A Full Day Dedicated to Women’s Health, Empowerment & Self-Care

Most of all, this is a day for connection and revitalizing your commitment to your well-being journey for 2017 and beyond.  It’s going to be refreshing and fun! And we hope you’ll join us.  As an extra incentive to get you registered….

It’s Contest Giveaway Time!

Part of our women’s health retreat involves a practice in self-massage.  And we’ll be using my go-to resources with the Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Balls.  Establishing a daily self-massage routine can help with:

• Relieving and eliminating pain
• Managing stress
• Enhancing the mind-body connection

Because I’m a big “ball-iever” in the power of self-care as health-care, I want you to be able to take what you learned home with you.  So, if you register by 11:59pm Monday, Jan 16th, your name will be entered into a draw to win a Yoga Tune Up® Therapy Balls kit.  Valued at almost $150, the winner will receive the following:

• Set of Originals, in netted tote
• 1 Alpha
• 1 Coregeous
• Plus, a private 1:1 customized “roll-it-out” session with me, Michelle

Another event (and giveaway) like this isn’t going to come along often! Sunday, January 22nd is going to be a fabulous day with a peaceful setting, delicious food and a room full of women celebrating and empowering one another.

To join us, simply follow this link for registration. This once a year event is only open to the first 20 registered.

The post Jan 22nd Retreat for Women’s Health, Empowerment & Self-Care! Agenda & Contest Giveaway!!! appeared first on Define Me Wellness.

Seems like the holidays are wrapping up and a new year is upon us.  It’s the best time to prioritize you and find simple ways to take good care of your whole self (read: mind, body, spirit).  That’s why I’m excited to be co-hosting this Nourished Body day-long retreat on January 22nd! Past participants say it’s introspective, inspiring, valuable and fun! And this year’s event promises to be all that and more.

Tucked away in a farm setting in Uxbridge, you’ll learn new and interesting practices around food, movement and health.  Here are just a few highlights…

Exploring an alternative to the diet and deprivation cycle

Our relationship with food can be complicated and frustrating.  But it shouldn’t be.  And it doesn’t have to be.  Kori Kostka, Registered Dietitian, will have you thinking differently about eating through:

1. Ditching the rules and restriction (or putting them aside, at least for one day)
2. Discovering ways to identify hunger and fullness cues
3. And putting theory into practice with a fully-catered mindful eating lunch

Restore your body and nervous systems through movement:

Since food and exercise go hand-in-hand when dieting, the usual approach to physical activity probably leaves us more disconnected from our bodies.  And just like with food, it doesn’t have to be this way.  Therefore, Michelle Pitman (that’s me!) will also have you thinking and relating to your body differently with:

1. Body sensing from a place of curiosity and no judgment
2. Self massage techniques for pain relief
3. Restorative yoga as a gentle and embodied experience

As a result of these movement practices, you will feel deep relaxation and a better understanding of your body’s needs.

Finally, discover how you can take charge of your health

It all comes together with a candid and kind conversation with Nurse Practitioner Claudia Mariano.  You will get the facts about the health concerns that matter most to you as a woman, from an expert.  And then learn what you can do to prevent, heal and thrive through:

1. Practicing mindfulness for women’s health, at various life stages
2. Discovering new tips for taking care of your skin
3. And, most importantly, determining how to get what you want out of life

Sunday, January 22nd is going to be a fabulous day with a peaceful setting, delicious food and a room full of women celebrating and empowering one another.  To join us, simply follow this link for registration.  And please sign up soon to avoid disappointment.  This once a year event is only open to the first 20 registered.

Women’s Wellness & Leadership Retreat
Eat, Play and Be Mindful

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The Inspiration

A recent Buzzfeed article: What Not to Say About Food at Thanksgiving inspired me to create a resource – an invitation.  The invitation letter is an example of what to send out when inviting folks to special occasions.  The letter asks invitees to refrain from ED triggering language and subject matter.

Setting the tone for the celebration ahead of time will increase awareness and hopefully minimize any harmful comments or actions.

First, Some Considerations

This is for caregivers and loved ones of ED sufferers and survivors.  Do the best you can to setup a safe space prior to the get-together.  You want to avoid those potential triggers where the eating disorder thoughts and behaviours are provoked. Consider some of these ideas:

1. Host the celebration.  Be in charge of creating a neutral environment, where the eating disorder cannot thrive
2. Ask your loved one with the ED what would make the celebration successful and maybe even enjoyable for them
3. Avoid centering on any one individual or on the ED specifically
4. Draft an invitation that is kind, yet firm, around the types of conversation that is off limits

The Invitation:

The following is the text in a JPEG format. I’ve also provided a link to the PDF version so you can copy-paste, then make changes as you see fit.  Please email me if you are having trouble accessing it and I will email the text right over to you.

Whatever you celebrate, I hope this invitation helps making a safe space over the holidays a little easier for you and your loved ones.

And here is another format: Holiday Invitation PDF

Define Me has a new offering for those struggling with eating disorders across the spectrum.  Under the Lilac Tree is a virtual program with a team of peer support workers, dietitians, embodiment and gentle movement coaches.  If you or a loved one are seeking help, please contact Michelle Pitman, program director via email: [email protected] or call: 905-441-1524. 

The post Eating Disorder Ceasefire: How To Create a Safe Space Over the Holidays appeared first on Define Me Wellness.

In my last post, I talked about one of the most common New Year’s resolutions…The resolve to lose weight.  After re-reading that post, it got me thinking of an often overlooked part of the goal setting process: defining the goal.  I love the structure and process of using the SMART approach to setting goals.  I frequently turn to it when I am creating intentions for myself or coaching my clients in the goals they are setting for themselves.  I wrote about this concept a couple of years ago, in a bit more detail here.

But before you start creating (or possibly revising) those resolutions I’d like to ask you a couple of questions:

• When it comes to weight loss goals (yours or those that you are helping a family member/client/friend with), have you ever considered you might be focusing on the wrong Result?
• What is it you are looking to gain from losing weight?
• If you achieve that goal, does that mean you are healthier for it?

Through my years working with the Health At Every Size® paradigm, I have come to realize a shortfall within the SMART goal setting process and in the way that success is defined.  Particularly when it comes to weight-loss goals, we are focused so much so on the outcome that the actions we take or the behaviours that we may want to shift become secondary.

Searching for the definition of “outcome” I found the following from 3 online dictionaries:

• the way a thing turns out; a consequence.
• something that follows as a result or consequence
• something that follows from an action, dispute, situation, etc; result; consequence

That is all that weight loss is; a potential result from the steps we have taken, a drawn line in the sand that says our goal is complete and we have made it.  Is that all we are looking for in our measure of success? A criteria of pounds lost or body measurements decreased? I challenge the assumption that weight loss equals success, happiness, improved health or anything else that is promised when someone takes on the soul-sucking task of dieting.  And I caution folks on using pounds lost as a proxy for goal achievement.

What if instead you focused more on the Behaviour, rather than the result? Spending more time and energy on the ways you want to live a healthier lifestyle, while taking things slow and being kind to yourself.  That, to me, is more impactful than any weight loss goal (IMHO).  Ultimately, I think it is the behaviour we are looking to change and it is the outcome that is secondary.

How might you be able to reframe your intentions from an outcome-oriented endpoint to a behaviour-focused journey? Tell us in the comments below.

The post And While We’re On The Topic of Resolutions… appeared first on Define Me Wellness.

“…provide an opportunity to identify those work-related hazards and risks that influence psychological health and safety in the workplace; ensuring a preventative approach to psychological harm or mental injury (i.e., from work-related stress or fatigue, or workplace harassment, including bullying and discrimination).”

Here is an issue that isn’t normally addressed in the workplace that can be an obstacle to an individual achieving good mental health – size acceptance and body image.

Remember in a recent post, I wrote about size bias being the last socially acceptable form of discrimination? It’s evident in education, healthcare and in the workplace too! I believe creating a psychologically safe work environment addresses weight bias.  If a workplace implements zero-tolerance policies for discrimination, harassment and bullying based on size, than it makes for a more comfortable place to work for people of all sizes.  And a more accepting work environment makes it easier for individuals to think more positive thoughts about their bodies, which only adds to good mental health.

Examples of policies that embrace a more size accepting approach:

1. Opting out of company-wide weight loss programs such as “Biggest Loser” challenges.  There are weight-neutral alternatives that can still have an impact on employee health and productivity without resorting to ineffective dieting strategies.
2. Ensure your organizations diversity practices and training include a component for size diversity too.
3. Provide office furniture that accommodates a variety of shapes and sizes (i.e.: sturdy, armless chairs with firm seat cushions).
4. Decorate the office walls, waiting areas and meeting rooms with pictures and artwork showing workers of all sizes that exemplify your organization’s mission statement and core values.
5. Create equal hiring and promotion opportunities for every BODY (instead of feeding into the cultural bias that larger people are lazy and unmotivated).

Final thought

Creating a safe workplace and helping employees be the best they can be in body and mind starts with establishing a culture of respect and acceptance for ALL.

Define Me is now offering a unique and comprehensive Workplace Wellness program for companies looking to make a difference in their organization’s overall health.  If you know of an organization that is looking for a workplace wellness solution, a program that engages employees and improves productivity, have them CONTACT US today.

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