our generous donor that dropped off beautifully wrapped and filled boxes at the clinic. I’m always amazed at people’s generosity of spirit. It was truly a wonderful project to be a part of.
So that’s that. My heart just swells with pride when I look back at what ellephysio’s teams have accomplished. So many firsts for not only me but almost every one of our team members! It makes me realize that this is my calling. I think I was put on this earth to gather people together, coach them, teach them and empower them to do and try things that they have never done before – as long as they bring me along for the ride of course!
So stay tuned for more awesome coming at you in 2014! Our calendar is filling up already so there is plenty of opportunity to join in the ellephysio culture. We’d love to have you!
If you have any suggestions on events that you’d like ellephysio to be a part of. Please don’t hesitate to reach out to us. I’ll try almost anything once! 😉
Lots of love and positive energy,
Karen
