coffee in quebec winter

Train your body to overcome winter blues

Fit to Farm: People try to struggle against their biology in the cold and dark

For those of us who stay in Canada for the winter, seasonal shifts in light, weather and nutrition often take a toll. Many Canadians notice changes in their overall wellbeing through the winter months, both physically and mentally. Part of this shift in our overall quality of well-being in the winter likely comes from our […] Read more

Gentle yoga practices can help maintain whole-body movement and can be adjusted to avoid discomfort.

How to prepare for joint replacement surgery

Fit to Farm: 'Pre-hab' can help your body recover more quickly

Whether due to trauma or degenerative conditions such as osteoarthritis, joint replacement procedures are common options for managing movement limitations and pain. Joint replacement surgeries are among the most common procedures for which I help clients prepare and recover. The most common joints to replace are knees and hips, often from long-term degeneration. In these […] Read more


back pain

Easing the strain of sitting

Fit to Farm: Joints in the spine can get compressed when you have to sit for long periods

A common complaint that comes along with the farm lifestyle and career is back pain. Non-specific low back pain — meaning the pain has begun with no clear incidence and doesn’t have one clear cause — makes up over 80 per cent of back pain complaints. In my line of work, often it isn’t as […] Read more

Any kind of dance gets the whole body moving and engages the senses, and it can also be done alone, with a partner or in a group. It truly is a remedy that works on multiple levels for multiple reasons.

An ancient remedy for better health

Fit to Farm: Dancing is fun, but it can also enhance your mental and physical well-being

The oldest remedy in the world? It’s amazing think of how much we humans have evolved to handle. Our biology never ceases to come up with ways to move us forward. Many of the life-threatening diseases we face today are relatively new to human history. Chronic diseases like diabetes, heart disease and obesity are considered […] Read more


Anxiety often does accompany or can be a symptom of physical pain.

Control anxiety with your body

Fit to Farm: How full body, dynamic movements and breathing exercises can help

It is a common belief that anxiety is a mental health condition. While anxiety certainly does have plenty of mental health implications, current research shows how the symptoms of anxiety can be managed through body focused tools. If not managed effectively, anxiety symptoms such as a racing heart, nausea, shortness of breath, nervousness, difficulty sleeping […] Read more

Regulate your nervous system

Regulate your nervous system

Fit to Farm: Turns out “shaking it off” can really help if you’re feeling stressed out

Nervous system regulation is becoming a common term nowadays when discussing emotional and physical well-being. To best understand what nervous system regulation means, we first need a basic understanding of how our nervous system works. The nervous system as a whole is essentially our biological operating system. It controls our biological functions, movements, sensations and […] Read more


Do you experience back pain? It’s one of the most common adult complaints

Do you experience back pain? It’s one of the most common adult complaints

Fit to Farm: Here are three easy exercises to try that may help your spine

Back pain is one of the most common complaints among adults, and there’s a few good reasons why. The spine is one of the most mobile sections of the body, as well as an area responsible for quite a lot of force absorption. We use it a lot, in various ways, daily.  Pain and stiffness […] Read more

One trigger for upper body, neck and face tension can be as simple as seasonal changes.

Tension can cause discomfort in the shoulders and neck

Fit to Farm: Here are some self-treatments to try that may bring some relief

You’ve probably heard someone say that they hold all their tension in their shoulders and neck, and that’s not uncommon. Environmental and emotional stress often shows up in our posture, and often in our upper shoulders, neck and even our face and jaw. For the vast majority of us in one way or another, the […] Read more


Pain is there for a reason and it can actually be considered an ally if we are able to see it as a sense versus an attack to be made the victim of.

Do emotions and pain work together?

Fit to Farm: Like any other emotion, pain needs to be felt to be released so the healing process can begin

Regulating pain has a lot to do with regulating the nervous system’s response to its environment (or perceived environment). Throwing emotion into the mix will actually lead to fixating on the sensation of pain and ramping up the intensity of that sensation. Think of pain like another emotion. The more you think about it, the […] Read more

Why does stress affect health?

Why does stress affect health?

Fit to Farm: To know that, we have to understand what it does to how we function

In my clinic, stress is one of many reasons clients complain of ongoing pain, tension and physical issues. I often get asked: “Can stress actually cause this much disease?” To answer that, we first have to understand stress and its effect on human function. Stress can be anything from exercise, change in routine, illness, caretaking, […] Read more