I'm excited to get to profile my amazing, hardworking client, Shannon Jardine. She is one of the sweetest, funniest people and she never misses a workout. Shannon is a Film and Television actor who has a recurring role on BRIA MACK GETS A LIFE, an upcoming new Comedy TV Series on CRAVE. She wrote TORCH RIVER, an award-winning one-woman play based on her Grandmother's life story and had the pleasure of performing it in sold out theatres across North America. Shannon co-created DUST UP, a History Television series featuring her cropdusting and farming family in Saskatchewan. According to Shannon, the best role of her life is being a Mom to her amazing son.
What is your favourite, nourishing breakfast? A big bowl of organic oatmeal mixed with almond butter, hemp hearts, blueberries, raspberries, cinnamon and either milk, almond milk or oat milk.
What's your feel-good beverage of choice? Camino dark hot chocolate made with milk or oat milk (never water!) and if I have whipped cream you're darn tootin' that is going on top!
What are you currently reading? I am inspired by watching the progress of Hugh Jackman at age 54 getting in shape to play Wolverine again so I follow his weight lifting updates on Twitter. Hugh recommended the book "Outlive" by Peter Attia. I am just at the start of the book but one of the first things he writes about is: "EXERCISE is by far the most potent longevity "drug". No other intervention does nearly as much to prolong our lifespan and preserve our cognitive and physical function. But most people don't do nearly enough".
I know you're really interested in fitness and ageing, are there any other nuggets of wisdom you'd like to share with the feel-good community? I love this quote from MD Howard Luks. "Muscle mass is critical to aging well. The more muscle we deposit into our muscle bank, the more we get to withdraw as we age. To be a kick-ass 80 yr old, you had to be a kick-ass 50-60 yr old. Heavy weight is not required. Pick a day, and start"
What does your weekly movement routine look like? I weight train with Justine every Monday. Then I lift weights on my own with the program Justine has created for me twice more that week. On a really busy day I may not lift weights until midnight but I make sure I "Git 'Er Done!" I often walk my son to school and pick him up. Last year, I also walked every day to pick him up for lunch. My Dad asked how far I walked each day so I google mapped it and realized I was walking 4.5 km or 2.8 miles every school day. In the winter, I often go skating and play hockey with my son and in the height of ski season we go downhill skiing once a week. So I am usually in better shape in the winter. Summertime I just go all to hell because it is way more important to look fit in the winter when no one can even tell under a big parka and huge ski pants, am I right? :)
Tell us about some of your feel-good routines. Going to an outdoor spa that has multiple types of pools, saunas, steam rooms and relaxation areas. Stretching, walking and yoga. Getting out in nature and going for hikes in the forest.
What is your number one indulgence? A Dairy Queen Reese's peanut butter cup mixed with chocolate chip cookie dough blizzard. When I studied at the U of T, I would go back home in the summer and sometimes work at the DQ in Nipawin, Sask. I was able to experiment with so many amazing ice cream flavour combinations! If I am in Regina, Sask. I get the same flavours mixed together in a cyclone at Milky Way. The best! Okay, now I'm hungry.
Tell us about a feel-good product that you're obsessed with. Purely Great deodorant in a container (not the stick). I have tried so many natural deodorants but this is the only one that has ever worked! It has the simplest ingredients - baking soda, corn starch and vegetable glycerin.
Tell us about a feel-good service you're loving right now. The stretches in Justine's warm up and cool down after lifting weights is my favourite part! Often I find myself hunched over a computer. If I stop and do the stretches, it makes me feel so much better. Whenever I attend Justine's Yoga classes I'm always so glad I did!
What's the boring self-care that you're committed to? Flossing my teeth every darn night even though I really don't enjoy it! Inflammation in the gums can effect your overall health. At the ROM, a guide told us that one of the mummies from Egypt encased a young woman who was a singer at the Palace. Therefore, she had access to many sweets. The pathologists believe she ate a lot of honey and ended up dying from a dental abscess that led to a fatal blood infection. If that story doesn't make you want to floss every night, I don't know what will. :)
If I could wave a magic wand and get you 24 hours to do whatever you want, how would you spend that time? I would instantly be with our family from Saskatchewan and we would be on a travelling adventure that involves forests, a body of water, guitars, singing, and listening to my Dad, Bud (85 years old) yodeling!
Photo Credit: Ian Brown
