When Canadian winter hits, even the most dedicated runners, cyclists and weekend warriors feel their motivation dip. If you’re craving sunshine, movement and a mental reset, Orlando offers the perfect Winter Wellness Escape: a place where Canadians can stay active outdoors while the weather turns icy up north.

Whether you’re travelling solo, or with a family, the sun-filled destination welcomes visitors with unforgettable outdoor adventures, sun-soaked festivals, refreshing resort pools, all-new theme park thrills, and al fresco dining – each set against Orlando’s signature blue skies and warm sunshine. It’s the ultimate place to escape the cold and make unforgettable memories in a destination where winter simply doesn’t exist.

OUTDOOR ADVENTURES

Orlando’s sunny skies invite visitors to immerse themselves in the destination’s natural beauty. From picturesque waterways and tranquil trails to adrenaline-fueled off-road experiences, the options are endless. 

• Hiking enthusiasts can explore trails and nature preserves including the Tibet-Butler Nature Preserve, featuring a butterfly garden, picnic area and various hikes and trails; The Florida National Scenic Trail, featuring pine flatwoods, freshwater marsh, oak hammock and more at Crosby Island Marsh Preserve, Moss Park and the Split Oak Forest Wildlife and Environmental Area; and the Cady Way Trail, 7.2-mile paved corridor, stretching from downtown Orlando to Winter Park which feature water fountains and sheltered rest stops with dining and shopping opportunities along the way. 
• Experience the beauty of the Everglades with Spirit of the Swamp Airboat Rides, Wild Florida and Boggy Creek Airboat Rides, featuring classic Florida airboat tours, up-close views of native wildlife, like alligators and bald eagles, along with the gorgeous long grasses and local greenery of the swamp.
• At Catboat Escapes, guests can captain a personal catamaran across scenic waterways, while at the Winter Park Scenic Boat Tour visitors can enjoy a guided boat tour through the Winter Park Chain of Lakes, linked by a series of beautiful Venetian-style canals. 
• Thrill-seekers can soar 1,200 feet over live alligators and crocodiles on the Screamin’ Gator Zip Line at Gatorland, or venture onto off-road trails with ATVs, Dune Buggies and ARGO amphibious Mucky Ducks across more than 200 acres of guided terrain at Revolution Adventures.
• Get Up and Go Kayaking offers clear-kayaking tours through Rock Springs Run, where visitors can spot otters, fish and native birds while gliding over crystal-clear and water.
• Watersport novices and aficionados can explore Nona Adventure Park, featuring a floating aqua park; cable park for water skiing and wakeboarding; 60-foot climbing tower; and ropes course.

WINTER SPORTING EVENTS & ACTIVITIES

Orlando’s sunny winter weather sets the ultimate backdrop for sports fans with a full line up of recreational and professional sporting events and activities for visitors to enjoy. 

• The NBA’s Orlando Magic season heats up in the winter with home games at downtown Orlando’s Kia Center through April. 
• Camping World Stadium will host several classic college football bowl games, select dates Dec. 17 – Jan. 10. 
• For 2026, the United Football League introduced Orlando Storm, Orlando’s newest sports team. The new UFL franchise team will play at the Inter&Co Stadium, home to Orlando City SC in Major League Soccer and Orlando Pride in the National Women’s Soccer League, for the 2026 season kicking off in March. 

Active guests seeking to get in on the action, can explore:

• Orlando’s more than 100 golf courses offering golfers a paradise with championship courses dreamed up by Tom Fazio, Ron Garl, Rees Jones, Jack Nicklaus, Greg Norman, Arnold Palmer and Tom Watson, to name a few.
• The USTA National Campus, the national headquarters for U.S. tennis, features 100 courts, world-class facilities and is open to the public for play, lessons, and events. 
• FootGolf at Disney’s Oak Trail Golf Course combines soccer and golf offering a unique experience for families and guests of all ages.

OUTDOOR FESTIVALS

Orlando’s sunshine sets the stage for vibrant outdoor festivals featuring live entertainment, indulging bites, art, cultural experiences and exciting festivities all winter long. 

Theme Park Festivals 

• The Epcot International Festival of the Arts (Jan. 16 – Feb. 23) will combine visual, culinary and performing arts for six colorful weekends. Magical music will take center stage with the DISNEY ON BROADWAY Concert Series featuring show-stopping numbers from Aladdin, Frozen, The Lion King, Mary Poppins, Tarzan, Newsies and more.  
• SeaWorld’s Seven Seas Food Festival (select dates Jan.– May) invites guests to dine and delight in flavors from around the world with local craft beers, live performances and more.   
• Universal Orlando Resort’s Mardi Gras: International Flavors of Carnaval (Feb. 7 – April 4), will bring culinary experiences and Carnaval festivities from around the world to Universal Studios Florida. The vibrant celebration will feature a nightly parade with glittering floats, street performers, colorful beads and on select nights, guests can enjoy live performances from some of the biggest names in music.
• Aquatica Orlando’s new ILLUMINATE: A Nighttime Lantern Festival (select nights now – Jan 31.), an all-new experience transforming the park into a realm of light and imagination, featuring glowing walkways, large animal lanterns in five interactive realms and exciting culinary bites all in a new after-dark setting.   

Beyond the Parks

• IMMERSE Fest (Feb. 20-22, 2026), an annual interactive arts experience held across 10 city blocks in downtown Orlando, will return featuring epic live performances, immersive art installations and unexpected creative moments.
• The Winter Park Sidewalk Art Festival (March 20-22), one of the nation’s oldest, largest and most prestigious juried outdoor fine art festivals return to bring local artists and art lovers together. The free family-friendly festival will feature a wide variety of fine arts and crafts, live entertainment, a children’s workshop and more.

COOL POOLS THAT MAKE A SPLASH

Dive into Orlando’s collection of sun-soaked pools and enjoy aquatic fun in the warm winter weather. 

• Villatel Orlando Resort offers one of Orlando’s newest pools, with a water park-style pool complex complete with a lazy river, water slides and a dedicated splash pad with a water bucket drop for younger children. Additionally, many of the villas of the resort come with their own private pool for added privacy and relaxation. 
• Evermore Orlando Resort is Orlando’s first beach-like property, with an 8-acre Crystal Lagoon and a 20-acre sandy beach with hammocks, cabanas and recreational activities. Guests can enjoy family paddleboarding, mixology classes, sandcastle-building lessons and more. Also onsite, Conrad Orlando the destination’s first Hilton luxury brand, offers a spa featuring an immersive water garden, a spacious zero-entry pool and kid-friendly splash pad. 
• Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort features a sprawling water park-style pool complex complete with a lazy river, interactive splash zone, waterslides and a separate adults-only pool area. 
• Guests can splash into the new Grande Lakes Water Park, a shared amenity at the JW Marriott, Grande Lakes and The Ritz-Carlton Orlando, Grande Lakes.  Highlights include a quarter-mile lazy river; three high-flying waterslides; and a kid-approved Splash Cove and AquaVenture Course. Additionally, adults can escape away from it all at the resorts’ other shared pools, including the adults-only Oasis Pool at The Ritz-Carlton Spa. Orlando, Grande Lakes. 
• Explore a world of all-ages fun at the The Grove Resort & Water Park Orlando, offering three serene Springs Pools, a children’s splash pad, private cabanas and its signature Surfari Water Park featuring a FlowRider® Double surf simulator, dual water slides, a 695 foot lazy river, kids’ activities pool and zero-entry pool.

NEW THEME PARK THRILLS & FAMILY FUN

Visitors can explore Orlando’s newest attractions, including: 

• Universal Epic Universe, Universal Orlando Resort’s fourth theme park, inviting guests to explore more than 50 attractions, dining, shopping and entertainment experiences across five vibrant worlds. The adventure begins in Celestial Park, a gateway inspired by the stars and myth, before journeying to The Wizarding World of Harry Potter – Ministry of Magic, where 1920s Paris and iconic wizarding landmarks come to life. In SUPER NINTENDO WORLD, guests can play alongside Mario, Luigi, Princess Peach and Donkey Kong in a fully immersive gaming world. How to Train Your Dragon – Isle of Berk offers a colorful Viking adventure, while Dark Universe brings thrilling encounters with legendary Universal Monsters in a world of myth and mystery. 
• At Walt Disney World’s Magic Kingdom Park, the new nighttime parade “Disney Starlight” features characters from Walt Disney Animation Studios films Peter Pan, Encanto, Frozen and more.  
• At Disney’s Animal Kingdom, the Tree of Life Theater has debuted the all-new 4D production “Zootopia: Better Zoogether!”, where families can join their favorite herd from the hit Walt Disney Animation Studios movie, including Judy Hopps, Nick Wilde and more for an exhilarating new wild story. 
• SeaWorld Orlando’s Expedition Odyssey, the world’s first fully immersive Artic-themed flying theater, combines cutting-edge technology, breathtaking real-world footage and close-up encounters with Arctic wildlife. 

OUTDOOR DINING OFFERINGS

From rooftops lounges and waterfronts patios to Michelin recognized dining and uncommon restaurant fronts, outdoor dining in Orlando can be enjoyed throughout the destination.  

• One of Orlando’s newest outdoor spaces, Art², opened in downtown Orlando as an urban pocket park featuring food, craft beverages, outdoor seating and murals celebrating local art. 
• Located at Conrad Orlando, Sophia’s Trattoria, offers wood-fired pizzas and handmade pastas on their waterside patio with views of Evermore Bay. Perched on the top floor, Ceiba serves modern Mexican cuisine and boasts panoramic views of Evermore Bay and even theme park fireworks. 
• A La Cart, in the Milk District, is an outdoor food hall-style venue featuring a rotating collection of local food trucks offering everything from gourmet grilled cheese to global street eats, all in a laid-back, picnic-style setting.
• With a newly opened location in Winter Park’s Park Avenue, The Glass Knife features luxury desserts, breakfast, lunch and an expanded brunch menu on the weekends.
• Russell’s on Lake Ivanhoe offers an upscale casual dining experience featuring an innovative and fresh menu, all with an amazing view of historic Lake Ivanhoe in downtown Orlando.
• At Universal Helios Grand Hotel, bar and lounge Bar Helios offers 360-degree views of the Epic Universe park. 
• For memorable views of Epcot and Magic Kingdom (including nightly fireworks), nearby Capa Steakhouse & Bar, the Michelin Star-rated rooftop steakhouse at the Four Seasons Resort Orlando at Walt Disney World Resort, boasts the best of Spanish-influenced cuisine.
• Perched on the ninth floor at JW Marriott Bonnet Creek, illume offers a unique rooftop lounge serving contemporary Japanese cuisine and creative cocktails.

For more information on travelling to Orlando:

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The real issue is not those two pounds. It’s the month-long disruption to your habits, routines, sleep, digestion, and stress levels. That’s what makes January feel like a battle uphill.

As a plant-based nutritionist and digestive health specialist, I see it every year: it isn’t the holiday meals that throw people off. It is the all-or-nothing mindset that quietly settles in as soon as the calendar flips to December. Many people say, “I’ll start fresh in January,” without realizing how much harder that approach makes things.

Your health doesn’t need perfection during the holidays. It needs connection — to how you want to feel, to habits that support you, and to choices that honour your energy, not drain it.

WHY JANUARY FEELS SO HARD FOR SO MANY

There is a reason New Year’s resolutions feel like they fail before they even begin. Only about 9% of people stick with them, and most resolutions collapse before February. Not because people lack willpower — but because they enter January exhausted, inflamed, stressed, and running on low-quality fuel from weeks of disrupted rhythms.

December often brings:

• Poor sleep
• Heavier meals
• Increased alcohol
• Higher stress
• Less movement
• Blood sugar swings
• Gut disruption that affects mood, cravings, and motivation

When your body is depleted, your mind follows. Starting the new year from a place of burnout makes motivation feel impossible.

But here’s the good news: small, intentional choices through December can completely transform how you feel in January.

SMALL SHIFTS THAT MAKE A BIG DIFFERENCE THIS MONTH

Healthy holidays aren’t about saying no to the foods or experiences you love. They are about staying connected to what supports your energy, your gut, and your long-term well-being.

1. Choose Intention Over Restriction
Rather than avoiding festive foods, ask yourself how you want to feel. Add more fiber, prioritize veggies, drink more water, and enjoy treats slowly and intentionally.

2. Make Smart Swaps That Still Feel Joyful
Alternate alcohol with sparkling mocktails, build your first plate around vegetables, enjoy a protein-rich snack before a party, or bring a nourishing dish you love.

3. Stay Ahead of Stress and Burnout
Ten minutes of movement, a short outdoor walk, water before coffee, and a consistent bedtime may seem small — but they support your nervous system during a naturally busy season.

4. Protect Your Calendar and Your Peace
White space matters. If something drains more energy than it brings, it is okay to say no. Aim for connection, not perfection.

5. Prioritize Presence Over Performance
We often pressure ourselves to create the “perfect” holiday. But people remember the warmth, the conversations, and the moments — not the flawless table settings.

THE HOLIDAY MONTH DOESN’T HAVE TO DERAIL YOUR HEALTH

You don’t need a rigid plan, a detox, or a January overhaul. What you need is consistency, compassion, and small habits that help you feel your best — even in a busy season.

When you honour your health throughout December, January becomes something you can move into with clarity and confidence, not something to recover from.

YOUR DECEMBER FEEL-GOOD FORMULA

Small choices that keep you energized without sacrificing holiday joy.

Connection > Perfection
Share real moments, not flawless hosting.
Nourish Before You Indulge
A veggie-forward plate and a protein-rich snack set you up to enjoy the rest.
Move for Your Mood
Ten minutes of fresh air can reset your nervous system.
Hydrate Like It Matters
Because it does — especially in a month of rich meals and late nights.
Create Space to Breathe
Saying no is sometimes the healthiest yes.

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Edition

IMPACT Magazine’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Edition is packed with our most inspiring gift ideas yet! It’s curated for the health-minded, fitness-driven, wellness-focused and food-loving people in your life. From standout essentials to unexpected finds, everything you need to complete your list is right here. Plus, don’t miss our ‘Best of Holiday Recipes’ collection!

Dopamine is the brain’s natural motivation messenger. It helps you feel focused, energized, and engaged. During winter, dopamine can be harder to access, which is why simple daily habits play such an important role. You do not need a full workout plan or a dramatic lifestyle overhaul — you just need small, intentional practices that help you feel grounded and capable. These gentle shifts can build real momentum, even on the darkest days.

Below are five habits I encourage people to weave into their fall and winter seasons. They are realistic, approachable, and supportive. Think of them as tools you can reach for whenever you need a little boost.

FIVE DOPAMINE-FRIENDLY WINTER HABITS

1. Move Daily

• Short bursts of activity count. A quick walk, stretch session, or gym visit stimulates dopamine release and supports mental clarity.
• Add movement to routines you already have, like doing a few exercises while your coffee brews.
• Use short movement breaks during the day — two to five minutes is enough to shift your mood.
• On low-energy days, begin with two minutes. Often, the hardest part is starting.

2. Celebrate Small Wins

• Completing realistic tasks sparks a healthy release of dopamine. Simple accomplishments such as making the bed or completing a weekly movement plan help maintain momentum during darker months.
• Keep a simple list of daily wins on your phone. It can include anything that makes you feel proud or steady.
• Pair habits together, like stretching after making your bed or taking ten slow breaths before opening your laptop.
• Speak your progress out loud. Acknowledging your efforts builds confidence and motivation.

3. Strength Train in Bite-Sized Sessions

• Lifting weights or performing resistance exercises can help regulate hormones such as dopamine and reduce cortisol levels. Foundational exercises such as squats, planks, glute bridges, and push-ups can be performed at home or at the gym to build both physical and mental strength, while also boosting self-esteem and improving motivation.
• Aim for two or three short sessions each week:
 • Lower Body: Squats, glute bridges, and lunges for about ten minutes.
 • Core and Upper Body: Planks, push-ups, or band pulls for about ten minutes.
 • Full Body Reset: Light circuits that combine core, legs, and upper body for about fifteen minutes.
• Shorter sessions are easier to stick with and still provide all the mental and physical benefits you need through winter.

4. Pause for Mindfulness

• A few quiet minutes can reset stress responses. Meditation, intentional breathing, or a silent walk helps regulate dopamine patterns and reduce tension.
• Try one or two minutes of box breathing.
• Go for a quiet walk without headphones and let your mind settle.
• Use micro breaks between tasks to take a few slow breaths.
• Create a gentle evening routine with stretching or reading to help your body wind down.

5. Keep Sleep Consistent

• Seven hours or more supports the activity of dopamine receptors. A regular bedtime and wake time protects energy, attention, and mood regulation.

Winter may feel long, but it does not have to feel defeating. When you support your body with small, intentional habits, you create a foundation of resilience that carries you through the season. Movement, mindfulness, and consistent rest are powerful tools that help you stay steady and connected to yourself. Each small action is a reminder that you are strong, capable, and worthy of feeling good, no matter what the weather is doing outside.

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Edition

IMPACT Magazine’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Edition is packed with our most inspiring gift ideas yet! It’s curated for the health-minded, fitness-driven, wellness-focused and food-loving people in your life. From standout essentials to unexpected finds, everything you need to complete your list is right here. Plus, don’t miss our ‘Best of Holiday Recipes’ collection!

Well-conditioned hips and glutes support strong edging and help prevent the inward knee collapse that can throw a skier off balance. Powerful quadriceps and hamstrings are crucial for maintaining a stable ski stance, absorbing shock, protecting the joints, and controlling speed. A strong core keeps skiers centred over their skis, even in unpredictable snow or challenging terrain.

Early-season conditioning isn’t just about performance—it’s a cornerstone of injury prevention. Skiing places significant strain on the knee joint and its supporting ligaments, particularly the ACL, making knee injuries some of the most common on the mountain. Many of these issues stem from inadequate muscular endurance. When the body doesn’t have the required strength, the knees end up absorbing forces they aren’t ready to handle. Strengthening the muscles that support ski-specific movements helps distribute load more effectively and reduces unnecessary stress on joints and connective tissues.

The good news? Pre-season training doesn’t have to be complicated. Even short, consistent sessions focused on the right muscle groups can deliver impressive benefits.

And one final tip: don’t abandon your strength routine once the lifts start spinning. Continuing your training throughout the season is one of the best ways to stay strong and ski better.

Essential Ski-Season Exercises

1. Squat

3 sets × 8 reps, 1-minute rest between sets

A foundational strength exercise targeting the quadriceps and glutes. These muscles take on significant load during downhill skiing—especially the quadriceps of the outside leg as you initiate and hold a turn.

• Start with feet shoulder-width apart.
• Bend your knees to lower into the squat as far as your range of motion allows, then push back up to standing.
• Make sure your knees track over your feet—if they wobble, engage your glutes to stabilise.
• Keep your pelvis in a neutral position throughout the movement.

2. Split Squat

3 sets × 8 reps, 1-minute rest between sets

This single-leg variation builds quad strength while also improving balance and hip stability. It’s excellent for training the control needed for dynamic weight shifts on the slopes.

• Start with one foot in front of the other, about hip-width apart.
• Lower your back knee toward the floor until both legs form roughly 90° angles.
• Push through your front foot to return to standing.
• If you’re wobbling, pick a spot to focus on or stay close to a wall for extra support.

3. Dead Bug

3 sets × 8 reps, 1-minute rest between sets

A highly effective core activation exercise that reinforces the stability and posture required for maintaining a strong, centred position over your skis.

• Lie on your back with your arms extended toward the ceiling and legs bent at 90°.
• Lower your opposite arm and leg until they hover just above the ground, then return to the starting position.
• Repeat on the other side.
• Keep your lower back pressed into the mat throughout the movement.

4. Side-Lying Adduction

3 sets × 8 reps, 1-minute rest between sets

This movement targets the adductors—the inner-thigh muscles heavily engaged in skiing. Strong adductors contribute to a solid ski stance and assist in stabilising the knee during edging and turning.

• Lie on your side with your hips stacked.
• Bring your top leg slightly forward with your foot on the ground.
• Lift your bottom leg toward the ceiling, keeping your pelvis and trunk stable.
• Use your hand for balance if needed.

5. Hamstring Curl

3 sets × 8 reps, 1-minute rest between sets

Designed to strengthen the hamstrings, which play a key role in knee stability. Balanced strength between the quadriceps and hamstrings is essential and can help reduce the risk of ACL-related injuries.

• Lie on your back with your feet resting on an exercise ball and legs extended.
• Press your heels into the ball and roll it toward your glutes.
• To make it more challenging, lift your hips into a bridge position.
• Keep your arms by your sides, pressing into the floor for stability.

Optional Training Variation

For an added challenge, alternate 8 reps of squats with 8 reps of split squats before taking your 1-minute rest. This continuous cycle increases quadriceps endurance. Repeat for 3 rounds.

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Edition

IMPACT Magazine’s 2025 Holiday Gift Guide Edition is packed with our most inspiring gift ideas yet! It’s curated for the health-minded, fitness-driven, wellness-focused and food-loving people in your life. From standout essentials to unexpected finds, everything you need to complete your list is right here. Plus, don’t miss our ‘Best of Holiday Recipes’ collection!

While our bodies are well equipped to handle small doses of stress, long term or chronic stress places excessive demands on our body’s nutrient and vitamin stores. This over-activation of our nervous system can compromise immune function, disturb insulin resistance, and mess with our ability to fall asleep. All of which, when not dealt with, can lead to greater dis-ease in the body and poor health outcomes.

Fortunately, there are strategies to mitigate stress and botanicals that can help lessen the blow on our bodies when we do feel overwhelmed by the demands of the holidays. 

L-Theanine

L-Theanine is naturally found in green tea and is a calming amino acid. Studies have found that l-theanine can help to reduce nervousness and promote a state of relaxation. It is thought to reduce the feelings of stress by increasing alpha waves in the brain which help to foster a sense of calm and focus, while not causing drowsiness. It also works quickly, taking 30-40 minutes following consumption to induce a state of calm. AOR’s Zen Theanine provides an optimal dose of pure l-theanine. AOR is a Canadian natural health manufacturer that prides itself on science-backed formulations and effective health solutions. 

Holy Basil

Also known as tulsi, holy basil is used in herbal medicine as an adaptogen to help increase energy and resistance to stress. Adaptogens act like a stress “thermostat”, helping your body return to a balanced state. When stress pushes you too high, leaving you wired or anxious, or too low, making you feel tired or depleted, adaptogens help to support a more stable middle ground. Holy basil has a long history of use and is a cherished herb in Ayurvedic medicine. In this traditional medicine system, it has been employed for everything from colds to cardiovascular concerns. Holy basil contains numerous active constituents including tannins, phenolic compounds, and flavonoids. It is these constituents which are thought to impart its many health benefits. AOR’s Holy Basil uses an extract from India of wildcrafted holy basil leaves.

Cortisol Adapt

Cortisol is your body’s main stress hormone. It’s designed to give you quick energy, help you stay focused, and keep you moving when the going gets tough. This is critical when you need to run away from a cougar but, a little too much for holiday preparations. Elevated cortisol levels disrupt sleep, increase inflammation in the body, and hijack more pertinent bodily functions like digestion and immune function. 

AOR’s Cortisol Adapt combines stress-reducing adaptogens in a synergistic formula to address the perception and impact of chronic stress on the body. This formula contains ingredients clinically proven to support healthy cortisol levels in times of stress, while also addressing the negative impacts of chronically elevated stress such as inflammation and immune suppression, cognitive disturbances, insomnia, brain fog and irritability. 

It contains bacopa monnieri, sometimes called Brahmi, another prized plant used in traditional Ayurvedic medicine. Bacopa helps to support cognitive health and brain function which can be impaired due to cortisol dysregulation. Because chronic stress can inhibit immune function and increase inflammation, cordyceps are also included in this formula. Cordyceps are a source of fungal polysaccharides with immunomodulating (i.e. immune activating) properties and a source of antioxidants. 

Ashwagandha is also included. This revered herb in Ayurvedic medicine is known for its effective adaptogenic properties. It is widely used to combat stress and fatigue, support mental clarity, emotional balance, and restful sleep. It can help to alleviate symptoms such as irritability, difficulty concentrating, and sleeplessness. Specifically, it has been added to the formula due to its ability to reduce chronically elevated cortisol levels and C reactive protein, which is a biomarker of stress mediated inflammation.

There is also CurQfen®, which provides a source of curcumin with enhanced plasma bioavailability to further reduce the negative physical effects of chronically elevated cortisol. And a proprietary blend of magnolia bark and phellodendron called Relora® is included in Cortisol Adapt. Numerous clinical studies demonstrate that this combination reduces the effect of transient and chronic stress and supports mood and feelings of vigor, reduces evening salivary cortisol (yes to good sleep!) and improves mental fatigue. AOR’s Cortisol Adapt is available online and in store.

Above all, remember that lifestyle changes can significantly reduce your stress during this holiday season. Daily movement, practicing good sleep hygiene, prioritizing your sleep, making time for mindfulness and yourself, all make a huge difference in how you manage and mitigate the impact of stress on your body. 

Simplify where you can, slow down when it matters, and let the season feel lighter. Wishing you a calmer, more magical holiday season ahead.

Advanced Orthomolecular Research 
3900 12 St NE, Calgary, AB T2E 8H9
1 800-387-0177
Facebook: Advanced Orthomolecular Research
Instagram: @aorhealth
www.aor.ca

More than a wellness retreat, the Intention Wellness Getaway is Victoria’s invitation to anyone ready to invest in themselves and their well-being by starting a fresh chapter. Whether you’re seeking tranquillity, creative exploration, rejuvenation, or opportunities to gather with like-minded individuals, this event—taking place at venues across BC’s capital—offers something unique for every adult, regardless of age or fitness level.

Curate Your Own Path to Wellness

Instead of a one-size-fits-all retreat, the Intention Wellness Getaway empowers you to build your own wellness itinerary. Participants are encouraged to browse a diverse roster of activities, workshops, and experiences: each designed to inspire reflection, connection, or joyful movement. From the elegance of long-table dinners at celebrated Victoria eateries, to watercolour painting sessions that nurture mindfulness and creativity, to invigorating hydrotherapy spa circuits, and immersive sound baths, there is an experience designed for every kind of wellness seeker.

For those drawn to hands-on experiences, the Getaway includes creative workshops like soap making and creating your own tea blend, providing an opportunity to try something new while fostering a sense of intention and accomplishment. Meanwhile, group fitness pop-ups, and forest bathing sessions invite participants to move, breathe, and connect with nature in some of Victoria’s most scenic urban and coastal spaces.

A Warm Welcome to Every Traveller

The Intention Wellness Getaway is crafted for flexibility, inclusivity, and connection. Whether you’re planning a solo escape to rediscover yourself, organizing a relaxing trip with friends, or seeking a memorable experience with a partner, Victoria rolls out the welcome mat. The city’s walkable downtown, rich with independent shops, serene waterfront parks, and cultural landmarks, helps set the stage for meaningful moments both inside and outside official program offerings.

Travellers will feel right at home among fellow wellness enthusiasts. The welcoming atmosphere makes it easy for individuals to try something new on their own, join in community events, or share experiences with friends old and new.

Two Unmissable Signature Events

This year’s Intention Wellness Getaway is set to shine even brighter, thanks to two exclusive marquee experiences:

• Keynote Evening with Neil Pasricha
  On January 8, from 6–8:30pm at the Victoria Conference Centre, New York Times bestselling author and positive psychology advocate Neil Pasricha will headline an inspiring keynote event. Best known for “The Happiness Equation” and “The Book of Awesome,” Pasricha’s insights into cultivating happiness and resilience will anchor participants’ intentions for 2026. This is an unmissable opportunity to learn tangible strategies for a more joyful and purposeful year, straight from one of Canada’s leading voices in well-being.
• “Made With Intention” Wellness Market
  On January 10, from 10am-4pm, the Parkside Hotel transforms into a vibrant marketplace celebrating local makers, growers, and artisans. The “Made With Intention” Wellness Market shines a light on products and foods that support a healthy, balanced lifestyle. Here, visitors can connect directly with the people behind their favorite local wellness brands, discover new products, and take home a piece of Victoria’s wellness culture.

Victoria: The Ultimate Wellness Destination

Victoria wears its heart for wellness on its sleeve. The city’s friendly pace, embracing of the outdoors, and flourishing food scene provide a perfect backdrop for your wellness getaway. Between scheduled events, treat yourself to a stroll along the Inner Harbour, spark creativity by experiencing museums and galleries, or settle into a cozy café for a restorative moment. Many getaway participants also enjoy discounted rates on accommodation, spa services, and local amenities during the event—making it easier than ever to turn New Year intentions into lasting habits.

How to Join the Getaway

Ready to craft your own journey of self-care and inspiration? Visit the official Intention Wellness Getaway website to browse the full menu of offerings, secure your spot for headline events, and start curating a retreat that matches your personal vision for 2026. Whether you’re planning a weekend in the city or looking to immerse yourself in the full two-week celebration, the choice, and the intention, are yours.

This January, let Victoria and the Intention Wellness Getaway set the tone for a year of health, happiness, and possibility. Your path to well-being starts with Intention.

For more information on travelling to Victoria:

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Serves: 4

BROTH INGREDIENTS 

2 cups coconut milk
3 cups vegetable broth
2 Tbsp. tamari
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 Tbsp. ginger, grated
1 tsp. turmeric
1/2 tsp. Chinese five-spice

BOWL INGREDIENTS

Kelp noodles (1 package, rinsed)
1 cup broccoli florets
1/2 cup shredded purple cabbage
1 cup pan-fried tree spinach (Chaya) or any dark leafy green
1/2 cup marinated shiitake mushrooms (a splash of each: tamari, sesame oil, rice vinegar)

DIRECTIONS 

1. Broth: Simmer coconut milk, vegetable broth, tamari, garlic, ginger, turmeric, and Chinese five-spice for 10 minutes.
2. Pan-Fry Spinach: Sauté tree spinach until tender.
3. Assemble: In each bowl, layer kelp noodles, broccoli, cabbage, spinach, and mushrooms.
4. Serve: Pour hot broth over bowls and garnish with fresh herbs if desired.
Enjoy!

Nutrition facts per serving
Calories 195; protein 5.2 g; fat 14.6 g; carbs 14 g.

Photography: Danielle Arsenault

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Fall Fitness Issue

IMPACT Magazine’s Fall Fitness Issue 2025 featuring the The Fitness Guy, Pete Estabrooks, telling all with his shockingly candid new memoir revealing a story you never expected, as well as former pro soccer player Simon Keith and Paralympian Erica Scarff. Find your ultimate guide to cross-training for runners, no jump cardio and superset workouts along with the best trail running shoes in our 2025 Trail Running Shoe Review, and so much more!

As Graham Scarr writes in Biotensegrity: The Structural Basis of Life, “Part of the problem with classical mechanics is that these laws… were described through experiments on inanimate objects with relatively simple and uniform internal structures. Living tissues, on the other hand, are multiscale composites where each anatomical part is a complex module made from smaller modules nested within its complicated, heterarchical organization… and their physiological interactions conform more to the relatively new physics of soft matter than standard engineering.” 

Bones bend. Fascia responds. Tissues under high strain stay supple. Even the most ‘rigid’ parts of the body—bones, tendons—store and return energy like a spring. Structures that would collapse under classical assumptions remain fluid, stable, and alive.

The Cracks in Classical Biomechanics

The mechanical view of the human body found fertile ground during the Industrial Revolution. Giovanni Alfonso Borelli often called the “father of biomechanics,” played a pivotal role in this. His seminal work, De Motu Animalium (“On the Movement of Animals”), laid the groundwork for viewing bones as levers, joints as hinges, muscles as motors. It made sense, especially in a world reshaped by industry. Bodies were measured, mapped, and modeled like machines. Movement was simplified into vectors and torque. Rehab focused on correcting angles and restoring symmetry. Coaching drills emphasized alignment and force production.

But living tissue doesn’t follow engineering rules. Muscles don’t contract in isolation. Fascia doesn’t behave like rope. And forces aren’t neatly transferred along a single axis—they ripple, radiate, and reorganize across the system. Most importantly, real-world human movement is messy, variable, adaptive. It’s not rigid—it’s responsive.

This gap between the predictable world of physics and the emergent nature of living systems is where biomechanics starts to fall apart. Classical mechanics isn’t inherently wrong—it’s just profoundly incomplete for understanding life.

Euclid and Geometry 

The problem isn’t just with the mechanics—it’s with the geometry.

Euclidean geometry, first codified by the Greek mathematician Euclid around 300 BCE, offered a logical and consistent way to understand space. His system of points, lines, and angles was so intuitively “correct” that it shaped the way humans conceptualized reality for over two thousand years. Classical mechanics grew within this spatial system—flat, rigid, predictable—and it was only natural that early biomechanics would adopt it as well.

The use of Euclidean logic in biomechanics may help draw diagrams or model force vectors, but it cannot explain how life holds itself together. It cannot model the self-organizing, shape-shifting, heterarchical nature of living movement. For that, we need a different geometry. One that curves. One that responds. One that lives.

Biotensegrity: A New Structural Language

This brings us to biotensegrity, a revolutionary model for understanding biological architecture. The term “tensegrity” was coined by R. Buckminster Fuller, an architect and inventor, to describe structures that maintain their integrity through a continuous tensional network, rather than continuous compression. Think of a tensegrity sculpture: rigid struts (compression) float within a web of continuous cables (tension), holding the shape without touching each other.

Dr. Stephen Levin, an orthopedic surgeon, was instrumental in applying Fuller’s tensegrity principles to biological systems, recognizing that this non-intuitive geometry perfectly describes the human body. 

In biotensegrity, bones are the discontinuous compressive elements, ‘floating’ within a continuous, pre-stressed tensional network formed by fascia, muscles, ligaments, and even fluid dynamics. Force is not transmitted through stacked levers but distributed dynamically throughout the entire tensional system. This means that a force applied anywhere in the body is immediately and widely disseminated, allowing for remarkable resilience, adaptability, and energy storage, much like a spring. The body doesn’t stack in segments; it floats in tension.

Heterarchy: Coordination Without Command

A key concept intertwined with biotensegrity is heterarchy. Traditional biological and mechanical models often assume a hierarchy: a top-down control system where the brain dictates every movement, or where one system is inherently more important than another. 

In a heterarchical system, there is no single “boss.” Instead, all components—from the molecular level within cells, to the cellular, tissue, organ, and musculoskeletal systems—are equally interactive and influential. They co-regulate through complex feedback loops, adapting and influencing each other in a multidirectional, omnidirectional manner. It’s not top-down, nor is it purely bottom-up; it’s a constant, dynamic interplay from the middle to the outside, from the outside to the middle, from the top to the bottom, and from the bottom to the top. This distributed control and mutual influence allow for incredible adaptability and emergent behaviour in human movement.

What This Means for Movement

The shift from a biomechanical to a biotensegrity and heterarchical understanding of the body has profound implications for how we approach movement, training, and rehabilitation:

• Coaching: We no longer focus on rigidly “aligning bones” or instructing isolated muscle contractions. Instead, the emphasis shifts to managing tension relationships throughout the entire system, cueing for adaptability, responsiveness, and global force distribution. Critically, this also involves designing movement as behaviour aimed at solving problems and tasks. Coaches can leverage task-led constraints to guide the development of motor learning and foster real-world capability, recognizing that movement solutions emerge from the body’s dynamic interaction with its environment.
• Rehabilitation: Injuries are less about a single “failure” at a joint or muscle and more about a multifaceted breakdown in the body’s ability to adapt. This can manifest as a disruption within the tensegrity matrix, a lack of sufficient movement solutions (variability) to effectively solve a movement problem, or even be influenced by lifestyle factors such as cognitive distraction, fatigue, or insufficient readiness for a given task. Treatment, therefore, moves beyond localized fixes to addressing patterns of strain and tension across the whole interconnected system, enhancing motor learning and adaptability, and considering the broader context of an individual’s readiness, fostering systemic resilience.
• Performance: Fluidity, efficiency, and resilience in athletic performance are better understood as the result of distributed coordination and continuous tension modulation, rather than brute-force production by isolated levers. Optimal movement is emergent, not simply instructed, and is always contextual to the task at hand.

The shift from the rigid, linear world of classical biomechanics to the fluid, interconnected realm of biotensegrity is not merely an academic exercise. It is a fundamental re-evaluation of how we perceive, touch, train, and heal the body. You’re not a machine in need of calibration. You’re a constellation of living tensions, adapting in real time to the forces of the world.

This article has been edited for length and reprinted with permission from www.movnat.com

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Fall Fitness Issue

IMPACT Magazine’s Fall Fitness Issue 2025 featuring the The Fitness Guy, Pete Estabrooks, telling all with his shockingly candid new memoir revealing a story you never expected, as well as former pro soccer player Simon Keith and Paralympian Erica Scarff. Find your ultimate guide to cross-training for runners, no jump cardio and superset workouts along with the best trail running shoes in our 2025 Trail Running Shoe Review, and so much more!

Despite support for sampling, it is not uncommon for youth to specialize in a single sport from an early age where apparent benefits of early specialization are promoted. It is now acknowledged, however, that early specialization potentially increases injury rates, likelihood of burnout, and eventual disengagement from sport and physical activity. One particular concern focuses on the increasing incidence of overuse injuries related to participation in a single sport or a single position in a sport. Specialization subjects children to high volumes of repetitive training that promote the monotonous development of a narrow range of movement patterns, and provides insufficient opportunities for rest, recovery, and adaptation. Such an approach to physical development can lead to repetitive submaximal loading of the musculoskeletal system, which may result in overuse injury. For example, research indicates that when a high volume of baseball pitching is completed in the absence of developmentally appropriate preparatory physical conditioning, the risk of overuse injury in the shoulder or elbow is likely to increase in young athletes.

Beyond the importance of sampling with qualified instruction to reduce the risks of overuse injury, sampling is also central to the development of athleticism. Fundamental movement skills and requisite levels of muscular strength serve as the building blocks for global, more complex movements at a later stage of development. Therefore, for all children, possessing competence in a breadth of movement skills is more important than acquiring a depth of mastery in a very narrow range of skills.

For example, early maturing children who are taller and stronger than peers may be encouraged to play the centre position on a high school basketball team. However, even if they succeed, they risk developing only a finite number of movement competencies that are specific to that position if they engage only in sport- and position-specific practice sessions and competitive basketball matches from an early age. In addition, they will typically be at a heightened risk of developing muscular imbalances and asynchronous movement discrepancies, which, in the absence of targeted training programs to address neuromuscular deficiencies, will fail to prepare them for the demands of sport practice and competition. In such cases, though they may develop proficiency in basketball-specific skills, their athleticism and ability to use transferable motor skills in different positions, different sport environments, and different physical activities will likely be reduced, both on the playground and in sport settings.

We also find a need for sampling when we take a global health perspective on helping young people develop a broad range of movement skills to promote a satisfactory level of physical literacy. This notion is supported by research showing that children who possess, or perceive themselves as possessing, competent fundamental movement skills are more likely to engage in sport and physical activity, both throughout childhood. In addition, motor skill competence has been shown to be inversely associated with overweight and obesity during childhood. Moreover, motor skill competence appears to decline over time thus highlighting the critical importance of early engagement in appropriate training for long-term athletic development.

Empirical data from research in 2011 have shown that specializing later and being exposed to lower volumes of deliberate practice early in life act as significant determinants of elite performance in adulthood. Specifically, the authors collected retrospective data about the careers of a sample of 243 Danish athletes from sports measured in centimetres, grams, or seconds (e.g., track and field, weightlifting, swimming). The data showed that elite athletes (those who achieved a top-10 finish in a world championship or medaled at the European level) accumulated fewer hours of practice in their main sport during childhood and adolescence than did near-elite athletes. In the study, age at the time of first competition was about 14.5 years for elite athletes and 12.4 years for non-elite athletes. Overall, the study indicates that athletes who accumulate more hours of specialized practice and focus on competitions at an earlier age may initially experience relative success yet be unable to maintain it as they grow older. The study also showed that elite athletes intensified their training toward the end of adolescence, which resulted in a higher accumulation of training hours around the time of early adulthood.

Research also shows that greater sport diversification in early years and later specialization leads to improved physical fitness performance and superior gross motor coordination in six- to 12-year-old boys. In a sample of 735 boys, individuals were categorized as either single-sport or multisport participants. Across all three age groups (six-eight, 8-10, and 10-12 years), boys involved in multiple sports spent more time on sport per week (on average, one or two additional hours). More specifically, the research reported two key findings for the 10- to 12-year-olds: those who participated in more hours of sport per week performed better than those who participated only periodically, and those who specialized in a single sport performed significantly worse in terms of gross motor coordination and standing broad jump tests. Combined, these findings suggest that youth benefit from greater exposure to a variety of sport and physical activities (tempered with appropriate rest and preparatory conditioning) and that early specialization can lead to reduced physical performance and a blunting of motor coordination.

Aside from the potential benefits for physical performance, research has also shown that later specialization leads to reduced injury risk in adolescent females. A 2015 study showed that in a sample of 546 female youth athletes (comprising middle and high school years), early specialization increased the relative risk of knee-related injury by a factor of 1.5. Diagnoses included patellar tendinopathy and Osgood-Schlatter disease, the latter of which showed a fourfold increase in relative risk in single-sport specialized athletes versus multiple-sport athletes. These data show that diversification appears to be beneficial not only for physical performance but also for reducing the relative risk of injury in youth. Consequently, it would seem prudent for any long-term athletic development model to accommodate a diversification approach that enables children to sample a range of activities and sports before specializing in a single sport or activity at a later stage of development.

Extract from Essentials of Youth Fitness, backed by the American College of Sports Medicine (2020). Edited and reprinted with permission of www.Canada.HumanKinetics.com.

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Fall Fitness Issue

IMPACT Magazine’s Fall Fitness Issue 2025 featuring the The Fitness Guy, Pete Estabrooks, telling all with his shockingly candid new memoir revealing a story you never expected, as well as former pro soccer player Simon Keith and Paralympian Erica Scarff. Find your ultimate guide to cross-training for runners, no jump cardio and superset workouts along with the best trail running shoes in our 2025 Trail Running Shoe Review, and so much more!

Researchers found that study participants ended up eating more calories when provided with three different yogurt flavours than just one, even if that one is the chosen favourite. So, variation can trump sensation. They don’t call it the spice of life for nothing.

It appears to be something we’re born with. Studies on newly weaned infants dating back nearly a century show that babies naturally choose a variety of foods even over their preferred food. This tendency seems to be driven by a phenomenon known as sensory-specific satiety.

Researchers found that, “within two minutes after eating the test meal, the pleasantness of the taste, smell, texture, and appearance of the eaten food decreased significantly more than for the uneaten foods.” Think about how the first bite of chocolate tastes better than the last bite. Our body tires of the same sensations and seeks out novelty by rekindling our appetite every time we’re presented with new foods. This helps explain the “dessert effect,” where we can be stuffed to the gills but gain a second wind when dessert arrives. What was adaptive for our ancient ancestors to maintain nutritional adequacy may be maladaptive in the age of obesity.

When study participants ate a “varied four-course meal,” they consumed 60 per cent more calories than those given the same food for each course. It’s not only that we get bored; our body has a different physiological reaction.

Researchers gave people a squirt of lemon juice, and their salivary glands responded with a squirt of saliva. But when they were given lemon juice ten times in a row, they salivated less and less each time. When they got the same amount of lime juice, though, their salivation jumped right back up. We’re hard-wired to respond differently to new foods.

Whether foods are on the same plate, are at the same meal, or are even eaten on subsequent days, the greater the variety, the more we tend to eat. When kids had the same mac and cheese dinner five days in a row, they ended up eating hundreds fewer calories by the fifth day, compared to kids who got a variety of different meals.

Even just switching the shape of food can lead to overeating. When kids had a second bowl of mac and cheese, they ate significantly more when the noodles were changed from elbow macaroni to spirals. People allegedly eat up to 77 per cent more M&Ms if they’re presented with ten different colours instead of seven, even though all the colours taste the same. “Thus, it is clear that the greater the differences between foods, the greater the enhancement of intake,” the greater the effect. Alternating between sweet and savoury foods can have a particularly appetite-stimulating effect. Do you see how, in this way, adding a diet soda, for instance, to a fast-food meal can lead to overconsumption?

The staggering array of modern food choices may be one of the factors conspiring to undermine our appetite control. There are now tens of thousands of different foods being sold.

The so-called supermarket diet is one of the most successful ways to make rats fat. Researchers tried high-calorie food pellets, but the rats just ate less to compensate. So, they “therefore used a more extreme diet…[and] fed rats an assortment of palatable foods purchased at a nearby supermarket,” including such fare as cookies, candy, bacon, and cheese, and the animals ballooned. The human equivalent to maximize experimental weight gain has been dubbed the cafeteria diet.

It’s kind of the opposite of the original food dispensing device I’ve talked about before. Instead of all-you-can-eat bland liquid, researchers offered free all-you-can-eat access to elaborate vending machines stocked with 40 trays with a dizzying array of foods, like pastries and French fries. Participants found it impossible to maintain energy balance, consistently consuming more than 120 per cent of their calorie requirements.

Our understanding of sensory-specific satiety can be used to help people gain weight, but how can we use it to our advantage? For example, would limiting the variety of unhealthy snacks help people lose weight? Two randomized controlled trials made the attempt and failed to show significantly more weight loss in the reduced variety diet, but they also failed to get people to make much of a dent in their diets. Just cutting down on one or two snack types seems insufficient to make much of a difference.  A more drastic change may be needed.

Reprinted with permission from www.nutritionfacts.org

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Read This Story in Our 2025 Fall Fitness Issue

IMPACT Magazine’s Fall Fitness Issue 2025 featuring the The Fitness Guy, Pete Estabrooks, telling all with his shockingly candid new memoir revealing a story you never expected, as well as former pro soccer player Simon Keith and Paralympian Erica Scarff. Find your ultimate guide to cross-training for runners, no jump cardio and superset workouts along with the best trail running shoes in our 2025 Trail Running Shoe Review, and so much more!