You Make Me Wanna
It can be said depending on our moods our actions, where we go and whom we interact with are dictated. When it comes to fitness and leading a healthy lifestyle that’s always the number one excuse you hear “I don’t feel like it” or “I’m too tired” or “I’m too stressed”, and all that complaining. However depending on the mood you’re experiencing it could drive you to a different type of exercise compared to another. What we feel like doing is more so based on the type of mood we are in. At Local Laundry we aren’t preaching about health and wellness but what we are preaching about is community. When it comes to community, local studio based gyms are taking the Calgary health and wellness scene by storm. Below are my top four favourite places to go depending on the type of mood I’m experiencing.
When I’m in the mood for feelin’ like a straight bad ass I take myself to Crossfit Above All (CFAA). Curtis Laughren runs CFAA and is an YYC resident, crossfit coach and athlete. I had the privilege of investing two years of my life with CFAA and if I’m being honest CFAA saved it; for me, meeting Curtis was a true gift. Curtis is a person who is immensely spirited, immensely passionate and immensely ripped. Curtis’s mantra when starting CFAA was to create a community. Curtis was set out to making CFAA a gym, a place to sweat and a place to call a home, and that’s exactly what he did. Curtis created a home filled with friendships, ambition, and personal records. Working out at a crossfit gym you experience a body high and huge endorphins as you work out the stresses within your body. Workouts often entail body weight exercises, barbell and weightlifting and overall high conditioning workouts. There might be no better feeling than dropping a barbell from overhead or seeing your strength increase in a matter of weeks and watching your body surpass workouts you never thought it was capable of. Want to workout like a bad ass or learn how to workout like a badass, take yourself to Crossfit Above All and you will be warmly welcomed by big smiles and high fives from Curtis and the CFAA community.
When I’m in the mood for rippin’ on the gnar I take myself to Studio Revolution. Are any of you like me that you crave being near water? You crave being near the big sea? Crave hearing waves crashing as they hit the beach or listening to the water trickling off your fingertips? When water is not accessible and you want to get as close to it as possible without leaving the inner city, go to Studio Revolution. Surfs up in YYC and the workout is lookin’ salty! I mean talk about being innovative. I used to work at the front desk of Studio Revolution and when I first told my Father about working out on surfboards he said, “Surfboard? You’ve got to be joking me! What will they come up with next?!” But seriously though how much more creative can we be? Mallory, owner of Studio Revolution and the community behind the surf shack doors of are definitely one to admire. Studio Revolution’s community is supportive, welcoming and most of all accepting of any person of any fitness level who wants to shred the gnar. Studio Revolution is re-inventing the wheel as it continues to offer workouts based around a surfboard. Geared towards enhancing your balance and coordination, the ol’ booty gets a lift too! Catering to other fitness needs as well Mallory and her gang bring hard hitting TRX conditioning classes just to mix it up if you feel like training on dry land – but you’ll still never escape the sweat! Riding waves is one thing but catching friendships is definitely what you’ll also find in the water at Studio Revolution.
When I’m in the mood for feelin’ detoxified I take myself to YYC Cycle. Sometimes there comes a point when you’ve drank too much or ate too much or have done too much of something in excess and you just need to sweat it out. When that happens you take yourself right over to the community of YYC Cycle. Specializing in spin classes, YYC Cycle offers a DJ infused, hard hitting mixe of high heartbeats and heavy breathing geared towards makin’ you SWEAT! Andrew, owner of YYC Cycle, and his crew within the doors of YYC Cycle are motivators aimed at influencing your life and the way you see fitness. I love the feeling of pushing myself and finding my edge on the spin bike. I love feeling the sweat pour out of my pores and hoping all the bad decisions I come out along with it. As you wipe the sweat from your now non-existent eyebrow, you feel liberated and alive and can feel your heart beat heavy from your chest. Again like I mentioned above with CFAA we can be in constant awe of ourselves as we continue to achieve goals that we never thought possible from our bodies. It’s an amazing thing to push and push, and continue to walk back through the doors for yet another ass kicking. But it’s even more worth it when 60 minutes have passed and it’s you that got onto the bike, it’s you who turned up the gear and it’s YOU who are here for the change. Want to take a ride on the sweaty side? You’ve come to the right place!
When I’m in the mood for self-love I take myself to Yoga Santosha. If I feel like wrapping myself in a nice blanket of yoga infused love, Santosha is my go to. When I think of Yoga Santosha I think of waking up early on Saturday morning to attend the Yin Yang class. I think of deep belly breaths, mantras and bolsters to lie on and drift into never never land. Yoga Santosha offers more of authentic take on the practice of Yoga. I love the natural light that pours in through the windows, I love the sounds of the wooden floors, I love the smell of incense and candles burning; I love it all. Yoga Santosha was my first taste of yoga. It’s funny how certain things come into our lives when there needed. At this point in my life I needed to learn how to handle stress better and cope with changes in my life, and coming to Yoga Santosha allowed me to learn to do that. As I’ve only been practicing the art of yoga for five months, it however has become clear to me how much I value the quiet, the serenity and the pure peace felt after pouring your body over your mat. I was fortunate to attend a yogathon event this past Saturday put on by Yogathon aimed at #risingforacause. Yogathon will support Core for Children, a program dedicated to providing free education to rural youth in India. At one point during the event, where did I mention we had to do 108 sun salutations, I had my eyes closed and I lifted up from a forward fold and held my hands and face up to the sun. As my hands and head were lifted towards the sun I felt I was in the middle of a sun shower and thought to myself this was one of those moments. One of those moments when you feel you are apart of something bigger than yourself, something greater. If I can be honest with you those are my absolute favourite moments.
Throughout any sort of fitness or wellness journey I have put myself through over the years I can tell you this. You should never deny your body, or soul for that matter, what you feel it needs at any given time.
Feed your soul and make it good Calgary! Till next Monday, later days!
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