Body and soul

Hey there, time traveller!
This article was published 28/03/2022 (1452 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

I’m not inspired to live a healthy life by people with a lot muscle and very little body fat. I’m inspired by people who master their career, break new ground, raise families, change the world and still find time to go for a walk and tend to their mental health.

For those of us with the ability and means to set and meet all these goals, there is a lot of privilege that needs to be acknowledged. I’m slowly beginning to understand just how fortunate I am to enjoy the health and opportunities I have.

I’ll be honest — I still enjoy working out with weights and intensity on a regular basis. Working out at a gym is one of many tools that can help build a healthy lifestyle. However, the gym isn’t the important things, movement is. The intensity isn’t important; the feeling of a job well done is.

So where do I look for inspiration?

Meet Dr. Heather Hinam. If you don’t already follow @SecondNatureMB, you are missing out. When not tweeting some of the most beautiful nature shots you’ll see, Heather is an artist, musician, ecologist, storyteller, and as I found out interviewing her, a fun conversationalist.

Thanks to Twitter, I have been able to watch Heather’s journey these last few years. It was her commitment to walking, skating, hiking and being outside that inspired me. She has managed to maintain an almost daily activity schedule while recovering from debilitating nerve pain and dealing with a few other health issues. She isn’t shy about expressing how difficult it can sometimes make her daily explorations, but even through the pain, Heather has shared her outdoor adventures with photos and stories. I am inspired by how openly she discusses pain, pain management and the frustration that comes from shorter than desired outdoor sessions.

This, unfortunately, is something many people can relate to.

If it isn’t pain, it’s various mental health issues including depression and substance abuse, or other barriers to health such as poverty. Most of us in the fitness industry don’t realize the privilege we have, and it’s a root to why health is marketed to a select few, increasing health inequity. As we chatted, it became clear Heather is driven by her love of nature. I related to this because it’s also my goal to get people outside more. Her passion for it is clear; she has managed to channel her PhD in ecology and career as an interpretive designer into getting people out and reconnecting to nature.

Heather makes her living creating the interpretive signage you find on many of Manitoba’s best trails and in nature centres, gardens and museums. She mixes art with education and works to build a connection to the world around us. It’s her desire to have people outside and respecting nature that inspired me to reach out.

Heather likes to joke that she doesn’t get very far very fast. She is the first person to tell you that her hikes are slow and full of stops to take in everything around her. She loves to sit down under trees and just stare up at the canopy, watch the sunset beside the river and just soak up the entire ecosystem around her.

You will find Heather out in every season and just about all weather, birding, checking out mushrooms and mosses, playing in the snow, or simply waiting for the perfect picture. It’s movement that’s good for the mind and good for the soul. More and more studies have shown the benefits of nature on both our mental and physical health and Heather definitely encourages everyone to get a daily dose, no matter how small.

Her only caveat is that you do it with respect. It’s easy to get caught up in the wonder of seeing a wild animal or a beautiful view and lose track of the impact you’re having on the ecosystem. As more people get outside, it’s important to better understand how our walks and other activities affect our forests and fields so we can preserve them for future generations to enjoy.

Spending time in nature is great for our health and, if we use that time to better understand the world around us, it’s also good for the planet.

Here is what I know, and what I’ve seen in the fitness industry. Going to a gym, restricting calories and obsessing about appearance can reduce your weight. For a long time, weight loss was the only thing the entire industry associated with being healthy. We are getting smarter as the years go by. We know it’s our body, soul and mind that make us healthy. Figure out how to keep the entire package healthy and you’ve got something special. Find motivation, joy and excitement in moving. If you get past weight loss as your focus, health becomes a lot easier to chase down.

It is with a lot of gratitude to Heather that I’m writing this article. She may not know it until she reads this, but she’s a big part of why I wanted to launch this column.

I want to focus on real people, living real lives. I plan on taking health back from an industry of before and afters, selling you diets, promising weight loss as though it was some sort of holy grail. We are going to get outside, take deep breaths, eat real food and simply move because it gets us up and making memories. We are going to advocate for social change that allows all of our neighbours the ability to make these choices. Ensuring this is the kind of thing a larger percentage of the population can get involved with.

A final note: I’m a happily married 41-year-old father who creates healthy workplace cultures for a living. It’s my goal to inspire as many as possible. To that end I am grateful to Dr. Laura Bee to ensure my language is inclusive as possible.

Workplace health and wellness expert Jordan Cieciwa and CFL legend Milt Stegall have a dream: they want Winnipeg to be one of the healthiest cities in Canada. The two have teamed up to launch a free program called the Fit City Project. For more information check out fitcityproject.com and join our community. We are here to support you, connect you with passionate health professionals and challenge you to live “simply healthy.” You can also tweet at us; we love taking the discussion to social media: @FitCityJordan @MiltStegallTSN.