Month: December 2025

white printer paper More flimsy muu-muus. Less flimsy attention spans.
fitness

More flimsy muu-muus. Less flimsy attention spans.

Nicole P,Leave a comment

I have been in the same book club for over 27 years. I have a pretty good record when it comes to keeping up with the books each month. Until last year, I rarely arrived at book club, not having finished that month’s book. This year, I’m finding my attention span is flimsy. I’ll start a book. It may be interesting to me. For many reasons, I just can’t keep my focus, for very long.

Is my trouble with being able to focus due to our collectively shrinking attention spans? Is it due to being brain tired from work that can be emotionally heavy? Is it due to my own emotionally heavy 2025?

How do I describe the last year? A year in which I lost my Mom. I also lost my beloved shih-tzu. My other beloved senior schnauzer has advancing kidney disease. My husband and I have been giving him sub-cutaneous fluids, and other meds, to keep him comfortable, and still occasionally peppy, as long as possible.

Here’s Miggy, the schnauzer, with a peppy walk/run in his booties.

Then, there were the two uncles who died (one on the same day as my Mom). Also, my sister’s Mother-in-law, a beloved member of our family, also died. Each of these people lived to generous, advanced ages and had good lives.

I keep thinking that I want to write about sad things in a way that is humorous. I want to make note of the happy things too. I need to work on my comedic writing. Perhaps, that will be a goal for 2026.

There were many good things in 2025. The friends and family who were there. Strengthened relationships with people very important to me. There were adorable 3 year olds.

I was visiting my Dad, the other day, who now lives in a very nice assisted living community. When I went to his room, he was waking up from a nap. He started saying he felt funny. He said, he didn’t know how to explain it. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. He also has mild dementia, so that is not unususal. But, I asked him, “are you not feeling well?” “No, I feel fine”, he said, “I don’t know how to explain it”, he said. We went through a few adjectives and landed on “a bit anxious.” “Ah, yes”, I thought. More evidence, we are related.

My sister and BIL, also visited, while I was with my Dad, along with the adorable 3 year old. Three year olds have a way of adding healthy doses of smiles to the room, which linger throughout the day.

While we were all sitting in the common area, “bistro”, another resident entered the room. She was all smiles and very friendly. She also seemed blissfully unaware that the muu-muu she was wearing was pretty see-through and short. She confidently swayed and sauntered as she made herself a coffee. It made me giggle. Not at her. But, just at the random, simple, silliness of life. I am glad for her that she was so happy in her flimsy muu-muu.

My fitness schedule has been pretty consistent. I have managed to get out for one or two short jogs/week, even though December has been more icy than usual. I have enjoyed two or three great strength and conditioning workouts/week (some at new places, that I like). Those times at the gym continue to be a good distraction from the daily stresses. I often have friends with me, which is a great treat, but, also, movement continues to clear my head and strengthen my soul in ways I can only appreciate.

In 2026, I’d like to have the ability to strengthen my attention span. I want to enjoy more books. I want to write more. I want to be creative in ways that spark joy.

I want to spark more joy in 2026. That’s what I keep thinking. I don’t want to parade around in a flimsy muu-muu. I want the feeling of joy that surpasses what is physical or obvious on the surface.

I wish more joy for myself and for everyone.

Nicole P. is looking for more workouts and whimsy to spark joy.
A drawing of the number 28 Making Space 2025: Day 28
holiday fitness · self care

Making Space 2025: Day 28

Christine HenneburyLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

I’ve already given similar advice several times this month but it still applies so I am going to remind myself (and you!) again.

If you have a list of stuff that you were trying to get done before the end of the year/the end of the holidays/the end of the month/the end of the week, then you probably have more tasks than time right now.

Sooooo, in the interests of creating space in your brain and in your schedule, it’s probably a good idea to review your plans and decide which things are actually important to you, which things you have time to do, and what you are going to do with the rest of the stuff on your list.

But before you get into that process, please promise me that you won’t be hard on yourself about anything that didn’t get done.

It’s really hard to judge how much time we will have in any given month, let alone in December when the air around us is essentially filled with possible tasks for us to take on.

(And it’s fine to be overly ambitious and hopeful about your capacity, as long as you aren’t mean to yourself when it doesn’t work out. Since I find it a challenge to prioritize my tasks and minimize my to do list, I often just pile AllOfTheThings on there and try not to put too much pressure on myself about stuff that doesn’t get done. I have varying success with this but it works ok overall)

Anyway, if you have your list on paper or screen, take a look through it and decide on a reasonable amount of things for you to do over the next few days. You can even schedule specific times for those tasks if it helps.

If you don’t have a list, just a vague sense of things needing to be done, then please, please, please, get those tasks on paper or on screen so they aren’t filling up your brain any more.

And just because the item is on your list doesn’t mean that you have to do now (or at all!) – don’t forget that items on your list can also be delayed, delegated, or deleted.

The idea here is to make space in your brain and in your calendar so you can spend the last few days of 2025 in ways that make the most sense for you and for your life instead of scrambling to get a bunch of unevaluated tasks done just for the sake of checking them off a list.

So, Team, I know we have varying degrees of freedom around choosing our tasks and our schedules, but I hope that doing a quick review right now helps you find a bit of space for yourself in there somewhere.

And, as always, I wish you ease and space – no matter how you go about making it.

Here’s today’s suggested movement practice:

The still image for this Chair Exercises for Seniors//10 Minute Ab & Core Seated Workout by Senior Shape Fitness shows the instructor, a light-skinned person with long brown hair, is sitting on a chair on a large blue mat with a tree in a white pot in the background. The instructor has their hands behind their head so her elbows stick out on each side.

And here’s our suggested meditation practice for today:

The still image of this 10 minute Guided Indoor Walking Meditation from Dr. Kelly Watkins shows the instructor sitting in a chair in the lower right corner. The title ‘Indoor Walking Meditation’ in white at the top against a peach background. The instructor is a light-skinned person with long brown hair curled in ringlets in a pink pantsuit with a white tshirt and they are smiling. They have a clipboard under their right hand and a pen hekd in their fingers.
A table set for dinner, no pne seated yet. Catherine’s family holiday: free from food concern trolling
eating · fitness · holidays

Catherine’s family holiday: free from food concern trolling

catherine wLeave a comment

CW: discussion of comments made about people’s eating habits, especially in family circles

While browsing Facebook yesterday, I came across a post from a FB friend expressing their frustration and anger over food concern trolling comments from their family. The comments mainly consisted of observations on the amount of they ate or put on their plate. When confronted, family members said they were “just kidding”. Right.

I am so done with this behavior, and I’m glad this person called out the comments for what they were– body shaming, food concern trolling, toxic fat phobia. Enough!

Reading this made me reflect on what my family holiday eating atmosphere is like these days. I’m very happy to say that it’s fun and satisfying and supportive and respectful.

One really great thing about my sister and her kids is that we all eat what we want and how much we want. There’s really no judgement, except that I occasionally make fun of them about how much they love sauces on the side. Remember this scene from When Harry Met Sally? Their orders are often like this:

Ordering things on the side, taken to its logical conclusion. From When Harry met Sally.
Ordering things on the side, taken to its logical conclusion. From When Harry met Sally.

I feel completely at home with my sister and her kids– at home in my body, at home with my plate at mealtime. My sister and I do talk about nutrition— protein and fat in particular— as we both have gut issues. We offer advice to each other in the form of “I was having this gut problem, ate or didn’t eat this, did that, and the following happened. Maybe that info will be helpful for you.” That works for me.

My mother is experiencing cognitive decline, and it’s hard for her (not remembering things) and for us (trying to figure out what to remind her about and when to go with the flow). She is eating less, a combo of lowered appetite and forgetting to eat. But she hasn’t forgotten about the foods she likes. She takes real pleasure in a burger, turkey sub sandwich, or a snickers ice cream bar (yes these exist). And we’ve enjoyed a bunch of nice meals together, talking about the food, how good it is, and what it reminds us of— other meals, other friends and family members, other times. Connecting with my mom through food is a pleasure I hope will last for a while yet.

I wish for all of you, dear readers, days and days of happy meals with family and friends through the rest of this holiday time and in the new year to come.

Smiling cheesecake with chocolate sauce. On the side, of course. By Insung Yoon for Unsplash.
Smiling cheesecake with chocolate sauce. On the side, of course. By Insung Yoon for Unsplash.
a drawing of the number 27 Making Space 2025: Day 27
fitness · holiday fitness · self care

Making Space 2025: Day 27

Christine HenneburyLeave a comment

Hello hello!

Look at us at Day 27! Go Team!

I think today is a great time to take a minute to notice how much stuff you DID get gone this month.

Yes, I imagine most of us started the month with huge plans that we had to scale back quite a bit as we went along. And while it would be easy to get all caught up in our regrets and frustrations about the things we put aside, I think it would be waaaaaay more helpful to spend a little time congratulating ourselves on what we did instead of being annoyed about what we didn’t do. *

While we’re at it, let’s also celebrate doing all the tasks that we usually do without thinking about – work tasks, home tasks, family commitments – because this month we were doing them with extra pressure and less time.

(Truth be told, I think we could be celebrating that kind of work on the regular but since most of us don’t usually do that, let’s make a point of celebrating them now.)

All of that work, the regular stuff, and the extra December stuff, matters and it is really important that we notice our own efforts and congratulate ourselves for them.

Obviously, you can notice all of those things just by thinking about them but I can’t help but wonder if it might be useful to actually write down as many things as we can think of just so we can see the length and breadth of that list.

And, seriously, include everything you can think of, including things like washing your hair, getting snow tires on the car, and answering that phone call.

If you did it, it goes on the list!

I, of course, am celebrating you and cheering you on from over here.

And I am offering you this gold star for your efforts:

a drawing of a gold star
A VERY shiny star for your hard work, Team. Go Team Us!

Amidst the list-making and the celebrating, you may still need to make a little space for yourself so here are my suggestions for today:

Here is our movement practice for today:

In the still image for this Exercises for Relaxation – 10 Minute Stress Release Workout from Jessica Valant, the instructor, a woman with lightly tanned skin and long blonde hair, is doing a workout outdoors on a purple mat on a grassy lawn with scrubby trees in the background on a sunny day. She is wearing a dark pink tank top and dark pink leggings and is resting on her left hip with her left leg sort of folded in front of her and her right leg extended behind her. While her lower body is somewhat oriented towards the camera, her upper body is turned towards the right and leaning a little with her arms extended to support herself.

Here is our meditation practice for today:

In the still image for this 5 Min Meditation for Boundaries from Haven Inspired, the instructor, a black woman in a grey shirt with her curly hair pulled away from her face, is on the left side of the image facing towards the right so we can only see her in profile. She is wearing headphones, her eyes are closed, and she has her left hand resting just under her collarbones in what I think of as a self-comforting gesture. She looks peaceful and at ease. The background of the image is dark green at the top and light green at the bottom and there is a black bar with white text listing the title of the video that extends from the right side to just behind her head on the left but doesn’t go all the way to the left side of the image.

*There will be lots of time to use our regrets to help inform our future selves, we’ll get to that in a day or two. Today is about celebrating our victories!

Nat’s thankful for all the cycling this year
cycling · Sat with Nat

Nat’s thankful for all the cycling this year

natalieh (she/her)Leave a comment

In January I had planned on averaging 30 km a week on the bike. That quickly fell apart but I wasn’t worried. The real goal was consistency and I cycled more frequently than ever thanks to my tiny commute.

My recorded distance in 2024 was just over 700 km. I wanted to double that and hit 1,500.

As the year winds to a close I may hit 1,100 or not? I don’t care. I’m pleased at getting over 1,000 cycling kilometers in. It’s 45% more than last year. It felt easy and that was the goal. Yay!

A Strava screenshot showing my typical pattern of a spike of cycling in July. It also shows a year of cycling every month which is very new to me!

I do want to get more base training in before July. I want the MS Bike Tour to be easier and I think more time in the saddle will do that.

I’m tinkering with my commuter. There’s something amiss with my shifting.

I will continue to bike in winter when it makes sense. I’ve been humbled by the volume of snow and embracing kindness to myself.

I don’t need to prove anything and my commute needs to feel boring. I have quite a bit of anxiety in general on in office days so after one particularly rough ride in I realized it’s ok to walk in or get a lift.

This advice on using judgement was shared with my most experienced cycling friends. They applauded extra efforts but also shared they too are less ardent on cycling “no matter what” and more cycling when it makes sense.

So here’s to more bike rides and more distance in 2026!

s small drawing of the number 26 Making Space 2025: Day 26
fitness · holiday fitness · holidays · meditation · self care

Making Space 2025: Day 26

Christine HenneburyLeave a comment

Hey Everyone,

I hope that today is a good day to find a little space for yourself with movement, meditation, or something else that makes you happy.

I don’t have a lot of advice today but I do have a question:

What kinds of small things can you do over the next few days to either feel more restful in the moment OR to help yourself start the new year with more ease?

Please don’t put a lot of pressure on yourself to figure this out!

But if you can think of a few things that will make life a bit easier for future you, please try to do them.

(Somewhat related: I thought this list of tiny experiments for the last week of the year sounded interesting. No pressure though! Take good care of yourself!)

Anyway, Team, no matter what you are doing today or what you have planned for the next week, I wish you ease and peace of mind and as much space as you need.

And with that, let’s get into our suggested practices for today:

Since this is Boxing Day, I had decided to post a boxing workout and a box breathing meditation. Boxing Day has nothing to do with the sport of boxing (nor about breathing practices) but I do like a tangential theme!

Then, on a less tangential matter, I realized that today is also the first day of Kwanzaa so I wanted to post a meditation and movement practice related to that celebration as well.

(There are a lot of holidays and cultural events throughout December and I don’t mention them all because I don’t always have the time to do proper research and determine if it would be appropriate for me to reference them in this type of post. If you celebrate something in December that you think would be appropriate for Making Space 2026, please let me know in the comments and I will include it next year.)

Here’s one of our movement practices for today.

In the still image of this 10 Minute Kickboxing Quick HIIT Workout from BodyFit by Amy, the title of the video is on the left in black and the instructor, a person with light skin and freckles and their blond hair in a ponytail and cloth hairband, is demonstrating a punch with their right fist towards the camera and their left arm close to their body in a guarding position (upper arm close to the body, elbow down, forearm leaned slightly across their chest, fist near their chin. They are wearing a blue cropped tank top and you can see the black waistband of their pants (or shorts?)

Here’s our first meditation practice for today:

In still image for this Box Breathing Relaxation Exercise from Hands On Meditation, a variation of the video title ‘5 Minute Box Breathing Relaxation Exercise Beginner Pace’ is in the middle of the screen with the first two words in yellow, the rest in white. The first four words are in larger text than the last four. Behind the text is a silhouette of a square with thick lines for each side and the background is a sort of patterned blue that gives the impression of being underwater. In case you are interested, here’s a good explanation of the benefits of Box Breathing from Sunnybrook Hospital.

Here’s our second movement practice for today:

In the still image for this Kwanzaa Quick Workout video from Uhuru Dancers, Atlanta the instructor, a black person with curly hair pulled upwards away from their face with a yellow and brown patterned scarf, large hoop earrings, a black tshirt with the word LEGACY in white, a hip scarf in the same pattern, and red leggings, is standing on a white and red patterned rug with their hands on the back of their hips. They look calm and determined. In the background, next to a red wall, are several tall drums, and a wooden table. There are posters and other hangings on the wall.

And here’s a Kwanzaa meditation from a few years ago:

In this still image from Principles of Kwanzaa, 7 Day Meditation Challenge Day 1: Umoja – Unity from Manii Dot Calm, the instructor, a young black person with their hair covered in a brightly coloured scarf is sitting on a couch that is covered with yellow fabric and there are two windows with blinds closed behind them. They are wearing a white sleeveless blouse over a burgundy tank top, and they are wearing gold earing and bangles on both arms. Their eyes are closed and their arms are raised so their elbows are away from their body, their forearms are closer to the camera and their hands are palm inward at face height but maybe 6-8 inches away from their face.

If you are interested in more Kwanzaa meditations, her other videos are available at Manii Dot Calm but they are not in a separate playlist.

Nat’s taking Boxing Day to get back to strength training
habits · holiday fitness · strength training · weight lifting

Nat’s taking Boxing Day to get back to strength training

natalieh (she/her)Leave a comment

I love the gift of time over the holidays. No alarm. No paid work. No chores (we did them earlier this week). It’s lovely and relaxing.

Michel has returned to spinning on the regular indoors. We are taking time today to get our strength training back in our schedule.

It’s a common experience to have an ebb and flow to routines. Thankfully the breaks are getting shorter as we get older.

Being less fussed about a break makes it easier to pick it up again. Literally no one cares if I’m perfect at sticking to a routine. Everyone celebrates any workout I do get in. Yay!

I’m rewarded with more pain free days when I get strength training in and that is very motivating. Yay!

Plus all my silly little physiotherapy exercises have taught me there are infinite ways to challenge my body. No fear of being bored. Yay!

I hope you are getting time to do what you want today. It’s the gift that keeps on giving.

There’s nothing dumb about dusting off my dumbbells!
A drawing of the number 25. Making Space 2025: Day 25
fitness · health · holiday fitness · holidays · mindfulness · self care

Making Space 2025: Day 25

Christine HenneburyLeave a comment

Happy Holidays! Happy Christmas! Happy Thursday!

Or, if you aren’t feeling any of those things, I wish you a perfectly acceptable day with no unpleasant surprises.

I have gotten myself a bit tangled trying to write this post because I was trying to say just the right thing to everyone.

But since that is impossible, I am just going to say this:

No matter how this day finds you, I wish you ease, I wish you space, I wish you peace.

May you have a little extra breathing room.

May you have a little more peace of mind.

May you have joy in your heart – even if it is just a flicker right now.

If you want it, may have company to help you celebrate or to help you carry what needs to be carried.

If you want it, may you have solitude so you can hear yourself think, so you can find ease, or so you can choose how to spend your time.

May you know how much you are loved.

Please be just as kind to yourself as you are to others, today and always.

Please know that I am thinking of you and sending you warmth and kindness and spaciousness.

On that note, I feel like it’s a good idea to put our meditation practice first today:

In the still image from this 5 Minute LovingKindness Meditation from Unearth Compassion, what I interpret as small green tendrils are poking up from frozen ground on a misty day.

And here’s our movement practice for today:

In the still image from this from Holly R Jahn, the instructor is wearing blue leggings and a grey shirt and trying on the floor on their back next to a large white pot for a houseplant. They are side-on to the camera and they have their arms outstretched and their right leg is crossed over their left. Their left is outstretched on the floor and their right foot is placed near their left knee.

If you would prefer more seasonally-themed choices, here are a few choices:

Christmas-Themed Workouts Playlist

Christmas-Themed Mindful Drawing Video

Festive Spirit Meditation

Finding Peace During The Holidays Meditation

Wishing you a day of fitness, family and fun!
alcohol · celebration · dogs · eating · holidays · snow · winter

Wishing you a day of fitness, family and fun!

natalieh (she/her)Leave a comment

This year is the first Christmas of being empty nesters. Our youngest is in British Columbia. Our eldest is over for a couple days. His beloved is on military deployment. So it’s just the 3 of us and we are finding new traditions.

Last night we had Tortiére, a savory meat pie, mashed potatoes and green beans. We made homemade apple fritters in the air fryer. Not too shabby. It’s a nod to the French Canadian tradition of Réveillon, celebrating the start of the holidays with food and family.

Today we are having turkey, wild rice & apricot stuffing, sweet potato casserole, bronzed onions and cranberry sauce.

If we get real ambitious we will make Cracker Candy. It’s a quick and easy dessert where the butter and sugar candy is poured over saltines and topped with chocolate and pecans.

One thing that is definitely on our agenda is giving Lucy and ourselves a good walk.

Our neighbourhood is quiet with students gone home for the holidays and many people traveling. It’s like we have the city to ourselves. I enjoy the peaceful, unhurried way everyone is going about the day.

Lucy the dog sits patiently by the door waiting for a walk.

As part of doing things differently this year there’s no alcohol involved. In previous years we’d have wine with meals and cocktails in the evenings. I’m surprised that I’m not missing it.

We’ve scaled way back on gifts as we are investing in house renovations next month. It’s a big change but one that feels good and aligned with what we really want.

Snowy walks are better in Santa hats. Nat and Michel smile while dressed in warm jackets covered in snow.

If where you are has today as a holiday I hope you are getting the day you need. I hope it includes the perfect balance of fitness, family and fun.

A small drawing of the number 24 Making Space 2025: Day 24
fitness · holiday fitness · mindfulness · rest · self care

Making Space 2025: Day 24

Christine HenneburyLeave a comment

For some of us, this is Christmas Eve.

For some of us this is just Wednesday.

For many of us, it’s something in between.

For all of us, it’s near the end of a busy month.

At this point, it’s really hard to know what kind of space we might need to make for ourselves.

Maybe we need some focus.

We may need something restful to do.

We might need to make space for movement.

We may need a mindful activity (and, remember, almost any activity can be done mindfully!)

And all of those needs are important and they all matter – because YOU matter and the things YOU need are just as important as all of the other needs you support on a day-to-day basis.

So today I’m inviting us all to find ways, even small ways, to give ourselves what we need right now.

Maybe you don’t have time for the hour long nap that you need, but perhaps you have time for a short break that will be helpful even if it doesn’t fully meet your needs.

Maybe you need a half an hour of high intensity exercise to sort your cluttered thoughts. But if you don’t have half an hour right now, maybe you can do a shorter workout and do some sort of list that gets all of those things out of your brain so you can see them clearly.

Maybe you need a long, slow meditation to soothe your nervous system and help you feel more like your favorite self. But if you are feeling hurried and frustrated, that might feel impossible right now. Perhaps you can try for a shorter version of your usual practice or you can ask yourself what ELSE helps you to feel like your favourite self and give that a try.

(When I take my list out of my head onto paper onto a screen, it becomes easier for me to see which ones actually need to be done. Which ones I can delegate and which ones can actually wait quite a while before they need to get done but inside my brain, they feel equally important.)

I guess the key thing here is to recognize that it is OK for you to need something and it’s OK for you to try to meet that need, even if you have to do a smaller version for now.

I know you probably have a lot of competing priorities and a lot of things to get done for others but please try not to put your needs at the very bottom of your list.

And no matter what you need right now, what you want right now, or what you have to deal with at the moment, positive or negative, I wish you ease with it.

As much as possible, may you have peace in your heart and in your mind.

Here are two movement practice suggestions for today:

The still image of this Yoga for Brain Power video from Yoga with Adriene shows Adriene with her hair pinned up and wearing black leggings and a gray sleeveless shirt. She is standing on a yoga mat that is divided horizontally into two different colours of grey. She is doing tree pose with her left foot resting on her right inner thigh while she’s standing up and she has her arms raised above her head. She is smiling and looks happy. Her dog Benji is asleep behind her next to some large plants in pots, there are windows behind her and there’s also a table with plants and some decorations on it nearby.

In the still image for this jumpstart cardio workout from Fitness Blender the instructor sitting on a blue yoga mat with their legs crossed and their hands in their lap. There is a large light haired dog sleeping next to them sort of curled around the right knee. The instructor is wearing two layers of tank tops one peach and one blue and they have on black exercise pants. Their long hair is parted on one side and is hanging down past their shoulders. They’re smiling and they look happy.

And here are two mindfulness practices for you to try.

In this 5 Minute Mindfulness Art Meditation Practice from Nicole Schyns, the still image is divided in two parts on the left-hand side. The instructor is shown with their eyes closed, sitting in their living room in front of a low table. They have a pencil in one hand and they’re holding an object in the other. They are wearing a long sleeved light brown turtleneck, and their long brown hair is pinned up on top and hanging over their shoulders on both sides. On the right side is a close-up of a couple of their drawings so they have but looks like two rocks the actual items there and below them are their drawings of those items. One of the rocks looks like it’s made up of a bunch of different small pieces or maybe covered in barnacles and the other one is a gray rock that is almost semi-circular.

And a steel image for this 10 minute Guided Meditation for Inner Peace from Declutter Your Mind you can see a wooden dock that extends through what looks like a merch with plants growing up on either side to a a lake with trees on the other side of the lake that are reflected in the water.