Prior to this week, anytime I saw groups of Lululemon-clad men and women working out in a park or at the beach with their yoga mats I’d think to myself, “Well, it doesn’t get anymore Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»clichĂ© than that.”
But there I was this past Friday morning at 7 a.m., with a yoga mat, exercising in a park—sans Lululemon.
Once again it was an instructor from on Fraser Street who had me out of my comfort zone, a common occurrence since joining the studio in January. The thing is, I don’t mind getting down on my hands and knees to exercise with my butt in the air in the privacy of a studio, but out in public?
As it turned out, it was a great experience. There was a light breeze blowing, the grass added extra padding for my knees under my yoga mat, and right above us in the branches of a tall fir tree sat a hawk watching us with interest.
My regular instructor was away on this day so I wasn’t sure who to expect and was surprised to see our fitness instructor for the class was Savannagh Marchell, a woman I knew from my days at Riley Park Community Centre. At the time we were both taking the class designed to get couch potatoes up and running, and now here she was teaching a fitness class. Talk about an inspiration.
That’s one of the joys of Eastside Fitness—almost all of the staff and clients are locals, so they’re invested in the community by way of community gardens, Block Watch, coaching and parent advisory committees. Darnelle is a long-time athlete who competed in road cycling as part of Canada’s National Team. At that time, Darnelle was what’s considered an “elite athlete” who also raced in the . Her business partner is , a member of the Â鶹´«Ă˝Ół»Police Department whose motivation for fitness is her passion for the outdoors.
Honestly, if you’ve never belonged to a gym or fitness studio, Eastside is a great place to start. But it’s not just for beginners. The classes I attend are not geared for newcomers and make for one tough workout, but I do what I can to keep up and I never feel self-conscious about my efforts.
I have to admit, I did fall off the wagon for a month and it was touch and go as to whether I’d go back to my fitness class.
My partner and I were away for a two-weeks vacation and on our return, I found every excuse in the book not to go for another two weeks, but much like the Mafia, there’s no quitting Eastside Fitness. I soon started getting Facebook messages and emails from not only Darnelle, but also some of the women I’ve gotten to know through my 7 a.m. classes.
So a month ago I returned. What I’ve learned about myself is that I need that group setting and support to stay motivated.
It’s the same with my goal to eat healthier and lose weight. I recently completed a 10-week WOW Weight Loss program out of Eastside with nutritionist and it went well.
It’s harder to cheat on my diet if I know I have to be accountable to someone. Not that Kamachi is all about diets when it comes to weight loss. Instead, she introduced me to healthier foods and encouraged me to eat more fruits and vegetables. It is of course a lifestyle change and I’m a work in progress. Kamachi practices what she preaches. She gave up a high-pressure job in finance to become a registered holistic nutritionist and today is all about health and wellness.
Kamachi is launching another Wow! Weightloss program out of Eastside July 19th from 6 to 7 p.m., which will again run for 10 weeks. The focus of the program is to learn how to use whole foods to reach an ideal body weight and composition with the added bonus of education, support and accountability. Exercise is emphasized and the program includes five free class passes to Eastside Fitness.
For more information, visit Kamachi’s zestfamilynutrition.com website.
Twitter: sthomas10
