InterActivity

Two weekends ago my family faced a three hour lineup at the Border so we quickly detoured into White Rock for lunch and a walk along the beach.
The wind was fierce and and as we walked out to the pier, the gusts increased. We were forced to brace ourselves to stay upright. The waves roared as the momentum of energy filled the ocean with whitecaps. The seagulls overhead were motionless - they were fixed in flight, static, taking on the wind. Even they felt nature's call to attention. The 90 km/hr winds were too much for my husband and daughter as they turned back to shore but my son and I persevered to the very end of the pier.

We could hardly catch our breath as the wind forced more and more air into our lungs. What vitality, what forces; the two of us alone with the elements. There was a precariousness that we balanced, edging nearer to exhilaration than peril.

The fierce arctic wind sprayed an icy chill over our bodies. The wind was whipping my son's hair back and his cheeks were emblazoned a bright pink from the cold. We ran and we played tag; we laughed while the wind chased the sounds of glee from our voices.  We struggled to keep our hair from our eyes and our faces. Our lips were frozen and ears aching from the bitter November cold. We zipped up our coats and snapped on our hoods. We were numb with cold and yet we were invigorated. We were carefree and so happy. The pier was abandoned, and the world was ours. The smile on his face and the sparkle in his eyes reflected my own overflowing joy. Within these moments there is a stillness, that is rich with energy,  flow,  relationality, and connections with self, my son and nature.
This is one more personal definition of active living.

The UnHealthy Canadian Workplace

Andrew Jackson
Chapter 7, Social Determinants of Health, 2^nd Ed., Raphael, 2009.

Seven Key Dimensions of Employment Impacting Health and Wellbeing.

1. Job and Employment Security

21% of Canadians worry about losing their jobs.

Only half of working age Canadians have had a single full time job for over 6 months (2009).

Women are over-represented in forms of precarious work.

2. Physical Conditions of Work

31% of Canadians feel that their employment puts their health at risk.

Five work related deaths in Canada every day ( Based on 230 work days/year). 2005

One in every 65 workers injured (2009). http://www4.rhdcc.gc.ca/.3ndic.1t.4r@-eng.jsp?iid=20

It is estimated that 40-50% of work injuries are unreported http://www.ciws.ca/index.htm

3. Working Time

1in 4 workers work overtime: most unpaid.

4. Work Pace and Stress

The incidence of stress from “too many demands or hours” is at 40% in the sectors of education, health and social services.

5. Opportunities for Self Expression and Individual Development at Work

1 in 4 Canadians feel over qualified for their jobs. (www.jobquality.ca)

6. Participation at work

Only 10% feel they can strongly influence employer decisions.

7. Work-Life Balance

Work life stress results in high public and private healthcare costs.

High Job Strain (High psychological demands at work combined with a low degree of control over the work process) is linked to increased risk of physical injuries at work,

high blood pressure, cardiovascular disease, depression and other mental health conditions, plus increased lifestyle risks to health.

Experts estimate 10 – 40% of cancers may be caused primarily by workplace exposures.

What We Need:

·         Increased government intervention to shape and improve workplace conditions,  policy and law. http://www.mentalhealthworks.ca/why-it-matters/law

·         Systematic Canadian information, evidence, and studies focusing on working environments and conditions.

·         Collective and organised action through unionization of workplaces to balance power between employees and employers

Stronger legislation g

The Mane Event

On Sunday my sister phoned me.

She lives out of town and she was checking in on her little sister as she had heard of a disturbing event very close to where I live.  I had to ask what she was talking about and she told me the details of the situation.

I was happy to tell her I was oblivious to that event as I had been on a Fieldtrip. In fact, I was at a horseshow, the Mane Event, learning  about “pedagogical relationality”. She balked at this, knowing that I am the biggest dog lover in the world, but horses? She is  aware that I have ridden three horses and fallen, or been thrown, off of three horses.

For the next 20 minutes I shared with her my experience of the Mane Event. What it is, why we went, and despite my initial (perplexing) thoughts, how I had grown to appreciate the experience. I had the pleasure of witnessing Horsemanship at it’s finest, observing three trainers using methods of “natural horsemanship” while training young horses.

Despite the crowd pleasing of some of the trainers my heart and head went out to  Kade Mills. I loved the connection and connectedness that he demonstrated. Rarely, did his eyes leave his horse, and, you could see the unfolding of “Training Thru Trust”. I loved the calm,  the encouragement to ‘Try’, the patience, and his caring confidence of self and horse. I loved Kade’s wisdom knowing the boundaries of when to stop, when to let things settle. Not only was there a calm in the training ring, there was a serenity in the audience. I could palpate the stillness and the intrigue. The audience was captured and caught up in the moment of silent signals, postures, expression, touch, movement and collaboration. There was no condescension, no inequality; animal and trainer were working together. The most subtle nuances of motion and emotion allowing the shedding of  layers to create Unity.

During another session with Trainer Jonathon Fields, I was fascinated with the subtle motions of energy flowing.  To watch him at work and play with his stallion was a feast for the eyes and the soul. He spoke of the relationship akin to a  flock birds with their innate sense of flying in harmony. That moment took me back to the exercise we had done the previous class mimicking and following the hand movements of my partner, and the vibrations shared as our motions were no longer directed, but in synchronicity, charged and flowing.

In my practises of nursing, coaching, and counselling, achieving the pedagogical relationship has been of greatest importance whether teaching or being taught. Being in tune, in touch, responsive to and aware that we truly all are co- creators in living and learning. The walls are down, and there is an open flow of energy back and forth, to and fro, creating the lived and learned experience.  It is those moments of connection that I strive for and cherish. Call it a teachable moment, Flow, In-Sync, it is the establishment of a foundation for greater learning and greater being.

I can hardly wait for the next field trip!

How do I reVITALISE?

In an earlier blog I mentioned I try to get to Boot camp 2 - 4 times a week.
I do this at the hour of 6:00AM, usually arising at 5:00AM in order to have my morning coffee and then stroll down the hill to a neighbourhood school  yard with a mat, water and weights in hand. When I tell people I do this they are shocked that I put my body through this. When I invite people to give it a try, they scoff at the early mornings.
And I am OK with that.

Boot camp has become a ritual for me and an almost sacred one. I arise while the rest of my family sleeps. I have the house to myself, and the opportunity to slowly come to terms with how the day will unfold. Some mornings I listen to the early news, some mornings I muse upon my own reflections. It is "me" time.

I have never been a gym person or a team sports person. Although I have tried running, it never felt very natural to me, and I am not certain my body was designed for long runs. And, then one day I tried Boot camp and I loved it.
I loved being outdoors, I loved all the diverse exercises, and I loved the energy I used and the energy I gained. Currently I have the honour of an instructor that straddles the politically incorrect fence, injecting  laughter, honesty, and fun into the workouts.

She offers this 6 days a week.
Her company slogan states "We kick Butts! (YOURS)".
Monday to Friday she targets specific body parts and cardio for each day. In the classes we have a refreshing mix of males and females, young and old, from every working background. (Word has it that there is a city counsellor in our midst).

Saturday morning group is filled with working moms, and amidst the stretches, running hills, tabatas, increased heart rates, and sweating, we talk about our children, our husbands, ourselves, and our lives. We laugh, we snicker, we gasp ( both from exertion and various discussion topics) and we have been known to cry.  There is a great deal of sharing, authenticity, and honesty.
All the while, watching the rest of the world wake up and get on with their day.

It ends up costing approximately $10.00/session and I am grateful that I am able to participate in this. Most of my fellow Campers are working, and although geographically it is very accessible for our community, there are many who cannot financially afford this luxury.

For those who cannot make the 6:00 AM class, the instructor also offers two other later classes. For me and my family, the 6:00AM class works best. If I don't exercise first thing in the morning, there always seems to be something else that gets in the way as the day progresses, whether that something is work, homework, kids activities, or just the rest of life.

Despite the early rising, it is a wonderful way for me to clear my head, focus, do some cardio, and laugh. It allows me to HEAL from within on many levels. It is a great activity for me now at this time in my life. I sometimes wonder how long my body will endure this, but I know that this is working very well for me now.

Boot Camp, anyone?

i walk

Monday morning we walked to school.
Actually Sebastian scootered and Elise unicycled. It was only Diesel, the dog and I who walked. It is one of the best times of the day, when we leave the frantic-before-school-house-routine and head off togther.
Upon arriving at the school I had the honour of talking to 6 classes of Kindergarten and Grade 1 students about i walk week. i walk is an international initiative that started in Great Britain in 1994. Today over 40 countries participate. The initiative hopes to discourage us from hopping into the car for short trips and to get out and walk. The goals are many including:

Encourage physical activity by teaching children the skills to walk safely, how to identify safe routes to school, and the benefits of walking Raise concern for the environment Reduce crime and take back neighborhoods for people on foot Reduce traffic congestion, pollution, and speed near schools Share valuable time with local community leaders, parents, and children

Our local Translink is promoting the idea as an opportunity to build a strong sense of community by encouraging kids to walk to school and to get to know their transit systems. It’s also about finding alternatives to cars.

Here are a few health facts that may help move people from talking the talk to walking the i walk.

§                            Taking up regular walking can reduce your risk of heart disease by as much as 50 per cent and can help guard against other chronic diseases such as diabetes and even some cancers.
§                            A 10 minute walk for a person weighing 70 kg can burn 42 calories.  Leave the car at home and burn your own fuel instead
§                            Staff who walk to work are more productive, have less sick days and have improved fitness.
§                            Children who walk to school have better concentration and memory throughout the day.
§                            People who are regularly in cars suffer three times the amount of pollution as pedestrians because they are sitting in the line of the exhaust fumes from the car in front.
§                            Most people overestimate public transport travel time by half and underestimate the time taken to drive.
                         Taken from  Government of Western Australia, Department of Transport, 2011

Now can we expand  i walk week, to simply i walk...365 days of the year.

Keep walking!

Phenomenology

I believe I am finally making sense of this term Phenomenology.
In fact, I believe I have not only been making sense of it, I have been living it most of my life. I love stories of the every day and of the every person. Life is about living and can be documented through narratives and stories. Each of us are made up of chapter upon chapter of stories and a richness that we can impart to the world .
In the discussion link
http://www.aare.edu.au/02pap/mos02453.htm
I extract this sentence
Phenomenology is the descriptive methodology of human science, seeking to explore and describe phenomena as they present themselves in the lived world in order to find the meaning of the phenomena for itself. It has its origins in philosophy. It is a discovery-oriented method where the observer needs to have an attitude of openness to let the unexpected meanings emerge. (Giorgi, 1997).
If anyone is still trying to make sense of the word Phenomenology, chances are you have been living it all along, possibly just without the official philosophical term.

Good Things Come In Strange Packages

Friday night after class I rushed home to have a wee bit of family time, settle the kids in bed, and walk the dog. My hope was to get to bed at a reasonable hour before my 6:30 morning alarm. I did indeed enjoy a bit of family time, I read a great Roald Dahl book to my son and, pleased with how the evening was progressing, I  had only walking the dog left on my list. Yes, I was anticipating bed by 11:00.

A beautiful evening for a walk with Diesel. A mild temperature, no rain, and some down time to myself. On  the homeward stretch I made the ill fated decision to give Diesel his freedom and unleash him two houses away from our house. Sadly, the moment I released him he flew down the back alley, after what, I did not know, but I hoped it was a cat and not a raccoon. Diesel cowardly slunk out of the yard he had trespassed into, shaking his head, as if trying to cast off an evil spell, but I soon realised he was trying to shake off an evil SMELL. That being the smell of very close range skunk spray.

My heart sunk, and I was furious with my own stupidity of taking him off leash, and angry that this domesticated animal of mine returned to his primal urges at the most inconvenient times, not that any time was a good time to be skunked. It was also gradually dawning on me that my goal of an early bed time was not to happen….

Still steaming, I entered the house and told Ron what had happened. He wished me good luck, then I returned outside with peroxide and some Skunk Odour Remover, that we fortunately happened to have on hand.

I set this up with some humour to smokescreen my frustration, anger, and a lot of feeling sorry for myself. It was to be a long evening…. and yet there was a gradual shift in my thinking.  I  hate this expression “ It is what it is.” but I needed to have some acceptance of what happened, deal with it, get over it and move on.

I started the first application of deodoriser, and Diesel settled in for the grooming, the washing and rinsing. I shifted my body to become more comfortable and instead of hovering over him, I sat beside him. With man’s best friend by my side, a mild evening and my backyard to myself, I spent the next two hours, focused on this cleansing, and truly all else was lost from my mind.

The stillness of the night had settled in.  The anger dissipated and was replaced with a calm and a satisfaction of doing something so simple, yet gratifying. I had a sense of aliveness. I had surrendered to the event and cleared my emotions. In a sense, I was "going with the Flow". I was allowing for the space of that moment, the connectedness to my dog and to the beautiful evening. In some bizarre, satisfying way, this evening had become magical and grounding and invigorating. This was a gift - I was no longer the victim, but a person with intentionality.

Three days later I am reminded of this as Diesel approaches me with his loving eyes and the ever so subtle smell of skunk that lingers.

This could be Vitality…..