Welcome to Issue No. 3 of INSPIRE ME

Welcome to Issue No. 3 of INSPIRE ME MAGAZINE

The theme of this issue is movement. It’s a topic I believed worthy of exploring beyond the ‘fitness’ realm. Of course, moving keeps us healthy, in many different ways. But it definitely goes beyond just getting physical exercise. This theme of ‘movement’ comes with an emphasis on content on why movement is important to our bodies and our minds.

Movement can do so much for our mental health and it doesn’t need to be in the form of training for a marathon or diving into cross-fit. It can be as simple as making movement part of your daily lifestyle through stretching, walking, cleaning up, or dancing.

Executive Director of the Healthy Tomorrow Foundation Kerry Copeland shares her opinion on creating a culture of movement along with advice on how to refresh your routines in Make Your Move.

In the WELL-BEING section, we have some really thought-provoking pieces in relation to movement. Sam Madore takes us on her 30 Days of Movement challenge during a recent break for her mental health (that also came with a valuable social media hiatus). Another piece tells the story of a woman learning to Move with Intention, a journey of changing her mindset to get her into the best shape of her life—emotionally, spiritually, and physically. A yoga instructor and holistic relations coach shares a moving essay on the notion of feeling enough, and unpacks what she believes are three major factors in the loss of ‘enough’.

We also learn about the benefits of hydrotherapy, including improved circulation, reduced muscle pain, improved lymphatic flow, and improved mood and focus--all important aspects for a physically active lifestyle. Read Healing Waters here.

In the ILLUMINATE section you can take a deeper look at work by renowned painter Edgar Degas with Beauty in Motion, which studies THE REHEARSAL OF THE BALLET ONSTAGE with art historian Anik Waldek. New to the section we have financial advice to share with you, where you can learn how to put your money where your values are and explore all about Responsible Investing.

Speaking of finance, the EXPLORING section has advice on saving for travel and travelling within budget. It’s a great time to save while we wait to fully embrace travel in our lives again.

In DWELLING we have some fun seasonal content in the form of Garden Movement, exploring all the ways you can find movement in the garden this time of year. Discover Five Favourite Home Decor ideas for Fall, and Invite Autumn to your Doorstep with inspiring ideas to decorate outdoors for fall.

Let us help you transition to a flavourful fall in the DINE section with expert advice from our friends at Local Source Market who share tips on how to cook in-season.

You’ll also learn how to support local restaurants year-round as we move into colder months. Dani, the face and award-winning blogger behind @cravinghalifax shares her best advice for doing so. Dani is also the featured interview in this issue, sharing with us her journey to make movement part of her daily lifestyle--until a car accident derailed her plans.

The spotlight is on The Practice. I had the privilege of attending some classes where they even tricked me into doing burpees, my most loathed form of movement, without realizing it until it was too late! Founders Laura and Amy shared the story of building their business, where they are trying to shift cultural norms surrounding movement--no easy feat but they’re succeeding.

You’ll find the items that will help keep you moving with Gym Bag Essentials, our INDULGE shopping guide for the issue.

And last but certainly not least, be sure to check out the favourite ways our wonderful contributors love to move. INSPIRE ME Magazine would not be possible without their contributions. Thanks to each of you for opening up and sharing your stories with us.

My favourite forms of movement are anything I’m experiencing with the people in my life. A spin, pilates, or yoga class, a challenging hike in the woods, a run with some girlfriends—if you told me just three years ago I’d be a person who would go for a run I would have laughed for a really long time. But then I tried it and lo and behold, LIKED it! I even ran my first five kilometre charity run in the summer.

Movement might be hard in the moment, at the gym or in everyday situations, but you can always move through it. Because that’s the thing about movement. It’s a constant motion. We’re always on the move changing and developing either in body, mind, or both.

~Heather

P.s. I’d love to hear what you think about INSPIRE ME Magazine. Drop me a note!