It’s confusing to figure out which direction we should be pulled among these highs and lows in our world– and we’re the adults! Can you imagine how it is for the children in our lives?

For a guy who works in YMCA Health, Fitness and Aquatics centres, you’d think the moment I decided it was time to take my health more seriously, all I had to do was step up to the starting line. But no. As a father of two busy, active children, I’d come to a place where I knew I didn’t want, as the years pass, to have to say to my kids, “No, I’m tired. Maybe later.” I want the energy to keep up with them (okay, within reason). I want to maintain, even optimize, my health.

February is a great month to talk about mental health, as in some places across Canada and around the world, the second week of February is dedicated to honouring Children’s Mental Health. If you’d like to do similar honouring in your practice for that week, or ongoing with the children in your lives, mindfulness is a great place to start. Why? Mindfulness is key to helping children manage stress and anxiety, and it helps foster the growth of a child’s self-regulation, positive emotions, and self-compassion. If you need suggestions as to where to start with Mindfulness, BigLifeJournal’s 5 Fun Mindfulness Activities for Kids has got you covered.

There are any number of reasons why we strive for lifelong health and fitness. Sports and recreation programs give us the opportunity to improve our health physically, mentally, and socially while also building relationships through common activities and experiences. It helps us develop healthy lifestyles, and engage more fully in living. Sport and recreation build stronger, healthier, happier and safer communities.

Everyone experiences anxiety, stress and low mood at some point. Throughout the pandemic, many have been reporting elevated stress levels and poorer mental health, so it’s never been more important to ensure we are adequately coping with life’s challenges.

Fortunately, there are a wide variety of tools and resources available that can help. Keeping your mental wellbeing top of mind and taking small steps toward self-care can go a long way in helping to relieve stress and persevering through periods of anxiety. Take a look at some of our recommendations below for mental wellness and mindfulness books, podcasts, apps and more!

As we enter the coldest winter months of the year, it could be tempting to use food as a way to manage difficult emotions and stress. But it doesn’t have to be this way!

We have some great tips from our partners at the Heart and Stroke Foundation about how to keep your relationship with food healthy and happy as we navigate the next few months together.

Morning-after aches can be a good thing — they’re often proof you got a good workout the day before. Still, they can be pretty uncomfortable, especially if you tried a brand-new exercise for the first time, or upped your reps. Here are four ways to alleviate that day-after soreness, so you can feel ready for one of our online classes again tomorrow.

If you’re looking to decrease screen time and get your kids more active, basketball can do exactly that. Basketball is one of the most popular sports in the world, it’s accessible and a fantastic sport to start at a young age. Getting kids to learn basic skills has many benefits all of which have the potential to create a solid foundation for later in life. We took the time to break down two huge benefits of getting kids in the game at a young age. Read on for more information.

We spend approximately a third of our lives at work. That’s about 90,000 hours. It’s countless lunches and coffee breaks. And -- increasingly – it's where we meet and make lasting friendships, that carry on even if roles or jobs change.

In honour of International Self-Care Day, I want to talk about carving out a little more “green space” in our lives. The pandemic has highlighted the critical importance of our well-being, as highlighted in our recent community survey.