Silver Magazine featuring Jann Arden, issue 203

The Art of Living Well

Meet "TV JANN"

ANN JARDEN'S ALTER EGO

HER STORY

THE BLIND PHYSIO MADNESS THROUGH HISTORY

PLUS • Immune Health • Facial Workout • Yoga for Runners • Financial Guide VOL. 2 NO. 3 WINTER 2021-2022

COVID or NOT

LIVE YOUR

BEST LIFE

ADVERTORIAL

Thrive on Kilimanjaro do it, you look back and see it was possible right from the start.”

Founded in 2008, Thrive for Good is a Canadian nonprofit that teaches and supports communities to grow Life Gardens - organic, bio-intensive gardens intentionally cultivated to produce the most nutrient-dense foods and natural, medicinal plants.

Thrive helps communities help themselves sustainably.

The Thrive team at the summit.

Extreme poverty and food insecurity have dramatically increased due to COVID-19, and the sharpest rise has been in Africa. That’s why 68-yearold Dale Bolton (co-founder of Thrive for Good and Natural Calm Canada) decided that this was the year to climb Mt. Kilimanjaro- all in the name of charity.

And he did.

On September 21, 2021, after a grueling 5-day climb, Dale and the rest of the Thrive Team successfully reached the summit of Africa’s highest mountain!

They were climbing as part of Thrive’s ambitious fundraising campaign, Thrive on Kilimanjaro, to create awareness and raise $500,000 enough to plant 5,000 Life Gardens and impact 200,000 people. They were climbing to be part of the solution to end poverty. They were climbing to help spark global change.

“What I have come to realize,” said Dale, “is that poverty can become systemic and nearly impossible to overcome as the challenge seems insurmountable. Mt. Kilimanjaro represents a challenge that seems too big and can’t be done. But, once you

The in-person climb of Kilimanjaro was part of a hybrid virtual and live fundraising campaign, Thrive on Kilimanjaro, which has so far raised $384,840 towards a goal of $500,000. Raising this amount of money means that Thrive can provide 153,356 people with life-giving, disease-fighting foods and the tools they need to grow their own food in the future.

“It was tough climbing,” said Ambrose Mootian, the Executive Director for Thrive for Good, Kenya. “But when I thought of the reason behind the campaign, I felt more energized.

Knowing that getting to the summit would help raise funds to bring more change to our communities gave me strength to push to the top!”

and relationally as we worked together to reach the summit,” said Dale. “The mountain completely emptied us and filled us up at the same time. Climbing Kilimanjaro represents our commitment to Africa and to our goal of planting 5,000 Life Gardens. It is an indication of overcoming obstacles, and pushing through challenges, the same way we can all work together to assist in eliminating extreme poverty.”

Thrive would like to thank the sponsors of their event, Vita, St. Francis Herb Farm, Brightmark, Nelson & Kraft, and Kaci, for their unwavering support of this event. In addition, a tremendous thank you to Natural Calm Canada for their offer to match all donations up to $250,000.

If you would like to contribute to helping Thrive still reach the goal of raising $500,000, please visit

www.thriveforgood.org.

The peer-to-peer fundraising event received some incredible support, with participants globally reaching a combined elevation of 858,460ft virtually, enough to climb up and down Kilimanjaro 22 times!

Accompanying the Thrive team to the summit of Kilimanjaro was a Canadian filmmaker who is currently working on a documentary that will be submitted to various film festivals and eventually made available to the public.

“Climbing Kilimanjaro was one of the biggest highs, spiritually, physically,

Ambrose Motian looking down the mountain.

thriveforgood.org

• CONTENTS •

Departments 7 Editor’s Letter Post-pandemic life won’t be the same.

That’s not all bad.

By David Holt

ON THE COVER MODEL JANN ARDEN PHOTOGRAPHY C OURTESY OF CTV

8 Insights Some people love their work so much they don’t want to stop. Reach out and touch someone, and lots more.

12 Wealth Seven retirement myths debunked: Healthy retirement planning is a process, just like earning and saving.

By Wendy Brookhouse 16 Spiritual journey Crossing the river: Spiritual growth requires confronting your own demons. How hard can it be?

By Lynda Casey 28 My Story Love is blind: Sure, creating my career was hard, but I loved every minute

By Ruth Vallis

66 Healthful Gourmet These recipes put the comfort in vegan.

By Lauren Toyota 76 Wellness Puzzles

Features 42 Cover Story: Who is the real Jann Arden?

Singer-songwriter, musician, writer, environmentalist, social activist, nature lover, citizen of the world. Then there’s “TV JANN,” the disorganized diva. Can one woman really play all these roles?

By David Holt 50 Living in a bubble: Deborah Grover loves working on JANN.

By David Holt

pg 66

2 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

© ISTOCK / JEAN PIERRE PINOCHET

52 Ancient wisdom for modern angst For many, post-pandemic anxiety is taking the joy out of life. Therapeutic yoga can help.

By Lisa Greenbaum

No matter where you are in life, we have a plan for you.

Life is not predictable – your financial future can be.

At Black Star Wealth, we balance today, tomorrow and taxes with zero judgement. Reduce uncertainty with a solid financial plan that covers more than just your investments, tailored to you and your situation.

Wherever you are in life. What are you waiting for?

www.blackstarwealth.com

• CONTENTS •

fitness

Health

LIFE

55 Creating an efficient stride Exercises based on yoga are a great way to improve the strength and flexibility runners need. Building from the ground up, let’s start with the feet.

By Christine Felstead

70 Immune guide Keeping your balance: your immune system defends you from constant threats. Look after it so it can look after you.

20 Learning from ‘Old John’ Growing up in Cape Breton, I found the rest of the world remote, strange, frightening.

Then I met a man from Hungary who became a friend. The rest of world seemed closer then.

By Linden MacIntyre

MIND 34 We’re all mad here.

Why do so many quirky people succeed — at least in the short term?

By David Holt

pg 58

24 Is entrepreneurship in your future?

It’s a big step, but those over 50 can have an advantage over younger entrepreneurs.

By Wendy Mayhew 39 A gift of history.

Karsh’s ‘Roaring Lion’ photograph celebrates its 80th anniversary.

By Bruce Sach

58 The beginner’s guide to face exercise

By Suzanne Bechard

pg 50 M SilverMagazineCanada N @SilverMagCanada www.silvermagazine.ca

4 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

© ISTOCK / BLACKJACK3D

pg 39

The Art of Living Well

2021 Vol.2 No.3 – SILVER SILVER is a wellness magazine for health-oriented Canadians age 50+. It is based on the brand pillars of health, nutrition, life/adventure, fitness and mental wellbeing.

EDITOR IN CHIEF DAVID HOLT DESIGNER DENISE SWAN ASSOCIATE EDITOR JULIE LAWRENCE ASSOCIATE/DIGITAL EDITOR JESSICA CLERKE CONTRIBUTING EDITOR YASMIN MISSAGHIAN CONTRIBUTING WRITERS SUZANNE BECHARD, WENDY BROOKHOUSE, LYNDA CASEY, LISA GREENBAUM, NICHELLE LAUS, AND MARYLENE VESTERGOM. HUM@Nmedia Inc. PUBLISHER, PRESIDENT & CEO MAX BRENNAN CFO KEVIN COLVEY GROUP PUBLISHER GILES CROUCH CHIEF STRATEGY OFFICER DAVID HOLT MANAGER – FINANCE & ADMIN ANGELES HOPKINS DIRECTOR OF CONSUMER MARKETING CRAIG SWEETMAN, CRS MEDIA DIGITAL CONSULTING JASON CHEN PRINTING DOLLCO PRINT SOLUTIONS GROUP

HOW TO REACH US: SILVER—a HUM@Nmedia Inc. Brand PO Box 292 Dartmouth Main Dartmouth NS, B2Y 3Y3 Canada

www.silvermagazine.ca Toll Free: 1-877-612-1082 Facebook: SilverMagazineCanada

Twitter: @SilverMagCanada info@humanmedia.ca sales@humanmedia.ca

The information in this magazine is not intended to constitute specific medical, fitness or health advice.

It is not a substitute for advice from your physician or qualified healthcare professional. Before adhering to any information or recommendations, consult your physician or qualified healthcare professional.

Any reliance on the information in this magazine is solely at your own risk.

SILVER is not responsible for the return of unsolicited manuscripts.

All contents are the property of SILVER and cannot be reproduced in any form without written consent.

The publisher reserves the right to refuse any advertising and bears no responsibility for advertisers’ messages.

Canada Post Publications Mail Agreement No. 41578041 ISSN# 1925-9875 Return undeliverable Canadian addresses to: SILVER PO Box 292 Dartmouth Main Dartmouth NS, B2Y 3Y3 Canada © 2021 SILVER & HUM@Nmedia Inc. Please recycle this magazine.

Become a SILVER Subscriber $19.99 (plus tax) for 4 print issues and exclusive subscribers–only content.

Visit www.silvermagazine.ca to join!

Dollco PRINT SOLUTIONS GROUP

• EDITOR’S LETTER •

The POWER of TIDYING UP

BY DAVID HOLT

S

ometimes, you have to go backwards to go forwards. We humans don’t like that. We are goal oriented. We want to advance. Failing that, sometimes we want a complete break. But there is an intermediate stage. Call it tidying up.

The other day my neighbour spent hours cutting trees on our property while I hauled brush and tended a fire. It was a whole-body workout. My clothes and body were covered with smoke, ash, and grime. It was hot, dirty work, much harder and grimier than going to the gym for an hour. The property was a mess for a while. Until it was done.

This is a metaphor. We strive for the next big thing, but sometimes we need to pause, tidy up, take better care of our health, put renewed effort into a relationship, or do a work re-org. This is all stuff we tend to put off. The benefits come later, if at all.

Here’s the rub: the second law of thermodynamics says things fall apart – order tends to disorder.

You need to tidy up and repair just to stay even.

If it works out, later you realize you’re moving forward more easily than you did before.

There is a bigger issue here. Humans are competitive. We set ourselves up in a hierarchy of winners and losers. There’s a lot of luck about who gets in which category.

According to historian Walter Scheidel, author of The Great Leveler: Violence and the History of Inequality from the Stone Age to the Twenty-First Century, the rich get richer and the poor get poorer until the whole society gets shaken up, usually by a revolution, a war, or a plague.

Some observers say that is happening now. We have been gobbling up the earth’s resources at an unsustainable rate. Global warming is just one consequence. The growing gap between rich and

poor is another. Interesting that COVID-19 comes along now. The old-fashioned word is “plague.”

It’s a big reset. Many people are working from home, skipping the commute – all that stress and air pollution. Indeed, our economy is based on cheap fossil fuels and the cost of pollution is usually not borne by the polluters. We are destroying habitats, which has played a role in mixing species that used to be separate, bats and other animals. This helped COVID spread initially, before infected people started getting on airplanes.

At the same time a lot of politics is polarized, dysfunctional. No way to solve the massive problems we face on planet earth. In fact, problem solving is rarely glamourous. It’s often slow, tedious, and based on a lot of trial and error.

You can’t do that when you’re going flat out chasing your dreams. COVID is just one problem.

Really, it’s more of a symptom. We might destroy the planet on our quest for a new SUV, a dream vacation, or cheaper stuff from across the world.

It’s a stretch to say that nature is fighting back. But either way, it’s a pause. Let’s slow down, reflect, and do what’s right for the planet and ourselves.

Meanwhile, Jann Arden is on our cover this issue.

Besides being an actor (JANN on CTV), she is a singer-songwriter, writer, health advocate, and hard-nosed environmentalist. Jann loves nature.

She is fighting to protect the planet and the species we share it with – “our roommates,” she calls them. Let’s all join in.

David Holt is the Editor of SILVER and the Editor in Chief of HUM@Nmedia Inc.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA

7

INSIGHTS

health • nutrition • fitness • life • mind “...as one goes through life one learns that if you don’t paddle your own canoe, you don’t move.” ~Katherine Hepburn

CHANGE YOUR LIFE W

hen people feel sad or depressed, they tend to withdraw, which often makes the problem worse. It’s a downward spiral. This has long been known by mental health professionals and has been shown in many studies of adults of all ages.

This has probably been the case since the beginning of the human race, even before. In fact, higher primates tend to be emotionally similar to humans. The simple fact is that we are social animals. Nothing perks us up more than human contact with loved ones and friends. It’s hard to be down when you’re with others. With a few exceptions, humans have an intangible warmth and a gift for empathy.

Recognizing isolation can be powerful. If you are feeling isolated or you know someone who is, reaching out can have a profound impact.

Human contact has physiological benefits such as lowering heart rate and blood pressure. It releases dopamine and other feel-good chemicals.

Mood improves and with it comes increased energy and zest for life.

One meeting is just the start. Socializing needs to become a pattern. Once you see someone’s eyes light up, you’ll want to keep it going. Make sure that first meeting becomes two, then three.

Invite others in. The world you change will be your own.

Certainly, the pandemic is one of these factors.

Social distancing is keeping us apart, even splitting up family members who live in the same community. Others simply can’t travel. Flights have been cancelled or provincial borders are closed.

8 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

© ISTOCK / PIKSEL

Even for those in good physical and mental health, isolation can be triggered by a host of factors. The risks increase with age. Retirement, family and friends moving away, settling into a new living space, or a sudden health setback can result in isolation and the despondency that may go with it.

• INSIGHTS •

NO RETIREMENT,

WINTER THOUGHTS “People don’t notice whether it’s winter or summer when they’re happy.”

THANK YOU

~ Anton Chekhov

T

here’s no substitute for passion.

Many leading scientists, artists, and businesspeople have been active in their fields well into their eighties and nineties. Philosopher and mathematician Bertrand Russell took to the streets to protest nuclear weapons well into his nineties. Pablo Picasso was still upending the art world at that age.

Pablo Casals was still a cellist of the first order and Vladimir Horowitz remained one of the world’s top pianists. Thomas Edison was an active inventor and businessman in his eighties, as was Henry Ford.

“Thank goodness for the first snow, it was a reminder–no matter how old you became and how much you’d seen, things could still be new if you were willing to believe they still mattered.” ~ Candace Bushnell

“The hard soil and four months of snow make the inhabitants of the northern temperate zone wiser and abler than his fellow who enjoys the fixed smile of the tropics.” ~ Ralph Waldo Emerson

Towards a DEMENTIA-FREE world

A

recent study by Baycrest revealed that more than half of adult Canadians are worried about aging and declining brain health. Based in Toronto, Baycrest is a global leader in research, innovation, education and care for older adults, with a special focus on brain health and aging.

“With many long-term care residents living with dementia, our research and innovations, compassionate care and educational programs are critical steps forward towards a dementia-free world, so we can all grow old without fear,” says Dr. William Reichman, President

and CEO of Baycrest.

A recent survey conducted by Baycrest found that despite aging being an inevitable part of life, Canadians are unsure about the appropriate resources to help them make informed decisions about brain health and aging.

Additional findings include: • Less than one in five people are confident in their knowledge about preventing dementia (23%).

• One in four Canadians aged 45+ don’t know when they should start taking steps to prevent dementia.

• Only 16% reported having a plan for aging in place.

• Almost half of Canadians anticipate needing clinical services in place to age (48%).

Baycrest’s new Fear No Age brand campaign aims to reimagine how Canadians approach aging and brain health, while inspiring donations to defeat dementia. Funds raised will unlock breakthrough research into dementia and ensure that all Canadians can access Baycrest’s services and resources.

For more on the new Fear No Age campaign on the importance of brain health, visit FearNoAge.com.

SOURCE: Baycrest

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 9

• INSIGHTS •

NUMBERS TO LIVE BY HOW MANY TIMES DOES A HEART BEAT IN AN AVERAGE LIFETIME? In earlier times, a human would live 30 or 40 years and their heart would beat 1.5 billion times. Now, with improved nutrition, healthier lifestyles, and improved medical care, they will live 80 or 90 years and their heart will beat 3 billion times.

A slower heartbeat, on average, implies a longer life. That’s one reason why moderate exercise is good for you. A stronger heart uses a slower heart rate to pump the same amount of blood.

Among mammals, the number of heartbeats over the lifespan of different species is fairly constant.

Hamsters’ hearts beat 400 times a minute and they live for about four years, which is 840 million beats; an elephant with 35 beats a minute lives for 35 years, or about 640 million beats total.

There are several factors in play. One is that animals with faster heart rates are also smaller and more at risk from predators and starvation.

Their lifespans have evolved to compensate for this by reproducing early and often.

HOW LONG CAN YOU LIVE? Humans may be able to live for 120 to 150 years, but no longer, according to a study published online in the journal Nature Communications. Using a mathematical model, it predicts that after 120 to 150 years of age the human body would lose its ability to recover from illness and injury.

The study is based on data from more than 500,000 volunteers condensed into one number that measures the physiological toll of aging: the “dynamic organism state indicator.” The model suggests that even under ideal circumstances, key biomarkers of aging would eventually decline so much that they could no longer support a living organism.

Therapies that extend the body’s resilience may eventually enable humans to live longer, healthier lives. The other factor is quality of life. Beyond a certain point, if a person is too frail to enjoy life, what’s the point?

10 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

The heart muscle repairs itself very slowly, so eventually every heart will wear out, but not after a specific number of beats.

You can see the relationship between heart rate and size in the following examples: a blue whale has a heart rate of 8 beats per minute (bpm), an elephant 30, a human 75, a giraffe 150, a cat 160, a hamster 400, and a hummingbird 1,200.

SOURCE: How long can you live?: Alex Fox, Smithsonian magazine. Heart beats: BBC SCIENCE FOCUS

• WEALTH •

7 RETIREMENT MYTHS DEBUNKED

Healthy retirement planning is a process, just like earning and saving.

BY WENDY BROOKOUSE

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5

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MYTH #1 - RETIREMENT PLANNING IS JUST FOR OLDER PEOPLE

It’s a small wonder that the media, politicians and the financial services industry are all talking about retirement. That focuses our attention on the items we need to consider as we plan for life after work. As you begin pulling your plan together, there are myths you must be wary of if you want to ensure you have an adequate retirement income that lasts a lifetime.

Every little bit of savings helps and will make it easier, if you start early enough. Harness the power of compound interest where planning and saving a little on a regular basis pays off in the long run. As your interest earns interest, your savings balloon, and the earlier you start, the bigger gains you make.

e are experiencing a silver tsunami.

The average retirement age in Canada is 64 years old, and an estimated 1,250 Canadians turn 65 each day. With Baby Boomers ranging in age from 57-75 years old, they are quickly flooding the retirement scene. They are planning for their retirement years, while also dealing with the fact that they are likely to live longer than they may have planned, as life expectancies continue to rise.

12 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

The definition of retirement is changing and even though it may seem like a long way off, use that to your advantage. Much like dieting and exercising, it is far more feasible to stick to a long-term plan of healthy eating and an active lifestyle, than it is to complete a crash diet requiring heavy cardio seven days a week. Retirement planning is the same.

PRESENTED BY BLACK STAR WEALTH

Every year you delay, you miss out on the investment interest and returns, and saving gets harder and harder. So start soon and keep going. If boomers are dealing with longer life expectancies, Generation X (the next generation approaching retirement) will likely live even longer – meaning more years to plan for!

MYTH #2 - I’LL NEVER BE ABLE TO SAVE ENOUGH FOR RETIREMENT It’s surprising, even shocking, that with all of the attention devoted to an aging society and the need to save for retirement, so few people are inspired to get started. Many do have a doom and gloom attitude that they’ll never be able to save enough for retirement. That may feel true when you’re young, starting a family, paying off those school debts and dealing with a mortgage, but don’t fall into the trap of thinking it’ll be easier to save for retirement in future years. After all, there are competing and expensive needs no matter how old you are. Pay off your college debt, help your kids with theirs, then there’s a house, then grandkids. Where did the time go?

Every year you delay starting to save ultimately means you’ll need to save more in order to get on track for a retirement that’s getting closer and closer. The best time to start saving for retirement is when you are young and just starting to work.

The next best time is right now. Let the power of compound interest work for you as long as possible.

MYTH #3 - I NEED $500K, $1M, $2M TO RETIRE The fact is that your “number” can vary greatly depending on your personal situation and goals, how long you expect to live, whether you will be single or with a partner, and when you will retire.

Consider asking an advisor who specializes in retirement planning, or better yet, retirement income planning, like me!

Try some of the tools available from trusted sites produced by large financial institutions.

And don’t forget government benefits like the Canada or Québec Pension Plan (CPP/QPP) and Old Age Security. If you want to maintain the

same lifestyle as before, your number is tied to how much income you will need to provide the same consumption dollars. Add some extras to that bucket list of yours for those early years of retirement when you will be most active and spend more money.

MYTH #4 - NEVER TOUCH YOUR CAPITAL Conventional approaches often work on keeping your assets intact. That may work for the wealthy, whose investments generate plenty of cash flow so that they can preserve their capital for their children and grandchildren.

For the rest of us, it’s okay to spend your capital as a way of providing lifetime income. While saving may be a goal in itself during your working years, plan on an orderly spending of what you have saved during retirement. Isn’t that what you planned? That’s what it is there for, after all, you can’t take your money with you when you die.

The idea for many is to spend down in retirement.

That’s why you save. Work with a retirement income planner to ensure that you have enough capital to provide you with the cash flow you need no matter what happens; no matter how long you live.

MYTH #5 - YOU NEED 70% TO 85% OF YOUR CURRENT INCOME LEVEL IN RETIREMENT Like all rules of thumbs, this is very general and doesn’t work for everyone. The focus should be on those dollars you will spend on yourself and your own lifestyle. Start with how you are currently spending your money. Then look at what is going to go, what is going to stay and what is going to be added.

Child rearing costs, retirement savings, insurances like disability, parking, and work-related expenses will go. But what about the things that will be added now that you will have more time to tackle projects, hobbies and travel? You need to add all these things into your retirement spending plan. Add it all up and now you know what your retirement income sources need to provide you in retirement on an after-tax basis.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 13

• WEALTH •

MYTH #6 - YOU NEED THAT INITIAL LEVEL OF RETIREMENT INCOME, INDEXED FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE You’ll need to make adjustments as the situation changes, as your needs and priorities change.

Retirement income planning works like that.

Retirement isn’t one long vacation. It isn’t one period in your life. It represents the longest set of phases in your life. Each phase will have different needs for cash flow.

You’ll need more money in your early, active years. You’ll then settle down to a more “normal” retirement where expenses drop. Then later in life, poor health, the loss of your spouse or partner, losing your driving license, and changes to your attitude and behaviour will cause you to spend even less money.

You may require money for long term care needs.

The amount of money you’ll need and the most efficient means of getting it are important points you should review yearly. Set up an investment and income stream that is flexible and adaptable to changing circumstances. Life changes will happen, and your needs for income will change with them.

MYTH #7 - YOU’LL HAVE ENOUGH MONEY TO LAST THROUGH RETIREMENT AS LONG AS THE AVERAGE RATE OF RETURN MATCHES YOUR PLAN Some rules of thumb may work well while you are saving for retirement. Holding on to them when you are spending those savings during retirement may become toxic to your financial health.

watermelon coming soon!

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14 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

2020-12-14 12:28:11 PM

• WEALTH •

Averages can be misleading when applied to rates of return during spending periods. The pattern of returns can impact the size of your assets when you are withdrawing money to provide yourself an income to meet expenses.

When you need to withdraw money and the markets are down, or what you take out is less than what your investment is earning, you eat into your retirement nest egg. These losses can be difficult to recover because you have to make up for the lower rate of return in a given year and account for the money you spent that is no longer invested. Negative rates of return in the early years of spending can be devastating on how much money you will have left years down the road. It’s not just about average rates of return; it’s about the sequence of returns that make up the

average. Starting with a low or negative return has the potential to permanently upset your plans.

BOTTOM LINE Be proactive when planning your retirement. The earlier you start, the better! Healthy retirement planning will help ensure a more rewarding retirement.

Wendy Brookhouse is the founder of Black Star Wealth, a boutique financial planning firm serving clients across Canada. She loves helping clients become financially confident through customized plans and education. www.blackstarwealth.com

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2021-01-27 4:25:33 PM

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 15

• SPIRITUAL JOURNEY •

© ISTOCK / PAVLIHA

A river symbolizes the power of nature and the concept of a boundary.

16 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• SPIRITUAL JOURNEY •

Crossing the river Spiritual growth requires confronting your own demons.

How hard can it be?

BY LYNDA CASEY

E

ntering the spiritual journey is never about thinking it is something we should or must embrace, or a “to do” to tick off a bucket list.

In fact, we often enter it via a door that doesn’t even have the word “spirituality” marked on it.

The universe is clever that way!

Those of us who have been on the path for some time may have entered while we were intuiting there had to be more to life than what we were experiencing. Or we became curious about why we were really here. Or, perhaps, we wondered what our true purpose on this planet could actually be.

Then, all of a sudden, a person, a situation, a book, a something appears, and before we are conscious of where we are going, we are on a spiritual journey.

No one I met, and this includes me, thought in the beginning, “How difficult could this be?” Because at the start we are too interested in solving the mystery of what sent us on the path to begin with.

However, whether we are conscious of it or not, the ways people are entering the spiritual journey are shifting. More often now, the entrance happens because we are getting glimpses of the extraordinary that are telling us there is something beyond the familiar that many have believed to be the confines of reality.

A growing number are beginning to recognize two things. First, there are laws beyond the laws of science, and these laws operate externally and internally. Second, while spirituality can be based

on a connection to a traditional religion, today it is becoming seen more through the lens of what mystical teacher Caroline Myss defines as a “bioeco-organic spirituality.”

We are learning that what is in one, is in the whole.

We are learning through experience beyond the five senses, that absolutely everything is connected. This includes what we do, what we say, and what we think. We begin to understand, from a place beyond our mind, that we are co-creators of everything that is happening.

But here’s the rub. If we want peace and goodness and a healthy environment for all, then we are each responsible for contributing to that effort.

If we claim to any degree to be on a spiritual journey, no longer can we be a bystander to what we witness and not ask the difficult question of how we are contributing to it.

“Oh,” we might say, “that’s not me! I’m a good person — kind, generous, caring.”

Some might add that we meditate, volunteer for worthy causes, are vegetarian — whatever perception we feel should be on the list.

I know I certainly could have ticked a few boxes and was quite content in my spiritual journey until I faced not so much what I was doing on an outward and larger scale but who I really was on an inward and personal scale. And how that was impacting everything in my life from my health to others close to me, to people or other forms of life that I would or could never know or imagine.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 17

• SPIRITUAL JOURNEY •

least questioned them? There are no doubt many things you believe now that you didn’t believe when you were 20.

But as we investigate ourselves more closely, we begin to realize that nothing anyone does or says that triggers us is ever personal. What we learn is when we get anywhere on the scale from mildly upset to in a rage, something from our past — personal, collective, or tribal — creates a type of inflammation.

Spiritual teacher Caroline Myss is an inspiration.

Here is where we come upon the proverbial Rubicon, the river that Julius Caesar crossed that eventually led to the fall of the Roman Republic.

It was the point of no return.

First, let me say, it is easy to stay where we are, and many will indeed decide to do so. No one will judge. We make serious efforts with lots of quality and positive actions toward all areas of life. And while we can live there, and do, the energetic field of the world is rapidly shifting, internally and externally, and we are now being called to cross the river and do the work none of us really wants to do, which is the examination and alteration of ourselves.

The roots of most of this, of course, are firmly lodged in our past: our personal past, our collective past, our tribal and ancestral past. But we are blind to that when we become triggered by something in the present moment. For example, it was Don Miguel Ruiz who said, in his book The Four Agreements, “Don’t take anything personally.”

This is a good one to start with as you dip your toe into the Rubicon.

One might say, “They insulted me,” or “They insulted my intelligence,” and “How can I not take that personally?” But that is rooted in an archaic belief system. That is all it is, a belief. How many times have you changed beliefs in your life, or at 18 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

The resulting angst or anger, which we believe is the result of another person or situation, comes from either our own unhealed wound or a held unconscious belief. And the more frequently we recognize this, the less we become impacted by “others” and are able to realize their behaviour is coming from an unconscious wound or belief too.

And that is why it is never personal.

However, note that once we see this and become conscious of it and use our trigger to examine our own unconscious wounds and beliefs, it is never a one-shot deal. It will happen again and again, as many times as it takes. If we have the willingness to go through the process, each time we will see it quicker and find our own unhealed wound or unconscious belief faster. Eventually our own anger, resentment, hurt, intolerance or what have you, will begin to emerge as understanding and compassion.

Yet this path is difficult for one simple reason. It is great to read about it or think about it when all is smooth sailing in our life. But the moment we become triggered, let’s see how easy it is then and how much willingness we have to examine ourselves and make the changes necessary to really cross the Rubicon and continue on our spiritual journey.

In the words of Ghandi: “You must be the change you want to see in the world.”

Is that hard? Hell, yes!

Is it worth it? Ask yourself. The river that needs crossing is already flowing at your toes!

Lynda Casey holds a master’s degree in Wisdom Studies.

A cultural evolutionary, public speaker and playwright, she is creating a theatrical production called Feminine Rising. You can contact Lynda online to tell her how you became involved in a Spiritual Journey or to share your questions or comments: lyndacasey@boldbutterflyproductions.com

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• REFLECTIONS •

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In Linden MacIntyre’s boyhood, Cape Breton was a mythical place of Gaelic, folklore, and larger-than-life characters.

20 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• REFLECTIONS •

LEARNING FROM ‘OLD JOHN’ Growing up in Cape Breton, I found the rest of the world remote, strange, frightening. Then I met a man from Hungary who became a friend. The rest of world seemed closer then.

BY LINDEN MACINTYRE

I

t was only after he was gone that I discovered his last name. He was a European: Hungarian.

And it was presumed his last name would be impossible to spell and easy to forget, so people didn’t ask while he was alive.

It was in the mid-fifties. It wasn’t unusual, so soon after the war, for people who were from Europe to be cautious about revealing their last names. A first name was usually enough for most. His first name was John. Or, as we all knew him, Old John.

When we finally discovered his last name, it was just as plain and easy to remember. Suto. He was John Suto.

He showed up in my village as part of a large crew of workers who were building what is now the causeway to Cape Breton from the mainland. Or from Cape Breton to the mainland, depending on perspective.

Before John, I became friends with two construction workers from Québec. The friendly one was named Camille. A wonderful name, I thought. After John, I met an engineer from South Korea. His name was Tae but everybody called him Ted. Like John, Ted had an air of mystery around him.

He had gone to school in Japan during the Second World War, which in later life I discovered was controversial to people who knew a lot more than I did about the war. But he knew Judo and he taught me Judo tricks and simple Japanese expressions. Which was how we talked about Korea and Japan and wars.

For me, the causeway was connecting the world to Cape Breton and Old John was a fascinating preview of what the world was like. He was exotic and mysterious. The world was exotic and mysterious.

useway, Cape Breton.

Building of the Canso Ca

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 21

• REFLECTIONS •

‘He always seemed to be happy, but I sensed that he was lonely.’

Old John was a caretaker at the construction camp. Workers slept in bunkhouses and ate meals in a cookhouse. I delivered a daily newspaper to the camp. I was quite familiar with the world from the stories in the newspaper. The stories usually made the world seem frightening and unattractive.

However, Old John and the Québecers and the Korean and dozens of other people I would meet when they were building the causeway made me realize that the world was only scary when everybody in it was a stranger. Friends from the outside world were like friends from anywhere.

When Old John would be cleaning the workers’ rooms, he’d find empty beer bottles and he’d save them for me and I’d return them to a little canteen where I’d collect the deposit. Some days, Old John would ask if I was hungry.

It was hungry work, delivering the newspapers.

I’d always say “Yes” and he’d take me to the cookhouse and instruct the cook to “Give my friend a nice big slice of that…,” pointing at a cake or pie or whatever happened to be fresh out of the oven.

He always seemed to be happy, but I sensed that he was lonely. Which came as no surprise. He was from far away. I thought I was his only friend.

Then one day when I walked by and said my usual “Hello,” he didn’t speak to me. He just sat there on the doorstep outside the bunkhouse staring at the ground, hunched over. He was still sitting there when I came out. Never said a boo.

Later that afternoon, someone told me why. John was dead. Had I not seen the rifle at his side?

Perhaps I did. I don’t remember.

22 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

The Canso Causeway was both a real and a symbolic connection to the outside world.

I found out that a lot of people knew more about Old John than I did. Complicated things about the revolution in Hungary, things I read about in the newspaper. But I never thought that these events might touch the life of someone close, Old John, my cheerful friend.

Someone saw him at the post office earlier that day. He was reading a letter, just standing there as if he were alone. The postmaster confirmed it seemed like an important letter with foreign stamps and postmarks. Someone noted that his lips were moving, his hand was shaking. And then he was gone.

At Sunday Mass, the priest talked about suicide.

We were all shocked. Suicide was never talked about. Suicide was a Mortal Sin. Someone who committed suicide went straight to Hell, no funeral, no burial in the consecrated graveyard.

• REFLECTIONS •

But this priest saw it differently. He’d been through the world war. A military chaplain. He said a Mortal Sin required premeditation. You had to know what you were doing and you had to know the consequences and do it anyway. Suicide was an act of despair. And that kind of despair eliminates any possibility of premeditation.

Basically, you aren’t thinking straight when you shoot yourself.

John’s despair was so profound it impaired his ability to think. So his death was not a sin. It was a tragedy. And he was going to have a funeral. And he was going to rest forever in the consecrated soil of the parish cemetery.

Period.

Many years later, on one of the anniversaries of the completion of the causeway, I had a phone call from an old friend from back in those days. A local guy. There was going to be a little ceremony in the cemetery. Would I like to be there?

“Ceremony?”

“Remember Old John?”

“Of course.”

“Yes, you would. Wasn’t it yourself who saw him there? We’re fixing up his grave. Giving him a proper stone.”

I went. It was a small, older crowd. A much younger priest.

And I thought about the world I’d come to know since first meeting Old John.

And I realized then what it had been that drew me to him, and him to me.

He was from a distant world. But he was one of us.

Linden MacIntyre, journalist and author, grew up in Cape Breton. His novel, The Bishop’s Man, won the 2009 Scotiabank Giller Prize for fiction. His latest novel, published in August 2021, is The Winter Wives.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 23

• BUSINESS •

© ISTOCK / PEOPLEIMAGES

Second act: Starting a business can create a passionate and successful new career.

24 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• BUSINESS •

IS ENTREPRENEURSHIP IN YOUR FUTURE? It’s a big step, but those over 50 can have an advantage over younger entrepreneurs.

BY WENDY MAYHEW

I

t’s been a long year and a half — and more.

You may be one of the hundreds of thousands over the age of 50 who have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. You may have tried early retirement, gotten bored, and are now thinking of launching a business. You may be looking for work because you aren’t ready to retire or can’t afford to. (Unfortunately, the prospects of finding employment later in life are low.)

So, what do you do if you need an income? Or if you don’t need the income but have a business idea you want to launch? If one of your goals is to start a business, and you have an idea for one, then there couldn’t be a better time to discover if becoming an entrepreneur is something you want to pursue.

Moreover, statistics show that those over the age of 50 who start a business are more successful than young entrepreneurs. Why? We have the skills from years of work experience that young entrepreneurs don’t possess. (In fairness, young entrepreneurs also have skills we don’t have.)

We are also as innovative as other groups of entrepreneurs.

After her mother died in 2000 from a high-profile medical error, at the age of 65 Catherine Winckler left her position running a 35-person, multi-milliondollar digital design agency to create Mindful

Garden Digital Health. Catherine describes Mindful Garden, the digital crash cart for frail seniors experiencing hyperactive delirium/dementia, as a videogame that the individuals don’t know they are playing.

When I started advocating for new entrepreneurs over the age of 50, I was repeatedly told we would never amount to anything. Yet Catherine is just one example of what we can accomplish as entrepreneurs. We understand technology. Like all business people, we know the importance of finding and working with others who have the skills we don’t necessarily have.

Not only does Catherine have two young cofounders, but she also has a group of advisors.

Whether you decide on having a co-founder or not, it is essential to have advisors who will help you with decisions and direction as you start and grow your business.

ENTREPRENEURS LIKE HELPING ENTREPRENEURS! Once you’ve decided to explore being an entrepreneur, search for local events that you can attend in person or virtually. You will meet likeminded people and entrepreneurs interested in assisting others in their entrepreneurial journey.

Also, search for local small business centres SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 25

• BUSINESS •

daunting. Remember, many entrepreneurs like helping entrepreneurs. If you’ve attended events and have met entrepreneurs you like, ask them if they would be open to becoming an advisor to help you with your new business. If they have time and feel they are a fit, they will more than likely say yes.

WHAT EXACTLY IS INVOLVED WITH THE ‘PROCESS’?

You’ve probably heard you need to start with a business plan, which is true. However, business plans have changed over the years. You will be asked for information that you don’t have and will need to guess, which doesn’t make any sense.

However, when you are looking for financing, you will more than likely need to prepare a traditional business plan.

whose mandate is to assist new entrepreneurs with their start-ups.

By now, you will have received both encouragement and some negativity about your business idea. You are the one who must make the final decision whether to adjust or move forward with your product or service. But before you launch, realize two things: first, starting a business is a process; and second, you can’t do it alone.

Don’t let the word “process” intimidate you – the process is understanding what you need to start with and then going from there. Many new entrepreneurs jump all over the place as they are anxious to launch their business. If you don’t have your goals and ideas on how to get there on paper, you will find yourself confused – and without a clear path that is essential to starting a business.

You may believe you have a great idea or solution for your business, but you must clearly portray your message to potential customers and clients so they understand what you are offering. Before going too far, ask friends, colleagues, or small business advisors for their opinion. You may not like what they have to say, but don’t take offence – they are trying to help.

Entrepreneurship can be a lonely road and making decisions on your own all the time can be very 26 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

To simplify, start with the Lean Model Canvas.

The Canvas is a living document, meaning it will change as you progress with your business.

The Canvas consists of nine boxes: what is the problem you want to solve, your proposed solution, unique value proposition, unfair advantage over any competition, proposed customers and clients, cost structure, key metrics, channels, and revenue streams. There is extensive guidance on how to use this model on the Internet.

Then share the Canvas with others, discuss their suggestions, and be open to adjusting your model.

Next, you need to engage a lawyer, an accountant and a financial institution.

Once you have your ideas on paper and are ready to move forward, speak to a lawyer about your proposed business structure and have them set it up for you. They know the pitfalls you may not have thought of and will potentially save you grief and money down the road.

I recently spoke to a company that developed a great product, then lost it to a much larger company. (This is more common than you might think. For one thing, the ability of a large company to fight a legal challenge will be greater than yours.) More than likely, this could have been avoided if they had asked for legal advice early on.

© ISTOCK / PORTRA

Experience is the best teacher.

You will need to develop a long-term relationship with your legal team, accountant, and financial institution. Arrange meetings with them and make sure you feel comfortable. If you don’t feel at ease, ask for referrals from your colleagues on who they are using and arrange to meet them.

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An accountant will guide you on setting up your books and talk to you about taxes, remittances, and year-end reporting required by governments. You will need to set up a bank account. Look at what different banks offer businesses and meet with them.

From completing your Lean Model Canvas, you have an idea of who your clients are. But how are you going to reach them?

On the digital side, will it be through email marketing or social media – and if social media, what platforms will you use?

Don’t spend all your marketing efforts on digital. Write a press release about your new business and send it to newspapers, television and magazines that are interested in your area of work. You can also write articles for some of these groups on a regular basis. If you have a physical location, it is important to have signage to entice people to enter your business.

Continue to attend events, both live and virtual. Be a guest on podcasts. Once you find what works and what doesn’t work, focus on what does. But always keep looking for other avenues to market your business.

And when you have that figured out, how will you get them to buy your product?

When you’ve decided you want to move forward, put your plan in place and decide on a date to launch your business – and then add six months to that date. You will quickly find that nothing goes as planned, and you will need more time.

You may find the above intimidating but think back to when you started your first job or moved to another job. It was probably intimidating at that time too. But entrepreneurship isn’t for everyone, and you may feel that it isn’t for you. If you do feel that way, don’t let others encourage you to move forward.

Regardless of your decision, I wish you success!

Wendy Mayhew is the author of WISER: The Definitive Guide to Starting a Business After the Age of 50. She is a speaker and entrepreneur with more than 40 years of experience helping to launch and manage businesses across Canada. She pioneered new practices in the real estate, wine, and education sectors before founding the communications agency Mayhew & Associates, which grew to sales of $3 million with only one employee. Based on her own experience and the needs of others, Mayhew launched WISE: Seniors in Business to support entrepreneurs through speaking, presentations and online resources. Her book WISER is also available on her website: www.wise-seniorsinbusiness.com

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• MY STORY •

Ruth Vallis depends on her intelligence and experience – and on her dog Darwin.

28 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• MY STORY •

Love is blind Ruth E. Vallis has used her experience to become a pioneer for the integration of blind children into the public school system.

BY RUTH E. VALLIS

This excerpt is from a memoir which commences with my birth and concludes with the death of my mother whom I called Peach. Blind since before the age of three, I will take you on a journey through two years in a residential school for the blind, becoming a pioneer of integration of blind children into the public school system in Canada, to studying physiotherapy in England, back home to try and land a job before employment equity, taking a Master of Science degree online before accessible technology is legislated, training with my first guide dog, and more. You may laugh and cry.

In the end, I hope you are glad you read it.

Residential School for the Blind

W

hen I was growing up in Toronto in the 1950s, we always had some sort of dessert with dinner, although there was little in the way of treats. When my father took me to the train on Sundays, we would pass the snack shop in Union Station. Money being tight, we did not stop. However, on one occasion, my father must have been feeling a little flush, so he detoured to the candy counter and bought me a 15-cent box of black licorice nibs. My favourite!

Feeling sorry for the children back in the dorm who did not go home on weekends, I saved my nibs. Once we were all in bed, I sneaked around giving each girl a nib or two. Suddenly, the housemothers appeared, and I was caught.

Everyone was told to go to sleep except for me. I was seated on the bench in the corridor, where I was instructed not to fall asleep. A seven-year-old child being punished with sleep deprivation for sharing a few candies! This was a first offence, and yet there was no discussion about what I had done wrong or that I should not do it again. There was only punishment.

What were they thinking? What a level of punishment for a blind child whose only crime had been sharing. I can still hear them laughing as one said to put me to bed while another giggled that I only lasted 45 minutes, an eternity. I never told my parents. After all, my father had bought the candy for me as a special treat and I instinctively understood that the 15 cents was a sacrifice; furthermore, even at that young age, I knew that if he discovered that I had been punished for sharing, he would have been heartbroken.

I don’t know whether my parents ever regretted having me at home full-time, but that first summer may have made them scratch their heads.

Agitating for a bicycle, I was once again rescued

by Mrs. Greer. She presented me with a little girl’s bicycle, which I promptly mounted and was off.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 29

• MY STORY • the doctor with her brother George, Peach came up with an idea. Uncle George appeared with a big tricycle he had bought in a garage sale for three dollars. Peach and George were delighted to give it to me, but I was not so delighted to receive it.

Tricycles were for babies, and I was not a baby.

It was obvious they were not pleased with my lack of gratitude. Peach had a tone of voice, like most mothers, which one instinctively knew meant business. She used that tone when she told me that I could take the tricycle or take nothing. Well, I wasn’t going to take nothing, and I wasn’t too bad at solutions myself. Tenacity was the mother of my invention.

I mounted the tricycle and leaned to the right enough to cause the left back wheel to come off the ground. Ta-da! I had a bicycle. Somehow, I managed to ride that tricycle on two wheels.

Adults would marvel while other children would say it was no big deal, but they never managed to do it. Eventually, I wore the tires down so much on the right side that one could not ride it on three wheels if one wanted to. Peach threw up her hands in resignation and hoped that I would soon get tired of the bike/trike. After all, she mistakenly thought, one cannot ride very quickly in that awkward leaning posture.

Tandem cycling with Prince Charles in 1982.

The laneway behind the garages was a great place for riding. Cars tended to mainly drive through early in the morning or at the end of the workday, so I could pedal back and forth with great ease all day long. I loved it.

Unfortunately, before returning to school, I had an appointment with my ophthalmologist. Peach reported to him that I was doing extremely well, looking forward to going to school with my brothers in September, and always riding my bicycle. Dr. Crawford practically needed a defibrillator. “Mrs. Vallis,” he gasped. “Ruthy is blind. She can’t ride a bicycle. She could get injured, killed, or kill someone else. You must take the bike away!”

“You heard the doctor,” Peach said as she ushered me out the office door. My heart was broken, but I knew better than to protest, even with tears stinging my eyes. The bicycle was sold to another little girl for eight dollars, but I didn’t stop agitating—I was good at that. Discussing a visit to 30 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

School of Physiotherapy It was a warm Saturday in September 1981 when I arrived at the North London School of Physiotherapy for the Blind and Visually Impaired.

The school had been established in 1899 and until recently had been known as the Royal National Institute for the Blind School of Physiotherapy. It was now housed in a modern building in Highgate, North London. On arrival, we were given keys to our rooms and the students’ entrance of the building. The bursar showed us to the residence, and that was it until Monday morning. There was no orientation to the school or the community.

I was twenty-one, blind, knew no one, and had basically just dropped out of an airplane into bustling London to embark upon a very challenging course of physical medicine study.

My room was comfortable and up on the sixth floor with a window overlooking the accident and emergency entrance of the Whittington Hospital on Highgate Hill. Thankfully, I had a single room with a bed, desk, table, and chair, lots of cupboard

• MY STORY • space, and a wash basin. There were five other single bedrooms in our unit, and we shared two toilets, a bath, a shower, a kitchen, and a sitting room.

that was certainly true for me. After one week in London, I went off, armed with a grocery list, to purchase some necessities. I was determined for this adventure to not conquer me.

We were expected to shop for our own groceries and prepare our own meals, but we could also eat in the hospital canteen when it was open. But there was a very narrow window for lunch and dinner. Bedding and towels were provided, but we were to do our own laundry. Of course, cooking and laundry were no issue for me, but without orientation to the community, I was stranded.

By Sunday afternoon, the other students started arriving, and some of those who were back for their second or third year invited us to the hospital for dinner. I was pretty hungry by then, so I agreed to join them.

Although this was a school for blind and visually impaired people, I was the only one in my class of thirteen who was totally blind. In fact, there was only one blind person in the second year and two in the third year. We were in a great minority, and those with low vision did not understand, and in many ways, were less accommodating or sympathetic than the normally seeing public. I mistakenly thought that there would be some help to get me settled, but every hour of every day involved some sort of discovery. Upon entering the supermarket, I stood in one spot in the hopes that someone would notice me and offer some assistance. Eventually, I drew someone’s attention.

Eventually, someone showed me how to get to the Co-op to buy my groceries. They didn’t accompany me to help me select them, but simply gave me directions and sent me off on my own.

It has been said that Canada and England are two nations divided by the same language, and

I asked for some laundry powder. “Pawdon?”

That was “pardon” to a Canadian’s ears. “Laundry powder?” “Pawdon?” “Laundry detergent to wash clothes.” “Oh, you mean soap flakes.” “Yes, I guess

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• MY STORY • the required amount of Persil into the receptacle, pushed a ten pence piece into the slot, and pressed the button. The machine started up, and I returned to my room to study while the clothes were going around. Once I felt the washing was likely finished, I returned to the laundry room to find the residence manager mopping up bubbles that were waist-deep on the floor. It was like something out of a science fiction movie—the attack of the Persil bubble people.

“Ruth, are these your clothes in the machine?” he asked. “My clothes are in one of the machines,” I admitted. “There is only one machine being used, so it must be yours. You have used too many soap flakes and have made a mess of the whole room!” I protested that I’d simply followed the instructions written on the machine. After I held up my box of Persil to show him, he sighed. “Ruth, those aren’t soap flakes for automatic electric washing machines. Those are soap flakes for hand washing.

You can’t put that in the machine, as it will cause all these bubbles.”

Graduation photograph with her mother “Peach.”

I mean soap flakes.” “Which brand of soap flakes would you like?” My brother Christopher worked for Lever Brothers, which I knew was a British company, so I said, “Sunlight.” “Pawdon?” “Why don’t you tell me which brands you carry, and I will select one?” “We have Persil.” “That will do. I will take Persil.”

How was I to know that many people in England still washed by hand? I assured him that I would ask for automatic soap flakes in the future and left him to clean it up. I couldn’t imagine anyone not having an automatic washing machine. Why did the woman at the supermarket assume I washed my clothes by hand? Did I look like a pioneer?

Our last stop was the cheese counter. Aha, I loved cheddar, and I knew Cheddar Gorge was in England. I am ready! I got this one! When the woman behind the counter asked what I would like, I confidently said, “Cheddar, please.” “Do I detect an accent, and would it be Canadian?”

I admitted it was. “Would you like Canadian cheddar? It is our bestseller!” Not wanting to surrender, I snapped, “No, I want English cheddar!”

However, after that, I usually bought Canadian cheddar. It was, after all, nice to have a little bit of home away from home.

Taking my things back to the residence, I decided to do some laundry. There was no one else in the laundry room, so I read the Braille instructions on the machine, popped my washing in, poured 32 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

Ruth Vallis: The book of my lifetime.

Joining the Workforce I applied at Humber Physiotherapy. It was a relatively small clinic and only about a thirty minute journey on the subway and bus from my parents’ home. I was interviewed by the owner. She offered me the position on the spot, which I accepted happily. Once one is employed, one has to inform the licensing board, and the clinic owner said that she would also be letting them know of my new employment. I was asked to arrive at eight in the morning on Tuesday, September 4 to begin my first day. I was thrilled and excited. Peach was delighted for me and bursting with pride. She loved to repeat, “My daughter is a physiotherapist,” and now I was an employed one.

I arrived bright and early on Tuesday, eager to dig in. Like every other newly qualified professional, I believed I could conquer the world and wanted to prove it. Upon entering the reception area, I was met with a cool and awkward atmosphere.

The secretary, the owner’s daughter and not a physiotherapist, informed me that the owner wanted to speak with me first thing. As I entered the boss’s office, I knew something was wrong. Without even offering me a seat, she simply said, “You can’t work here.” I almost fell over. “But you have already employed me. What has changed?” She ushered me into the treatment area and asked me how I would manage the equipment. I informed her that I was trained and qualified to work with this equipment. “How would you know the dials were in the right place?” “They are slightly tactile,” I said, “and I can put some transparent Braille numbers on them to be extra certain.” “No, no. You can’t work here!” I was escorted to the door and it was closed quickly behind me.

I had been hired and fired without one single minute of working. Stunned, I started to cry and didn’t try to fight the tears. With my heart broken, I asked God to help me put this behind me and to accept that it was not the job he had in mind for me. Peach was surprised to see me home so soon. I explained what had happened and, like any loving parent, she was hurting for me but could do nothing but offer comfort.

Some people urged me to launch a wrongful dismissal lawsuit, suggesting that this could be my opportunity to own a clinic— that one! No, I was not going to sue or embarrass the woman.

Instead, I had asked God to help me shake the dust in faith that he had something much better in store for me.

Ruth Vallis was born in Toronto in 1960. After a two year stay in a residential school, she was a pioneer of integration of blind children into the public school system in Canada in 1968. She graduated from the North London School of Physiotherapy for the Blind and Visually Impaired in England. She is now retired from a thirty-two year career, mainly at the Toronto Rehabilitation Institute. Based in Toronto with her guide dog Darwin, she is the author of the memoir Love is Blind.

a www.youtube.com/watch?v=gG0VUrkXW2Y

www.ruthvallis.com

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• MIND •

Julius Caesar loved Rome, but he loved power more.

34 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• MIND •

WE’RE ALL MAD HERE Why do so many quirky people succeed — at least in the short term?

BY DAVID HOLT

L

ook back in history: bad guys like Caligula and Hitler, mixed-up guys like Alexander the Great, good guys like President Lincoln, brilliant but vindictive scientists like Isaac Newton. On the modern scene: President Clinton hardly slept as they stayed up late studying policy arcana, while Trump skipped all that and instead manipulated public opinion by mastering the twitterverse.

Is this behaviour mad – at least some of it?

Depends on who you ask.

What is madness? Who is mad and who is not?

These are not simple questions. For one thing, some seemingly mad people can be effective in their own spheres of influence – at least for a while. Sometimes, madness seems to be a benefit.

It can help people focus and push on when others would give up. Combined with charisma, it can add a sense of drama and excitement to any leadership role. Humans love a good story.

Christopher J. Ferguson, a psychology professor at Stetson University in Florida, is also a passionate student of history. In his book, How Madness Shaped History: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal Rulers, Raving Narcissists, and Psychotic Visionaries, he brings his two passions together to illuminate the modern era, where assorted oddballs — politicians, technologists, entrepreneurs, etc — seem to make the rules the rest of us follow.

The book was released as the 2020 presidential election cycle got underway, when “nativism, authoritarianism, and nationalism seem to be on the rise in the world,” he wrote. “The Trump administration is a symptom rather than a cause of a creeping madness within our sociopolitical culture in which people with different views become the enemy and must be defeated and humiliated at all costs.”

Ferguson defines madness as “behaviour that persists despite its destructive nature either to oneself or others. It is a very small subset of mental illness, with insanity being smaller still.

Not everyone with a mental illness is insane in the legal sense; in fact most are not.”

Many of those in his book have personality disorders, as opposed to mental illnesses like schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, which can be so debilitating that not much gets done.

“Personality disorders are lifelong patterns of deviant or maladaptive behaviour that result from a person’s core personality rather than an illness per se,” he says. “The dangerous ones include antisocial personality disorder or psychopathy, marked by lack of conscience coupled with thrillseeking and difficulty learning from punishment.”

Borderline personality disorder blends impulsiveness, narcissism and anger control problems. In a word: chaos. Narcissistic personality disorder, marked by the grandiose sense of one’s own self-importance, is widespread among those who seek power and fame. Those with paranoid personality disorder, marked by extreme suspiciousness, tend to blame others for their misfortune.

Especially dangerous is the “dark triad”: psychopathy and narcissism blended with Machiavellian personality traits — cynical strategic decision-making with little regard for ethics.

Mixtures of psychopathy with paranoid personality traits can produce cruel tyrants.

Hitler had a kind of “mad genius.” Appearing to fit the “dark triad” personality, “he believed himself to be uniquely bestowed with the ability to restore German power, showed little remorse SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 35

• MIND •

Treatment for mental illness is evolving. In earlier times, it was acquainted with sorcery and evil spirits. Not so long ago, metal health experts calmed their anxious patients by using highvoltage electroshock and frontal lobotomies.

for the devastation he unleashed and displayed remarkable cunning. He also had a fascination with death and destruction.”

I wonder how past religious leaders would be viewed if they were walking the sidewalks of today? Jesus — who inspired European cathedrals and American gospel churches wired for TV (and now internet) — spent most of his time outside, although he did go to a temple as a boy to knock over the tables of the money lenders.

Tyrants of the past were often popular among their subjects, although they had little choice.

The same goes for modern times. It does seem odd that so many wacky characters can be so successful — at least in the short term. They become CEOs, generals, presidents, and prime ministers. Some are influential artists, musicians, entertainers, and scientists.

Ferguson notes that mental illness is a part of life and that some leaders can be effective in spite of it. For example, Abraham Lincoln suffered from major depressive disorder yet historians routinely consider him the best president in US history. One study concluded that about half of US presidents suffered from some sort of mental illness during their lifetime, with about half of those having serious issues while they were in office. Depression, anxiety, and substance abuse were common.

Alexander the Great, one of the greatest generals in history, suffered from impulsive rages, alcohol abuse and delusional narcissism. He was probably not bipolar — that would be too much of a disadvantage. Combining his narcissism with tactical talent and leadership proved a potent combination, although it eventually cost him his life and his empire.

Ferguson’s dual perspective allows him to pop a few modern misconceptions. For example: 36 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

“A wealth of evidence suggests that we are living during the most peaceful epic in human history,” he says. Violence was common in pre-modern societies. “While democratic reforms swept across the world, recent reports suggest human rights and democratic institutions may be eroding. Still, in much of the world the welfare of the average person has improved over the past decades.”

On the other hand, “much of the world labors under madness, either based on the personality of the leaders or from the viewpoint of a population that has lost its way,” he says.

Sometimes the problem is that people believe they can no longer trust the government. In some parts of the world, perception of the social contract never developed, he says. Other places “still struggle under egomaniacal dictators, paranoid religious leaders, or bloodthirsty military juntas.

My own country and many others seem to stand on a precipice of threats small and large. Who do we want to lead us? Strong but mad authoritarians or bland bureaucrats?”

It’s not only men who have been violent. Ferguson introduces “the Blood Countess, Elizabeth Bathory, a Hungarian noblewoman during the 16th century who had an awful temper and a lust for sadistic sex.” Believing that human blood was a natural moisturizer, she was able to torture, mutilate, and kill her peasant victims for years.

“Today she would be diagnosed with a variant of antisocial personality disorder known as sadistic personality disorder.” Not to mention put out of commission one way or another.

Sometimes entire societies appear to go mad, he points out. This can occur from the rise of a tyrannical government whose leaders prove, at least for a while, that raw ambition trumps morality.

Circumstances can provide openings for madness to take power. When power was transferred from the Weimar Republic to the Nazis, the madness in society found themselves empowered at all levels. The rise of the Nazi regime in the 1930s and 40s showed that ordinary people can collaborate or at least keep their heads down. Systematic institutional cruelty takes a certain degree of competence.

© ISTOCK / PANAGIOTIS MARAVELIS

KILL OR CURE?

QA &

HOW DID YOUR BOOK PROJECT BEGIN? CHRISTOPHER FERGUSON: I’ve always been interested in these individuals from hell who had such an influence on history. These themes are so relevant for today, both for individuals and crowds.

Recent events fit as well. We are so polarized now. I know people who if you read their comments on social media it seems as if they’ve lost their minds, including academics on the left.

WHAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE YOU STARTED WORK ON THE BOOK? CF: I worked on the book for eight months in 2019. Those were the “good Trump years,” before 2020, before the pandemic. Then we had the clown show of the Trump Administration. There was chaos and irrationality on all sides. The extreme voices got the airtime. There were weird patterns of the left versus the right. We were gripped by a polarized culture war fed by social media algorithms. How do we retain our sanity in an era when the mad can scream the loudest? As news consumers we are drawn to the spectacle of the disaster.

HOW DO YOU SEE THE UNITED STATES, CANADA AND OTHER WESTERN DEMOCRACIES TODAY? CF: Democracy is fragile. Citizens and leaders have to buy into the social contract. With elections, leaders have to give up control. They have to allow others to enjoy free speech and due process.

My former optimism may have been misplaced. Too often, free speech now means “for me” but not “for them.” We have to find a balance and a way to protect political minorities. While the US is becoming an oligarchy on the right, the US Constitution gets in the way of the left. The two-party system has become a threat to democracy, as the Founders feared.

CAN WE LEARN ANY LESSONS FROM GERMANY’S SLIDE INTO FASCISM? CF: Germany was an extreme case. The US now is not like Germany after the Treaty of Versailles that ended World War I. It was chaotic in the 1920s and 30s. Worldviews were horribly wacky. It was a violent struggle between the power blocs. In the Weimar Republic people wanted some stability after the shocking loss of World War I. People blamed so-called

• MIND •

traitors and they blamed the Jews. Along came Hitler, who may have had a delusional disorder.

Right time, right place.

COULD IT HAPPEN NOW? CF: A better analogy for us is the decline of the Roman Republic. Caesar was a war hero who became a dictator, an autocrat. There was an erosion of democratic values. All dictators are dangerous, whether on the right or on the left.

Trump is a modern phenomenon, a populist who wants power. He appeals to the gripes of the masses. Society is becoming more oligarchical, with governments and elites looking after themselves. I’m pessimistic they can balance their interests with those of the plebes. Average people are getting screwed. Populists feign interest in their resentment and seize power. They promise to address the issues but don’t fix anything.

WHAT ADVICE DO YOU HAVE FOR PEOPLE TRYING TO STAY SANE THESE DAYS? CF: Try to lead a balanced life, enjoying your family and your hobbies. Limit time on social media so you don’t go spiraling down. Be generous with other folks. They might have good reasons for their beliefs. Be civil. Don’t get into a mud fight with a pig. Preserve your mental health with a civil exchange of views. If you can’t, learn when to withdraw. Try to meet people with different backgrounds and interests. Join a bowling league.

It’s easier to demonize if you don’t interact with people.

WHAT’S THE ROLE OF CONSPIRACY THEORIES IN ALL THIS? CF: Conspiracy theories are based on skepticism about experts. People hold opinions that signal their identity to a group — the in-group versus the out-group. It’s been a rough year with COVID and the initial stumbles by public health. The vaccine debate has been going on for more than 20 years.

People are susceptible to conspiracy theories, as we know. The simple version is that the vaccine risks are far less than the diseases they prevent.

WHAT ROLE DOES THE NEWS MEDIA PLAY? CF: When I was a teenager we got three TV channels and they all said the same thing. Now we get caught in culture wars and live in parallel universes. Media voices cater to what we think is true. The news media have become sensationalist – a bad source of information. Make sure you don’t get sucked into this stuff. Media and social media want you to spend your time scrolling.

38 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

How Madness Shaped History: An Eccentric Array of Maniacal Rulers, Raving Narcissists, and Psychotic Visionaries. Prometheus Books (2020).

By Christopher J. Ferguson, psychology professor at Stetson University in Florida.

PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF THE ESATE OF YOUSUF KARSH

• CULTURE •

Karsh grabbed Churchill’s cigar, and the displeasure on his face created an image that came to symbolize Great Britain’s resolve against the Nazi menace.

A GIFT OF HISTORY Karsh’s ‘Roaring Lion’ photograph celebrates its 80th anniversary.

BY BRUCE SACH

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 39

• CULTURE •

T

oday we live in yet another era of innocent people caught in the crosshairs. When I see heart-wrenching images of refugees caught between borders or in lands hostile to them, I sometimes despair.

In contrast, some stories show the reverse – how a stranger travels to a strange land and rises to opportunity. These stories show how in essence people are much more similar than they are different. The question: do they get the opportunities needed to move ahead?

The story of Yousuf Karsh is truly inspiring. He came to Canada in 1923, alone, as a 15-year old, fleeing the Armenian genocide. His family had been living as refugees in Aleppo, Syria and sent him to live with a maternal uncle in Canada. He spoke little French, and less English.

As an adult, Karsh never brought up his childhood, which, by any standard, was horrifying.

He was four years old at the time of the massacres and remembered them.

Karsh won the contest, and a hefty $50 back in the 1930s. He eventually moved to Boston where he apprenticed with photographer John Garo.

There, he was introduced to many of the cultural intelligentsia of the time. When he opened his studio in Ottawa, he soon became involved with the Ottawa Little Theatre, where he used artificial lighting for the first time.

During World War II, as a sign of gratitude to his adopted country, he photographed servicemen without fee so that if something should happen to them, their families would have a remembrance.

It was his friendship with prime minister Mackenzie King that opened doors for Karsh, including the famous, unannounced appointment with Sir Winston Churchill.

IN LIVING COLOUR In January, 1965 my local newspaper, The Edmonton Journal, published its first-ever 40 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

The photo that won Karsh first place in the first contest he was ever involved with (a friend submitted the image for him).

colour photo. More accurately, it was a colour reproduction of a painting of Sir Winston Churchill, used to announce the great leader’s death. Such was the impact of the colour image, and its subject, that I have never forgotten it.

Little did I know then, that one of the most famous portraits of the 20th century was the black-and-white image of Churchill as a scowling parliamentarian, known as “The Roaring Lion.”

Many Canadians know that the photographer was Yousuf Karsh, but it is not as well known that the image was shot in Ottawa, in the Parliament Buildings.

The 80th anniversary of this classic portrait will take place in December, 2021. Karsh, who was known internationally as “Karsh of Ottawa,” had his studio just down the road on Ottawa’s Sparks Street in the Hardy Arcade.

The story behind the photo is worth telling.

Karsh had only a few moments to take his photo in the Speaker’s Chamber behind the House of Commons. It was December, 1941, and Churchill had just delivered his famous “some chicken, some neck” speech about the threat of Nazi Germany.

PHOTO CREDIT: COURTESY OF THE ESATE OF YOUSUF KARSH

As a teenager, he moved to Sherbrooke, Québec and lived with his photographer uncle. He got his hands on a camera, and, unbeknownst to him, a friend in Sherbrooke entered one of his photos in a contest.

• CULTURE •

Boldly, Karsh grabbed Churchill’s cigar away from him, and the resulting displeasure on Churchill’s face created the best-known image of Churchill and one that came to symbolize Great Britain’s resolve against the Nazi menace.

Why the “Roaring Lion”? Churchill reportedly said that Karsh “can even make a roaring lion stand still to be photographed.”

It would become one of the most widely reproduced pictures in the history of photography.

Karsh eventually moved into the Château Laurier, the huge railway hotel right next to the Parliament Buildings, and lived and worked there for 18 years.

A bust of Karsh now graces the corner of the block where the Château Laurier sits. It attracts attention due to its strange configuration – a box camera is used as Karsh’s torso.

Meanwhile, the Château Laurier has just renovated the room that Karsh and his wife, Estrellita, lived in from 1980 until 1998. Yes, they lived in the hotel for those 18 years and used another room on the sixth floor as a studio.

Visitors pay a premium price to stay at this private gallery and hotel suite containing Karsh masterpieces. Estrellita Karsh chose the photographs that the couple donated to the hotel, most of which are in the Karsh suite. Think Ernest Hemmingway, Pablo Picasso, Barbara Ann Scott, and Karen Kain.

PHOTO CREDIT: @CAROLE JOBIN

Other original, iconic Karsh photographs are on display for all to see in the reading lounge of the hotel off the main lobby. These include portraits of Albert Einstein, Georgia O’Keefe, Stephen Leacock and, of course, the one of Sir Winston Churchill.

As today’s tourists pass by the Parliament Buildings and Château Laurier, it’s somehow comforting to know that Karsh was a bona fide Ottawan. Even when he was internationally famous, he would go for morning walks along the Parliament Buildings, chatting with whomever was there.

It was this genuine interest in the people around him that was one of the keys to his success. As his widow Estrellita Karsh explains, “Mr. Karsh had a way of putting people at ease, it didn’t matter if you were a waitress or a president – he had that talent.”

The Karsh statue located at the corner of the Chateau Laurier on Wellington in Ottawa.

Some were easier than others. The philosophersage Bertrand Russell was surprisingly obliging, considering his reputation for disputation. When Karsh pointed this out, Russell responded, “The best occupation of the crocodile is to wait.”

When he prepared for a shoot, Karsh would spend time the day before getting to know the subject.

Later in his career, he was sometimes better known than the subject, so his people skills were put to the test even more.

“When he became famous, he had to spend time bringing the subject to the point where it was an equal distribution of friendship,” said Mrs. Karsh.

And the famous “Roaring Lion” portrait – how did that come about?

Mrs. Karsh deadpans, “That was a gift of history.”

Edmonton-born Bruce Sach is a writer who lives in Ottawa.

He is constantly on the lookout for aspects of the capital unknown to most.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 41

• COVER STORY: JANN ARDEN •

Two sides of the same coin: Jann Arden can be both serious and funny – at the same time.

42 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• JANN ARDEN •

WHO IS THE REAL

JANN

ARDEN?

Singer-songwriter, musician, writer, environmentalist, social activist, nature lover, citizen of the world. Then there’s “TV JANN,” the disorganized diva. Can one woman really play all these roles?

PHOTO CREDIT COURTESY OF CTV

BY DAVID HOLT

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 43

• COVER STORY: JANN ARDEN •

O

ften the stuff you don’t like in others is the parts of yourself you prefer to keep hidden, even from yourself. In psychology, they use the term alter ego to refer to the other you. Carl Jung called it the “shadow self.” The more we deny this other side, the more it shows up in our world. But we still don’t see it in ourselves. It’s the other people we see as the problems in our lives. It’s all their fault. Well, not really.

One reason we admire actors, and all entertainers in fact, is that they get to play roles. They put on different masks and explore different sides of themselves. Especially the bad stuff. We love to watch villains. When the rest of us act out, we may lose our relationships or our jobs, and even go to jail. These guys get paid for it.

QA &

GOING OVER YOUR CAREER, THE WORDS THAT POP INTO MY MIND ARE “NO BOUNDARIES,” BECAUSE YOU DO MANY THINGS AND YOU ALSO SAY WHAT PEOPLE THINK BUT DON’T SAY OUT LOUD.

JANN ARDEN: I just like doing a lot of things. I think people are so wound up in thinking they need to be good at things. And you don’t, you just do things. It’s about having a purposeful life. I’m not really great at anything I do. I’m not trying to be humble. I’m a good songwriter. I’m a good singer.

I’m a good actor. But I’m not Michael Bublé, I’m not Meryl Streep. Those people are exceptional.

I’m not a great writer. I’m a good writer. But that does not keep me from doing things I like to do.

44 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

Canadian icon Jann Arden is doubly blessed.

She has been writing and performing songs for decades. Now she is the co-developer and star of her own CTV series JANN, loosely based on her own life. “TV Jann,” as she calls this alter ego, is a pampered disorganized diva.

Real Jann lives in the country, but within Calgary city limits. Covid has isolated her from people, but she still writes songs, makes “TV Jann,” and tries to get along with skunks, cougars and bears. It’s nature, protecting animals, healthy eating and all that related stuff that has become her main focus.

In some ways “TV Jann” is not at all like the “real Jann.” But in some ways she is. In the following conversation, Jann gets into the details of both personalities.

AND THAT’S A GOOD LESSON FOR YOUR AVERAGE PERSON BECAUSE WE ALL HAVE OUR INSECURITIES. BUT NONETHELESS, I THINK YOU ARE, IF YOU’RE NOT GREAT, YOU’RE VERY GOOD AND YOU DO HAVE A HUGE RANGE.

JA: I appreciate that. And in the arts, it’s always subjective so you’re going to have people that have a very acute disdain for your work and you’re going to have people that champion you on your worst day.

I REMEMBER YOU SAID YOU DID LOTS OF MUSIC IN YOUR BASEMENT AT HOME, AND IT WAS A BIG DEAL WHEN YOU STARTED TO PLAY YOUR MUSIC FOR YOUR FAMILY AND THAT TOOK A CERTAIN COURAGE.

JA: I think it is just that leap of faith and none of us want to be judged. And I think my family knew me in a certain light as a teenager and I didn’t play anything in front of my parents until I graduated at 18. It was at the Palliser Hotel, downtown Calgary.

I borrowed a guitar and played a song that I had made up for my fellow graduates. My mom and dad were both taken aback because they didn’t know how many hours I had spent mimicking Bette Midler, Olivia Newton John, Rita Coolidge, Abba and Natalie Cole. I don’t know if it’s courage or just exhaustion of keeping up a façade. You have to live your truth.

• JANN ARDEN •

ONE THING I LIKE ABOUT THE JANN SHOW IS THAT YOU’RE ALWAYS SAYING WHAT SOMEBODY WOULD BE THINKING BEHIND THE SCENES. YOU SAY IT OUT LOUD AND IT’S FUNNY BUT IT’S ALSO KIND OF REAL.

JA: We have great writers but they mirror my own life a lot. It’s fictitious but I think there’s a part of my character that is much bolder than I would ever be. I think “TV Jann” does not care at all what people think, but that also comes with getting older. I like that my character and I absolutely share that, the damn-the-torpedoes kind of vibe.

You can’t be concerned about what other people think because they’re so worried about their own lives and how people are perceiving them. It’s almost laughable how that chain seems to unfold because we’re all looking at each other. Those who are judging us are being judged right back. It’s kind of a train wreck.

HOW DO YOU START OFF FIGURING OUT THE BASIC PLOT LINE? BECAUSE YOU ARE ONE OF THE WRITERS, CORRECT?

JA: I’m not a writer but I do all the storyboards with Jennica Harper. My co-creator Leah Gautier and I brought Jennica, our showrunner, into the fold early on. Her sensibility, her ideas for the show, how she perceived it. The three of us get together for a few days and we knock out the big blocks of who lives and dies, who gets kicked off the island. It’s fun, deciding what those characters are going to do.

Then we take it to the writing room. In normal times, all the writers come to my house in Rocky View County and everybody stays here and we just have a week of laughing and eating. But we wrote season three over Zoom. I think it still works but we certainly miss the camaraderie. We break it down into the eight episodes and then the scenes.

For a 22-minute scripted comedy, every line has to be purposeful because you only have a short period of time to tell your story.

I LIKE THE WAY YOU USE THE PHRASE “TV JANN.” DO YOU LOOK IN THE MIRROR AND SEE SOMEBODY WHO’S SORT OF LIKE YOU AND SORT OF NOT?

JANN’S BACK A comedy about fame, fortune, and a diva in denial, CTV Original comedy series JANN returns for its third season Mondays at 7 p.m.

ET/PT on CTV, CTV.ca, and the CTV app.

Set and filmed in Calgary and featuring cocreator and star Jann Arden as a fictionalized version of herself, Season 3 consists of eight half-hour episodes.

A star that’s fading and a family in need of help, Jann (Arden) takes her life, career, and relationships into her own hands – but will the same old antics ensue? After months without a manager and letting everything in her life (including paying the power bill) slide, she hires a personal assistant, commits to making a new album from the heart, and after her girlfriend refused her marriage proposal, starts dating someone new…a younger man.

Confirmed to guest star on the series’ third season is Grammy® Award-winning Canadian singer-songwriter Michael Bublé as himself, with cameos from JUNO Award-winning Canadian indie pop band Tegan and Sara and Canadian singer-songwriter Bif Naked.

Joining the cast of JANN in leading roles are Canadian actors Tenaj Williams and Charlie Kerr. Williams stars as Trey, Jann’s new personal assistant, while Kerr plays Nate, who finds himself in a love triangle with Jann and her ex-girlfriend Cynthia.

Also returning are Zoie Palmer as Jann’s sister Max; Deborah Grover as Jann’s mom Nora; Patrick Gilmore as Jann’s brother-in-law Dave; Elena Juatco as Jann’s fired manager Cale; Jason Blicker as Jann’s former manager Todd; Sharon Taylor as Jann’s ex-girlfriend Cynthia; Alexa Rose Steele as Jann’s eldest niece Charley; Ceilidh MacDonald as Jann’s niece Sam; and Keaira Pliva as Jann’s niece Frankie.

JA: I don’t see a lot of similarities except that I really don’t care what people think, although I’m hurt if people are mean to me. I don’t have the suit of iron on all the time. People are very rarely SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 45

• COVER STORY: JANN ARDEN •

mean to me though. TV Jann has no concept of the trail of disaster she leaves in her wake and I don’t live my life that way. She’s my alter ego. I’m glad I’m not like her. She could be quite shallow in relationships. It’s very much to do with what is in it for her. I think the physical comedy leads into that likeability factor. People like seeing Jann fall and stumble and trip.

ACTING AT THE BEGINNING OF TIME IN THE CAVE WAS ALWAYS VERY PHYSICAL, FROM CHARLIE CHAPLIN AND BUSTER KEATON TO LAURA DERN.

JA: And the Three Stooges, Lucille Ball, and Carol Burnett. I think you have to commit to physical comedy. Most of the stuff I do myself. I have a wonderful stunt double, Megan Reneau, who is so fearless, talented, and athletic and all the things that I’m not, because the show does not want me to get hurt.

HOW OLD WERE YOU WHEN YOU REALIZED YOU ASPIRED TO HAVE A CREATIVE LIFE AND NOT JUST GET A GREAT JOB AND FOLLOW THAT PATH?

That’s human nature. The problem is when you attach the idea of fame or money to creativity, that’s when it gets tangled up because people lose focus of the actual task that’s making them happy. The less you care about money, the more of it you’ll have. And as soon as you give it away, it comes back to you. I never wanted to be famous.

That didn’t hold any value to me whatsoever. And I liken it to social media, where you’re trying to monetize likes. And I feel for the millions of kids who spend an inordinate amount of time curating nonsense.

THE CREATIVE PEOPLE I KNOW ALWAYS RETAIN THE ABILITY TO MOVE TOWARD WHAT INTERESTS THEM.

‘Nobody takes advice. Even when they ask for it, they’re going to do their own thing.’

JA: You can’t remove obstacles and you can’t even inform their lives. You can’t even point them in a direction. People always think that they can do that with their kids, their grandkids, their friends or colleagues. You cannot.

Nobody takes advice. Even when they ask for it, they’re going to do their own thing.

JA: I don’t think I ever got to a point where I aspired to have a creative life. I wanted to be a school teacher.

But music just kept picking at me and dragging me back to open mic nights and wedding bands and weekend stuff. I think my songwriting is what finally led me to get a record deal. I was working with a guy who was actively sending my songs to every record label on the planet. I was turned down for nearly five years.

People remove obstacles from their kids because they don’t want them to get hurt. People are going to get hurt. It’s an integral part of developing as a human being. It gives you empathy. It’s hard to understand hardship when you haven’t faced IT yourself. I feel bad for people whose lives are exempt from painful things. I don’t think that’s what human life is about. I think it’s about taking all those hard things into your heart.

THAT’S AMAZING.

WHAT ARE THE BIG THREATS TO OUR SOCIETY?

JA: I never thought it was going to happen in a million years. And here I am. I’ve been with Universal for almost 30 years.

JA: I think it’s eating meat, wrecking the planet, using plastic, chopping down forests. We’re in a lot of trouble. Social issues are going to be a moot point because we’re going to be in triage mode.

We’re going to be trying to figure out how to find fresh water. People think that’s 1,000 years away and it’s probably 40 years away. They’re already in so much trouble in California. And I think COVID, we’re going to be dealing with it for another 20 years. This thing’s going to keep mutating and I’m not being the harbinger of doom. This thing will be persistent and it’s going to interrupt how we live

CREATIVITY CAN BE A CURSE BECAUSE IF YOU REALLY HAVE SOMETHING IN YOU, YOU’RE JUST GOING TO DO IT NO MATTER WHAT.

JA: It’s a natural thing for a human being to do.

It’s not just for some people. Every human being is creative. We just want to do things. You want to say ‘I was here’ and you want to make stuff.

46 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• JANN ARDEN •

our lives.

PHOTO CREDIT COURTESY OF CTV

LET’S TALK ABOUT THE MEAT ISSUE. WHEN DID YOU START THINKING ABOUT THAT IN A PERSONAL WAY?

JA: I haven’t eaten red meat for almost 20 years. And then in the last five years I’ve been completely vegan, for a lot of reasons. People think about climate change and what they can do. You can change your diet. Eating, especially the bigger mammals, beef, grazing animals – they’re taking down the Amazon to graze cattle. It’s about Big complicated family: The cast of JANN what can make more money. We can sell the lumber off, great, but “What skin cream do you use?” I’m like, “It’s not a lot of these places, they’re just burning down skin cream. I just eat a shit pile of vegetables.” the forest. They’re not even using the trees. It’s frightening. You can grow trees, but you can’t TELL ME ABOUT ONE OF YOUR MAIN INTERESTS: regrow a forest. It’s going to take the earth ADVOCACY FOR HORSES. hundreds of years if not millennia to grow it back.

JA: It’s the live export of the horses from Alberta I feel like I’m contributing to a solution with the to Japan, a horrendous thing. I’ve been on that for way I eat. And I’m very vocal about it. If I can two years, so people understand what happens convince people to have a couple of less pork to these horses, that they’re purpose bred, that chops. Never mind the cruelty factor, that’s a they live their entire lives in feedlots, standing whole other thing that is so appalling. up to their knees in shit. And then they’re packed I think it affects the karma of the entire world. into crates. They can’t even move, no food, no They had a festival in Bangladesh, where water. They’re just terrified. Eat what you want. everyone wants to sacrifice to a certain God and I’m not going to tell you what to eat. That’s not there’s almost 15 million animals that are used our purpose at all but I am going to tell you what’s for sacrifice in people’s backyard like a frickin’ right and wrong. barbecue. They think that’s going to get them And these guys ride their horses around the to where they’re going. It’s a shame to see these feedlot to count their money. It’s not even a antiquated ideas about animals. sliver of our gross national product. It’s not It’s heartbreaking but I also have to find balance. hard working Canadians who are going to lose I do a lot of animal advocacy and I know that I thousands of jobs. It’s literally five guys and have to sleep and I have to be well. And there’s a they’ve been doing it since 2006. They came up great deal of fatigue that comes with any kind of from the States because it was banned in the work that you do on behalf of other animals or United States in 2006. the planet or whatever else. You can get buried because people can be very aggressive with you.

WHERE DO THE HORSES COME FROM? And so I’ve found a balance. I can live my life and have a happy life and still be an advocate the way I want to be. And be a champion for eating plants and “saving the world one bite at a time,” I always say. And I feel amazing. I’m glad there’s lots of benefits to it as well. People are always asking me,

JA: They’re shipping about 125,000 horses now up from the States and Mexico to slaughter here in Canada. Canada’s one of the biggest providers of horse meat in the world. And Alberta is a sore spot for me just because it’s horse country, the Musical Ride, the Calgary Stampede. It’s been a SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 47

• COVER STORY: JANN ARDEN •

very clandestine operation and they hate the fact that I’m bringing so much attention to it. We will end it. I’m never going to stop.

The internet for all its hideous qualities has been a real eye-opener to people. They are getting much more educated on what industrial farming is and how awful it is. And it’s not good karmically. It’s not good for our spirits and our souls. These are our fellow travelers. We’re on this little planet hurtling through the cosmos and we have roommates that are traveling with us. Within decades, we’re going to be missing 60% of the species that we now share this planet with. You see Instagram people curating their trips on yachts and having their champagne at sunset and they’re looking at nature, but they’re not part of it.

them get too big. And there’s been an exodus from New York City. They thought I cannot be stuck on a little island with five bridges that are my only way off.

LET’S FOCUS ON YOUR MUSIC CAREER. YOU’VE JUST FINISHED ANOTHER ALBUM.

JA: I finished recording it in last December. It will be out in 2022. I wrote a lot about my ancestors and my dad and a lot of things kind of made it in.

I worked with an old colleague of mine, Russell Broom. It really kept me occupied during COVID. It was a godsend.

YOU’VE SPENT A LOT OF TIME LOOKING AFTER YOUR PARENTS IN THE FINAL STAGES OF THEIR LIVES. IS THAT SOMETHING THAT’S COMING INTO YOUR MUSIC NOW?

‘I’m like, “It’s not skin cream. I just eat a shit pile of vegetables.”’

I live in the country. I live in a piece of land that’s a forest. And I think it’s saved me from a lot of really shitty things. Because what I look at when I get up in the morning is nothing short of incredible. And I’ve worked hard to create this for myself. I will always be the steward of this little piece of land for as long as I live and I’m going to do whatever I can to protect it. I’m in an old-growth Douglas fir forest with bears and herds of deer. I’ve got four skunks living under my deck right now and we all get along. They’re used to my dog.

I think this has allowed me to do my work in a specific way. I’ve never written more. I finished a record this year. Doing all of season three from here while I looked out into the trees. It changes how I perceive myself and how it affects the work that I do. I’m really grateful for this. I hope COVID has made people pine a little bit more for the outdoors. People were beelining it to take their kids for a walk and take their masks off and get some air. It’s been good for us.

PEOPLE ARE SCOUTING FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD TO GET LAND IN RURAL AREAS. THEY ARE REALIZING THEY DON’T HAVE TO JUST LIVE AND DIE IN CITIES. THERE’S DEFINITELY SOME BENEFITS TO COVID.

JA: Well, it’s a system that doesn’t work very well, does it? Cities are all fine and dandy but we’ve let 48 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

JA: For sure. I think about the things I would’ve liked to have asked my dad. He was hard to talk to. I think a lot of kids experience that with their dads, especially growing up in the sixties and the seventies. My dad worked hard and he drank hard and he wanted to be left alone on the weekends. I don’t think he even knew our birthdays.

SOMEBODY IN YOUR BACKGROUND PLAYED THE GUITAR.

JA: My mom took lessons when I was quite young.

I picked up my mom’s guitar. She kind of gave it up. I think she was just looking for something to do with her time. My mom worked part time but I think she wanted to do something for herself.

And I think her guitar lessons coincided with my hockey practices. I’ve still got the guitar and the songbook she bought.

WHEN YOU’RE YOUNG, YOU’RE VERY CRITICAL OF YOUR PARENTS AND THEIR GENERATION. THEN LATER YOU LOOK BACK AND YOU SAY, “GEE, THEY DID A LOT OF THINGS RIGHT.”

JA: I think a lot of people feel that way. There’s stuff I want to ask my mom about, where did this and that come from? My dad left a huge anvil behind which I have in my front yard. It’s kind of a sculpture. I would have liked to have asked my dad where he got this anvil.

WHEN YOU ARE SURROUNDED BY TREES, SOMETHING WITHIN YOU SHIFTS. THERE’S INFORMATION THAT GETS OVERWHELMED

BY MODERN LIFE.

JA: And it’s literally taking those few minutes to spend time in trees.

I think my trees are very aware when I walk through my little forest and I often picture the roots holding hands underground. One of the loveliest books that I’ve read in the last five years is Richard Powers’s The Overstory. It’s these converging stories about trees and the lives of the people that spend their lives with these trees. I don’t get why people don’t love trees. I love them.

MY FATHER WAS A FORESTER FROM NORWAY. HE USED TO PLANT TREES FROM ALL OVER THE WORLD IN NOVA SCOTIA, JUST TO SEE IF THEY WOULD GROW.

JA: Yay. Those are my people. My entire property’s forested. I have 14 acres here and I’m right backed up onto the Elbow River, which runs through Calgary. I walk around with an airhorn tucked in my belt.

There’s cougars. I’ve had a couple of bears that are very persistent.

They like sitting in my pond. They’re not bothering me. I just have to be mindful. We’re sharing a piece of land.

Never mind that, this was Indigenous land. And here I am, a colonial owning land and I think about it all the time. And then you add the animals that live here on top of that. I just try and assimilate myself and the animals know it. I’ll blow the air horn at the bear if I’m out watering the garden because I’m like, “Dude, you got to move along.”

JANN has received seven Canadian Screen Award nominations, including a nomination for Best Comedy Series. JANN continues to be led by Emmy® Award-winning producer Andrew Barnsley; Ben Murray, President of Project 10; Tom Cox and Jordy Randall of Playback’s Production Company of the Year: SEVEN24 Films, and Randy Lennox. Season 3 is directed by Ron Murphy. JANN Co-creators are Jann Arden, Jennica Harper, and Leah Gauthier.

Jann Arden and showrunner Jennica Harper are the recipients of a Writers Guild of Canada Screenwriting Award for Best Comedy Series. JANN was co-developed by Bell Media and Project 10 Productions, and is produced in association with Project 10 Productions, and SEVEN24 Films. JANN is created by Jann Arden, Leah Gauthier, and Jennica Harper who also serve as Executive Producers with Jennica Harper Showrunning. For Bell Media, Chris Kelley is Production Executive; Sarah Fowlie is Head of Production. Seasons 1 and 2 of JANN are currently available for streaming on CTV.ca, the CTV app, and Crave, and in the United States on Hulu, in anticipation of the Season 3 premiere.

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• COVER STORY: DEBORAH GROVER •

Living in a bubble

BY DAVID HOLT

Grover can relate to the character of Nora, who is based on Jann Arden’s real mother, the late Joan Richards. Like Richards, Grover also made career sacrifices to look after her children when they were growing up.

In season 3 of JANN, Nora experiences earlystage dementia. “Playing her is an unbelievable experience,” says Grover. “This is a wonderful challenge from an actress’s point of view. Nora’s experience has an impact on the entire family.

Everybody is learning. There is fear of the unknown, but it is not all dark. There is crazy laughter. It is a tricky dance. We try to find the truth and the humor.”

Grover is also inspired by working with Jann Arden. “She sets the tone and also brings her joy and wacky sense of humor to the project,” says Grover. “She has gathered us to create the story loosely based on her experience. It is gratifying to be part of it. Retelling her mother’s story with humour and love gets people thinking. It is starting a conversation.”

Grover also says that “Jann is not afraid to fail. She is pushing our creative boundaries.”

Jann has not had an easy life, she says. “She had to deal with a troubled brother and looked after both her parents in their declining years. When Jann was young she would escape to the basement to find solace in music. Later she went through her alcohol phase. Then she found a new healthy lifestyle. She lives her life consciously. As an actor she’s so present and available.”

The show is on: Deborah Grover as Nora, Jann Arden as “TV JANN” and friend.

50 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

PHOTO CREDIT COURTESY OF CTV

D

eborah Grover, who plays “TV Jann’s” mother Nora in the show, has learned to pace herself in a challenging acting career.

All this while playing her own family roles as wife and mother.

• COVER STORY •

Grover has a sense of gratitude for what life has given her. “The arts opened doors for me,” she says. She studied acting and dance as a girl, took classes at the National Arts Center in Ottawa, went to the Ryerson theatre school and did two summers at the Banff Centre.

But it hasn’t been easy. “When I was younger, I put a lot of my energy into raising two lovely girls,” she says. “Then I would rush out the door for an audition.”

As an older actor, she finds it liberating to work with minimal makeup. “I look at the young women with all their makeup,” she says. “They see this on Instagram. Everything tells them what they should be like. Now I’m an older girl and I can just be who I am. I embrace that.”

Indeed, Grover has embraced a natural healthy life for decades. She enjoys cycling, kayaking, swimming, exercise classes, yoga and Pilates.

“It’s important to keep moving,” she says.

She is concerned so many young people seem to have embraced a sedentary lifestyle. “They say sitting is the new smoking,” she says. “I see children just sitting in front of screens all day.”

She maintains a plant-based diet. “I haven’t eaten red meat in 40 years,” she says. “I still have some fish occasionally and enjoy a glass of wine in moderation.”

This lifestyle helps in a career where she needs to sustain her energy through long days of shooting.

The workday can be 12 to 14 hours, depending on how many scenes she has. Like other actors, she has created her own quick form of meditation to help her recharge between scenes.

“The sets are very active places,” she says. “You have to pace yourself to get through the day. As an actor, you need to create your own bubble.

Sometimes I take a quiet moment to go in the corner and shut my eyes and breathe.”

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• MIND •

© ISTOCK / WICHATSURIN

The Hindu God Ganesha is associated with wisdom – and good luck.

52 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

• MIND •

ANCIENT WISDOM FOR MODERN ANGST We’ve longed to be out and about, but for many post-pandemic anxiety is taking the joy out of life. Therapeutic yoga can help.

BY LISA GREENBAUM

A

fter the intensity of nearly a year and a half waiting out this global pandemic and months of praying, begging and pleading to the powers that be to ease restrictions, a brandnew fear arose. What will it be like to step back out into the world again?

Most of us expected that once openings were announced, all our anxieties would slip away.

Yet for many, it only made them increase. After living so long under stay-at-home-orders, social distancing and no group gatherings, including with our loved ones, we’ve become like prisoners tasting freedom for the first time, grateful, overwhelmed, and maybe even afraid all at the same time.

This is exactly how I felt and I was surprised.

Where being out and about amid the hustle of people all around was something I always loved, now it drives anxiety. I worry about making others feel uncomfortable if I’m too close and then I feel claustrophobic with so many people close by.

I worry about being awkward and saying dumb things because I’ve forgotten how to speak to strangers. My senses are overloaded quickly just by leaving my house that I need extra down time to recover from it all. Sometimes I don’t want to leave at all.

The more I talked to people, the more I realized many others were feeling the same way. It was time to dig a little deeper into my Yoga practice and explore my tools for grounding.

The concept of grounding is used by mental health professionals as part of their mindfulness programs.

Grounding establishes feelings of safety in our bodies, helping us to become more present and thereby releasing feelings of unease and anxiety.

These very concepts and exercises have their roots in ancient Yoga. We develop the ability to clear our monkey minds and turn down the endless feedback loops that are often the precursor to anxiety.

Where do we start?

For me it’s coming right back to the earth. I love to put my bare feet on the grass and spend more time outside in nature, sitting in the shade reading a book or drinking tea. Gardening and re-potting my house plants become special rituals.

More specific tools from Yoga include: GUIDED MEDITATION: check out this free GUIDED MEDITATION FOR GROUNDING I recorded on Neurovine: neurovine.ai/grounding-meditation?hsLang=en.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 53

• MIND •

STAY SAFE – BUT DON’T STRESS ABOUT IT Recently, Melissa Couto Zuber of the CBC reported that “safety habits formed during the pandemic, and continued messages from officials about COVID risk, can stir up anxiety as people try navigating a world with eased restrictions.”

Surveys from across North America suggest around half of us have some anxiety about reopening, said Dr. Sanjeev Sockalingam, a psychiatrist and clinical scientist at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health.

“Those fears can bring other anxieties to the forefront. People who lost loved ones or experienced other life-altering events such as changing jobs or moving to new cities might find themselves having to redefine their identity and new roles in society.”

BREATH WORK: something I do several times a day; the bonus is it helps with heart health too by improving cardiovascular ability.

Three-part breath is simple and effective. Place one hand on your chest, one hand on your belly and as you breathe in through your nose feel your belly expand. Continue to breathe in, feeling your breath in your ribs and finally, at the last part of your breath, in your chest. Exhale slowly from your chest, ribs and belly. Practice this 5-10 times, either seated or lying down.

Box breathing involves a square-shaped breath pattern. Inhale and slowly count to 5. Hold your breath for the same count of 5. Exhale, again to a count of 5 and then hold your breath out for 5. Try this 5-7 times, again either seated or lying down.

Breath work (or pranayama in Yoga) is the quickest and most effective way to stave off feelings of anxiety naturally. The best part is it’s free and you can do it anywhere and at any time.

Simply noticing your breath and working to slow 54 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

it down by breathing in and out of your nose instead of your mouth can quickly reduce the anxiety response.

I hope these tools help you as well as we continue to navigate the unknown, which is really what life is all about anyway, isn’t it?

I have enjoyed sharing my Yoga tips with you over the last few issues, if you are looking for more Yoga Therapy resources, please visit my website: lisagreenbaum.com.

Lisa Greenbaum, E-RYT 500 and C-IAYT yoga therapist, has worked with many individuals by using yoga to release trauma, find ease from chronic pain and tension and develop a deeper connection to mind, body and spirit. She has over 750 hours of yoga education and logged 4,000+ teaching hours. She is also a certified fitness instructor and personal trainer with canfitpro, and a Women in Fitness Association (WIFA) Global Ambassador.

lisagreenbaum.com

© ISTOCK / FLUXFACTORY

There are lots of other free resources on YouTube, or apps such as Insight Timer or Calm.

• YOGA FOR RUNNERS •

CREATING AN EFFICIENT STRIDE © ISTOCK / MHEIM3011

Exercises based on yoga are a great way to improve the strength and flexibility runners need. Building from the ground up, let’s start with the feet.

BY CHRISTINE FELSTEAD

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• YOGA FOR RUNNERS •

E

volved from our hunter-gatherer ancestry, running is a natural movement for the human body. There is also a built-in efficiency in a natural running stride and beauty in watching the graceful and efficient propulsion of the legs and arms in moving the body forward. This type of stride seems effortless and is often accompanied by relaxed and calm facial features.

However, it is common to see running strides that are choppy, heavy, less than efficient, burdensome, and mostly accompanied by tense body language and facial features.

The body carriage and habits we have developed through our body’s history, from childhood to present day, and daily movement patterns carry over to how we run. Running requires a coordinated effort of the entire body, from feet to head, with each part requiring its own balance of mobility and strength. A limitation or imbalance in one part of the body will have a compensatory effect elsewhere.

While it’s helpful to understand specific muscles and joints, it’s important to keep in mind the inter-dependency of the parts as they interact to function as a whole. The body’s connective tissue creates a matrix system of levers and pulleys, creating the biomechanics necessary for movement.

Movement efficiency comes from the parts working together in a coordinated and symbiotic manner. For this reason, it is important to train the entire body in a variety of ways versus seeking one stretch to fix a problem. Besides improving efficiency in your running stride, this also reduces risk of injury.

The biomechanics of efficient running includes a coordinated effort of many body parts from head to toes. If your exercise routine includes only running, some parts will become overused while the under-utilized parts will lose mobility and strength.

Let’s examine one small, but key, part of the body required for an efficient stride: the feet and ankles. The feet and ankles need to be strong and mobile to withstand the weight bearing impact of running. A problem in the foot or ankle can create problems up the body’s kinetic chain. Including 56 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

some footwork in your routine will pay big dividends.

For efficient movement patterns, the mobility and strength requirements in the feet and ankles include: 1. Three strong arches in the feet to provide a natural air sole for shock absorption. Exercising the feet can strengthen the arches to provide better cushioning.

2. Adequate mobility of the toes, specifically toe extension, is required to push off the back foot in propelling forward.

3. Joints are made for movement. There are 30 joints in each foot so they are naturally designed to be mobile. This mobility allows them to be responsive to their environment and adapt to the various twists and turns they encounter.

Ankle joints need to be strong and mobile.

When the leg is forward in stride, the ankle is in dorsiflexion (toes toward shin) as it lands.

This puts the spring in the step and lightens the landing. Lack of strength makes them susceptible to strain and lack of mobility creates a heavy landing and a shuffling stride.

Following are a few feet and ankle exercises to work on regularly:

HERO POSE For ankle and foot mobility. Start on knees with the tops of your feet on the floor. Sit hips back towards your heels, propped as needed so it’s comfortable.

Hold for up to 1 minute. Over time reduce the props as the tissue adapts.

• YOGA FOR RUNNERS •

HERO TOES

SIMPLE BALANCE

Improve toe mobility and strengthen the arches of your feet.

From Hero Pose lean forward and curl all your toes under.

Lean hips back towards your heels as tolerable.

Strengthen ankles.

Stand tall, spreading toes and press feet to the floor. Shift your weight onto one foot, without shifting your hips, and lift your other foot off the floor.

When you feel stable, close your eyes. Use arms to help hold your balance.

ANKLE DORSIFLEXION Improve ankle dorsiflexion.

Start by kneeling with one leg forward, and hands on the floor or blocks. Slide your knee forward, beyond your toes, while keeping your heel grounded. Hands can remain on the floor or extended forward for deeper stretch.

These exercises are included in the book Yoga for Runners by Christine Felstead. The book includes a comprehensive review of the body’s key joints and muscle groups related to running and general movement. Breathing and meditation are also examined as ways to enhance running.

Christine Felstead has an extensive history as a long-distance runner and yoga instructor. She married her twin passions and pioneered the yoga for runners concept in 2001. She teaches yoga classes, workshops and retreats for runners and endurance athletes. She has produced two best-selling DVDs on yoga for runners and a 6-episode educational series. She authored Yoga for Runners, 1st edition in 2014 and in August 2021 launched the 2nd edition. She resides in Toronto and recently has made her Yoga for Runners classes and workshops available online.

For additional information, visit:

www.yogaforrunners.com

P @yogaforrunners

Get your copy of Yoga for Runners at:

M @yogaforrunners

www.Canada.HumanKinetics.com

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• HOMEWORKIN.CA •

THE BEGINNER’S GUIDE TO

FACE EXERCISE

BY SUZANNE BECHARD

E

ver look in the mirror and wonder why no matter how much rest you’ve had, you still look tired? Where did all those droops and sags come from? Your sobering reflection may send you in search of the latest anti-aging miracle cream. After trying expensive moisturizers and serums, you watch helplessly as Father Time wreaks havoc with your jawline. What’s next?

Botox? Injectable dermal fillers? Surgery?

These days, media is filled with ads for injectable cosmetic treatments to reduce facial wrinkles and restore skin. This is no accident: the global facial injectable market size was valued at $13.4 billion US in 2020 and is expected to expand.

COVID-19 has increased time spent on video calls, known as “Zoom Boom.” This has made us more aware of our appearance, which fuels demand for cosmetic procedures. Do you want to hop on this beauty bandwagon? Are you willing to commit to a lifetime where you entrust someone to re-engineer your face in pursuit of fuller lips and more sculpted cheekbones?

Imagine how a muscle that has been repeatedly paralyzed “wears” on the face years later. Or the unnatural pouches that remain after years of injecting dermal fillers. Not to mention the expense.

As a passionate fitness instructor, the concept of injecting or paralyzing a muscle to smooth out a wrinkle never made sense to me. I have spent 58 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

years studying and testing how facial muscles respond to exercise.

I’m in my early fifties. When someone meets me, I frequently watch them puzzle over my age or try to spot cosmetic work. Through experience, I can confirm that enlarging a facial muscle through exercise will smooth the skin that lies over the muscle, reducing or eliminating wrinkles and restoring a youthful contour.

While there’s still little clinical research, a 2017 study conducted by Dr. Murad Alam, professor of dermatology at Northwestern University Feinberg School of Medicine, showed how a 30-minute facial exercise program sustained over 20 weeks improved the appearance of selected middleaged women. Participants notes significant improvement in many facial features. Besides a healthy diet, no smoking, and regular use of sunscreen, exercising the face is now clinically proven to be a natural way to correct droopy facial features.

I designed the following face strengthening program as an essential workout for anyone new to face exercises. I hope you will find this to be confidence-boosting and effective. In the privacy of your home, in just eight to 20 weeks you can preserve your natural beauty and restore your face to the toned and lifted look you had when you were younger.

• HOMEWORKIN.CA •

You have to do some work, but like anything worthwhile in life, you get out of it what you put into it.

5. Exercise the entire face to produce a wellbalanced facial contour, rather than just focusing on problem areas.

Shall we begin?

6. Allow one to two seconds between each repetition.

HOW TO PROCEED

7. Follow the recommended number of repetitions and try to feel the burn or muscle exhaustion in the working muscles.

1. Until you get used to exercising the face, exercise in front of a mirror to ensure you are activating only the desired muscles and relaxing the rest of the face.

2. Use a straight-backed chair to help you achieve healthy posture.

3. Exercise with a clean face and hands.

SCHEDULE Perform this workout daily for eight weeks. During weeks nine to 20, practice the exercises every other day (three to four times per week).

4. Be precise, concentrated, and methodical in your execution of each exercise.

BODY ALIGNMENT 1. Sit up straight and place feet flat on the floor and parallel to each other.

2. Lengthen through the back of your neck, lifting the back of your head.

Allow your chin to recede slightly so that your head is balanced on top of your spine.

PHOTOS BY @PALOMINO_DESIGNS

3. Find and maintain a central line through your face so that the center of your forehead, nose, mouth and chin line up with the notch at the middle of your collarbones.

4. Place your tongue flat along the roof of your mouth, trying to lift the back one-third of your tongue to your palate. Breathe in and out through your nose and become aware of the sensation of aliveness in your face, releasing any tension or stuck stress.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 59

• HOMEWORKIN.CA •

WARM UP This prevents fascia (connective tissue) from becoming glued to the skin or muscles it covers.

Improving the elasticity and resiliency of the facial fascia will enhance its ability to adapt to both concentric (shortening) and eccentric (lengthening) contractions in the workout routine.

1. Vigorously rub the palms of your hands together to generate heat and energy.

2. Place palms on both sides of your face, fingers up.

3. Press palms tightly into your face with enough force to press into the third layer of your skin.

4. Move your hands vertically up and down in a small range of motion several times.

5. Move your palms to a new location on the face and repeat until the entire face is treated (approximately five different locations).

FOREHEAD As our eye muscles weaken with age, we increasingly shorten and overwork the forehead muscles to open our eyes wider. This exercise will lengthen and strengthen the overworked forehead and lift hanging eyebrows while decreasing horizontal forehead lines.

1. Place the pads of your fingertips at the top of your head, fanning across the hairline. Relax your shoulders down and away from your ears.

2. Press firmly into your scalp and pull your fingertips back. Hold.

4. With your head erect, use five slow incremental movements to look down with your eyes. Your eyes should almost close.

5. Really feel a strong pull down with brows, eyes, and nose, stretching from your hairline to your lash line for a count of five, then slowly release.

6. Do this three to five times.

60 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

PHOTOS BY @PALOMINO_DESIGNS

3. Without using your forehead, open your eyes wide.

• HOMEWORKIN.CA •

EYES

UPPER CHEEKS

The sides of your fingers and thumbs will encircle your eyes like eyeglasses.

Contracting the circular eye muscles against the resistance provided by the hands will strengthen the entire eye area without wrinkling or creasing.

This exercise has the added benefit of increasing bone density of the orbital bones.

This exercise will lift the middle portion of your face by recreating the apples of your cheeks, which tend to flatten with age. To develop awareness of the cheek muscles, you may find it useful to touch your face very lightly with your fingertips throughout the exercise. The goal is to pull the corners of your mouth up towards the outer corners of your eyes so that you feel your cheek muscles pulling up at a 45-degree angle from your mouth’s corners.

1. Place the sides of your index fingers above each eyebrow along the upper orbital bones and the sides of your thumbs above the height of your nostrils along the lower orbital bones, so that your hands make an open circle around your eyes. Keep your head erect and your shoulders relaxed, and press your hands into your orbital bones.

2. Open your eyes wide with the help of your fingers but without using your forehead. Hold for five seconds.

3. Using the pressure of your hands as resistance, slowly close your eyes to a count of five.

4. Really feel your eye muscles tightening for a count of five, then slowly release.

5. Do this three to five times.

1. In five slow, incremental movements, use your cheek muscles to pull the corners of your mouth towards the outer corners of your eye in a strong, upward smile, making sure both corners of your mouth are level. Your upper lip should raise, showing as many upper teeth as possible.

2. Pause for a count of five after each lift and feel your cheek muscles simultaneously pulling your mouth’s corners higher with each lift.

3. When your cheek muscles are maximally contracted, tuck your lower lip over your bottom teeth to avoid tension in your lower mouth and jaw. Relax around your eyes.

4. Really feel your cheek muscles pulling your mouth’s corners up to a count of 10, then slowly release.

5. Do this three to five times.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 61

• HOMEWORKIN.CA •

LOWER CHEEKS To slim and shape your lower cheeks: 1. Firmly press the first three fingers of each hand flat on either side of your jawline in front of your ears and gently pull towards the back of your head. Hold.

2. Slightly lift your chin up and out until you feel moderate tension along your lower face.

3. Use your cheek muscles to suck your cheeks into your teeth for a count of 10.

4. Use your cheek muscles to pout your lips forward.

5. Really feel your cheek muscles as you make six to 10 exaggerated kissing movements, then slowly release.

6. Do this two to three times.

LOWER LIP Plump your lips and diminish lines around your mouth by using the pressure of your palms on the side of your face to provide extra resistance to make your mouth muscles work harder.

1. Place both palms firmly on the sides of your lower face and pull your hands towards your ears.

2. Use your mouth muscles to pull your lips flat against your teeth and press together. Hold your lips in this position so they are firm, full, together, and smiling slightly.

3. Hold your lower lip in position as the tip of your tongue presses firmly down in front of the lower teeth.

4. Really feel your lower lip and tongue in resistance for a count of five, then slowly release.

5. Do this three to five times.

1. Repeat steps 1 and 2 for Lower lip.

2. Position the tip of your tongue IN BETWEEN your lips.

3. Press your upper lip downward against your tongue while stiffening your tongue so that it does not move.

4. Really feel your upper lip and tongue in resistance for a count of five, then slowly release.

5. Do this three to five times.

62 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

PHOTOS BY @PALOMINO_DESIGNS

UPPER LIP

• HOMEWORKIN.CA •

JAWLINE The added resistance of your hands, which anchor the base of your neck just above your collarbone, make the muscles of both your neck and jawline work harder.

1. Cross your arms at the wrist and firmly press your hands around the base of your neck. Hold firmly.

2. Open your mouth slightly and smile, making sure to lift both mouth corners evenly.

3. Wrap your lower lip over your lower teeth and press your upper lip flat and full against your upper teeth.

4. Without unwrapping your lower teeth, drop your jaw open as far as possible.

5. Lift your jaw outward, then upward in a slow scooping motion as if trying to touch your nose with your bottom lip.

6. Really feel the upward pull against your hands and hold for a count of five and then slowly release.

7. Do this three to five times.

NECK The signs of aging often appear first in the neck area so strengthening your neck can lessen the appearance of lines in your neck and reduce double chins.

1. Lie on a flat surface, either the floor or a bed, with arms relaxed by your sides.

Straighten one leg and bend the other to keep the pelvis in a neutral alignment.

2. Pull your lips flat against your teeth with a tight, close-lipped smile. Lift your tongue high inside your mouth and press it tightly against the top and back of your palate.

3. Look at the ceiling and keep your chin retracted as you gently raise your head approximately half an inch off the floor.

4. Really feel the muscles of your neck and jawline working as you extend your jaw forward against the resistance of your tightly closed lips, for a count of 10.

5. Do as many head lifts as comfortable or until your muscles feel the burn.

6. Repeat steps 1-3, except turn your head from side-to-side, looking far left, then far right with your eyes.

7. Rhythmically lift and turn your head for a count of 40.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 63

• HOMEWORKIN.CA •

COOL DOWN This tapping technique not only relaxes your face by helping to release stuck stress and tension, but also increases circulation.

Remember to breathe.

1. With the pads of your middle fingers, tap 10 times. Make sharp, light, quick taps — like testing a hot iron.

2. Start just above your eyebrows, near the inner edge.

3. Move to your cheekbones (not in your eye sockets).

4. Tap up from your mouth’s corners to the sides of your nostrils.

5. Tap up from your chin to your ear lobes.

6. Do not tap on your jawbone but slightly above, on the fleshy area.

7. Close your eyes and take three deep breaths through your nose.

8. Enjoy the sensation of aliveness and vitality in your face.

NEXT STEPS

Suzanne Bechard, BPR, has studied extensively with advanced practitioners in movement therapy, stretch therapy, posture and various forms of dance. As a dance and fitness instructor, she has spent over 20 years practicing and refining techniques that enhance natural beauty, grace, and quality of life.

64 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

PHOTOS BY @PALOMINO_DESIGNS

To keep your muscles challenged and learn new workout routines, check out my classes on Facebook at Body by Suzanne, Face Toning. I offer tested techniques which build balanced facial muscles, release habitual facial tension, improve facial symmetry, strengthen and remodel facial bone, and rejuvenate the skin on the face and neck at a cellular level.

Love Where You Live My mother and I want to thank our employees for their dedication and loyalty to our residents and each other. We feel blessed to have such committed, caring people working together to deliver extraordinary customer service. Each of our buildings has a fabulous family-oriented culture where everyone feels respected and valued. Our employees have helped to create and maintain this positive, all-inclusive environment. Never has this been more obvious than during the pandemic. We could not have predicted such a turn of events, but it does not surprise us that our employees have navigated the changes, upheld the protocols, and solved any problems encountered along the way. Such is their engagement!

– Catherine Campbell

This mother-daughter team has been working together for over 17 years to provide seniors with apartment living and an active, engaged lifestyle. Diane Campbell is the President & CEO. It is her vision that has led the growth of this retirement living business. Their newest location, The Berkeley on Pepperell, is now open to new residents!

Personal, customized comfort and the freedom to live well in retirement.

That’s The Berkeley.

Pepperell | Dartmouth | Bedford | Gladstone

TheBerkeley.com (902) 802 0346

@TheBerkeleyNS

• HEALTHFUL GOURMET •

THESE RECIPES PUT THE COMFORT IN VEGAN

Excerpted from hot for food Vegan Comfort Classics. Copyright © 2018 by Lauren Toyota. Published by Penguin Canada, a division of Penguin Random House Canada Limited. Reproduced by arrangement with the Publisher. All rights reserved.

66 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

© ISTOCK / JCHIZHE

BY LAUREN TOYOTA PHOTOGRAPHY BY VANESSA HEINS

• HEALTHFUL GOURMET •

SLOPPY JOE ZUCCHINI BOATS

BY LAUREN TOYOTA MAKES 4 SERVINGS | PREP TIME 25 MINUTES, COOK TIME 70 MINUTES

Sure, you can make this sloppy joe filling and eat it on a soft kaiser, but that’s so basic. I want to give you a healthier option so you can eat even more sloppy joe stuff. You can round out these zucchini boats with garlic bread or rice on the side and serve as a meal. Or, if you’re too lazy to prep the zucchini altogether, just pour the sloppy joe mixture into an oven-safe dish, top with the vegan cheese shreds, and bake for 20 minutes until melty! Serve with slices of garlic toast for dipping, a perfect last-minute party appie.

INGREDIENTS 4 large zucchini 3 Tbsps olive oil, divided 1 cup finely chopped white or yellow onion (about 1 onion) 1 cup finely diced green bell pepper (about 1 pepper) 2 Tbsps coconut sugar or light brown sugar 2 Tbsps gluten-free tamari or low-sodium soy sauce 1 Tbsp minced garlic (about 2 large cloves) 2 tsps vegan beef-flavored bouillon base or 2 cubes 2 tsps chili powder 2 tsps onion powder 1 tsp smoked paprika 1 tsp sea salt 1 tsp ground black pepper 1 package (13.7 oz/390 g) veggie ground round (about 3 cups) 2 cups canned crushed fire-roasted tomatoes ¼ cup vegan Worcestershire 2 cups mixed vegan cheese shreds (1 cup each mozzarella and cheddar) 3 Tbsps Italian-style bread crumbs

DIRECTIONS Cut each zucchini in half lengthwise. Use a paring knife to score around the inside edge about 1⁄4 inch from the sides, being careful not to cut through the zucchini. Use a spoon to carefully scoop out the flesh.

Take 1 Tbsp of the oil and brush both sides of the zucchini boats with a light layer. Arrange the zucchini halves side-by-side on a large baking sheet with the hollowed parts facing up.

In a large nonstick pan, heat the remaining 2 Tbsps oil over medium heat. Add the onion and green pepper and sauté for 3 minutes. Add the coconut sugar, tamari, garlic, bouillon base, chili powder, onion powder, smoked paprika, sea salt, and black pepper, and cook for another 2 minutes.

Add the ground round, crushed tomatoes, and Worcestershire, stir to combine, and cook for another 5 to 6 minutes. Cover the pan, lower the heat to medium-low, and cook for 20 minutes, until reduced, thick, and darker brown.

Preheat the oven to 425°F. Spoon the sloppy joe mixture generously into the zucchini boats, piling the mixture above the edges.

Top with the vegan cheese shreds and sprinkle the bread crumbs evenly on top of each. Bake for 35 minutes, until the zucchini is tender and the cheese is melted. Broil for 3 to 5 minutes to crisp up the top, if necessary.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 67

• HEALTHFUL GOURMET •

1 Tbsp vegan butter 1 cup shredded vegan Parmesan, divided Ground black pepper, to taste Finely chopped fresh parsley, for garnish (optional) DIRECTIONS In a large food processor, add the onion, carrot, and celery. Pulse blend until finely minced and set aside in a bowl. You should have 2 to 2¼ cups of this mixture.

RAGU BOLOGNESE

BY LAUREN TOYOTA MAKES 4 TO 6 SERVINGS | PREP TIME 10 MINUTES, COOK TIME 45 MINUTES

Everyone has gotta have a good go-to bolognese recipe in their back pocket, and this is mine. A classic ragu bolognese is not a super tomatoey-saucy sauce, as it’s made with ground meat and its juices.

I used mushrooms because they’re superior to meat and just as juicy! Sure, there’s usually red wine in the base of the bolognese, but I made the executive decision to not do that—you can also tweak this to your liking. It’s also traditional to use a flat pasta like pappardelle or tagliatelle, and you want to kiss and coat the noodles, not drown them in sauce!

INGREDIENTS 1 white onion, peeled and coarsely chopped 2 carrots, coarsely chopped 1 celery stalk, coarsely chopped 1 lb cremini/baby bella mushrooms 2 zucchini, peeled and coarsely chopped 2 Tbsps olive oil 1 Tbsp minced garlic (2 or 3 large cloves) 1 tsp sea salt ¹⁄³ cup tomato paste 1 Tbsp vegan beef-flavored bouillon base or mushroom bouillon base or 2 cubes ½ cup unsweetened soy or cashew milk 2 tsps balsamic vinegar 1 package (16 oz/454 g) pappardelle 68 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

Add the mushrooms and zucchini to the processor bowl. Pulse blend until finely minced and nearly a puree, then set aside in another bowl. You should have 4 to 4½ cups of this mixture.

In a large cast-iron pan or Dutch oven over medium heat, add the olive oil and the onion, carrot, and celery mixture. Sauté for about 5 minutes, until shrunk to about half. Add the garlic and sea salt and cook for another minute. Add the mushroom and zucchini mixture and cook for 15 to 18 minutes, stirring occasionally, until it looks more brown than green or gray and most of the water has been cooked out and you really can’t distinguish the vegetables.

Add the tomato paste and bouillon base and cook for 3 to 5 more minutes, until it starts to caramelize.

If you wanted to add in a splash of red wine, here’s where you would do it and just cook a little longer.

Add the soy or cashew milk and balsamic vinegar and deglaze the pan, scraping up any brown bits at the bottom. Turn the heat down to low and simmer for another 10 minutes or so while your pasta cooks.

Meanwhile, bring a large pot of salted water to a boil and cook the pasta to al dente. Reserve 1 cup of the pasta cooking water and add it along with the vegan butter and ½ cup of the shredded vegan Parmesan to the sauce mixture. Stir to combine until the cheese is mostly melted, about 2 minutes, and then use tongs to add the cooked pasta right into the pot of sauce. Use the tongs to coat the pasta properly, 1 to 2 minutes, until heated through and all the Parmesan is melted.

Serve the bolognese topped with the remaining vegan Parmesan, black pepper, and parsley.

TIPS You can substitute 1 tablespoon of vegan Worcestershire for the vegan beef-flavored or mushroom bouillon base.

• HEALTHFUL GOURMET •

¼ cup packed light brown sugar 2 tsps vanilla extract 1 bar (4 oz/113 g) dairy-free semisweet baking chocolate, broken into squares, or ¾ cup vegan chocolate chips ¹⁄³ cup finely chopped pecans ¹⁄³ cup unsweetened shredded coconut DIRECTIONS Preheat the oven to 350°F. Line a baking sheet with parchment paper. In a small bowl, combine the flax meal and water and set aside to thicken. In a mixing bowl, combine the almond flour, all-purpose flour, baking powder, cinnamon, and sea salt.

COCONUT PECAN BISCOTTI

BY LAUREN TOYOTA MAKES 10 BISCOTTI | PREP TIME 20 MINS, COOK TIME 70 MINS, COOLING TIME 40 MINS

I’m so proud of myself for nailing a vegan and gluten-free biscotti that’s light, crisp, and buttery and won’t break your teeth. It’s my ideal companion for coffee but it’ll make teatime more fun, too! I dipped the bottoms in chocolate because this is how I remember biscotti from my local coffee shops, but you could drizzle it on top if you want less of it. And if you want to start experimenting with different flavor variations, you could easily swap the cinnamon for other spices like cardamom, ginger, or allspice; fold in dried currants, blueberries, or nuts other than pecans; and try other dry additions such as lemon or orange zest.

INGREDIENTS 1 Tbsp golden flax meal 3 Tbsps water 1 cup fine almond flour 1 cup gluten-free all-purpose flour 1½ tsps baking powder ½ tsp ground cinnamon ½ tsp sea salt ½ cup (1 stick) vegan butter, partially softened ¼ cup granulated sugar

Using a hand mixer and another large mixing bowl or in a stand mixer, cream together the butter, granulated sugar, and brown sugar until fluffy, about 2 minutes. Add the thickened flax mixture and vanilla and continue to mix until combined. On low speed, gradually add the flour mixture until combined. Once the dough comes together, use a spatula to mix in the coconut and pecans until well combined.

Place the dough on the prepared baking sheet. Using your hands, form a rectangle ¾ inch thick and 9 to 10 inches by 4 inches.

Bake for 35 minutes, until the edges are golden brown and the cookie is slightly raised. Place the baking sheet on a wire rack and let the cookie cool for 35 to 40 minutes. You want to slice it while it’s still a little warm and not completely cooled. Slice with a long, sharp knife on a slight diagonal every ¾ inch into 10 biscotti.

Gently place the biscotti on the parchment cut-sidedown. Bake again for 30 to 35 minutes, flipping gently to the other cut side halfway through baking, until the cookies are firm to the touch and golden brown all over. Remove the baking sheet to a wire rack and let the biscotti cool completely before dipping in chocolate.

To melt the chocolate, place a heat-safe bowl over a pot with 1 or 2 inches of low simmering water. Melt the chocolate until smooth, or you can melt it in the microwave until smooth. Pour the melted chocolate into a wide shallow dish so you can dip the bottoms of the biscotti. Coat the bottoms and let the excess drip off, then lay them top-side-down on a wire rack.

Decorate with chopped pecans or shredded coconut and allow to dry completely. Store in a container at room temperature or in the fridge.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 69

• IMMUNE GUIDE •

No matter how healthy you are, you are still going to catch the occasional bug.

70 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

© ISTOCK / LUKATDB

KEEPING YOUR BALANCE

• IMMUNE GUIDE •

Your immune system defends you from constant threats. Look after it so it can look after you.

BY STAFF

PART I THE ABC’S OF IMMUNITY We don’t realize it as we go about our day, but our immune system is engaged in a constant life-ordeath drama, fighting threats too small to see and winning most of them most of the time. In this era of the COVID-19 pandemic, it helps to get a bigpicture view of the immune system. Without it, we would all be sick, dying, or dead.

In the article How the Immune System Works, in Medical News Today (2018), Tim Newman explains that “without an immune system, our bodies would be open to attack from bacteria, viruses, parasites, and more. It keeps us healthy as we drift through a sea of pathogens. This vast network of cells and tissues is constantly on the lookout for invaders.”

© ISTOCK / BORCHEE

The immune system involves many types of cells, organs, proteins, and tissues. “Crucially, it can distinguish our tissue from foreign tissue — self from non-self. Dead and faulty cells are also recognized and cleared away by the immune system,” he says.

If the immune system encounters a pathogen, a bacterium, virus, or parasite, it mounts a “socalled immune response.” Here’s the drill: White blood cells (also called leukocytes) “are on constant patrol. When they find a target, they begin to multiply and send signals out to other cell types to do the same.”

Then the body attacks on several fronts. Leukocytes are stored in the thymus, spleen, bone marrow, and lymph nodes. They include: 1. phagocytes that surround and absorb pathogens and break them down; and 2. lymphocytes, which help the body to “remember” invaders and recognize them if they return to attack again.

B lymphocytes secrete antibodies that lock onto antigens such as bacteria, fungi, virus, toxins, foreign bodies, or one of our own cells that is faulty or dead. Next, the B lymphocytes begin to secrete antibodies, special proteins that lock onto specific antigens. “Antibodies lock onto the antigen, but they do not kill it, only mark it for death,” says Newman. “The killing is the job of other cells, such as phagocytes.”

Killer T cells (T lymphocytes) fight viruses. They recognize small parts of the virus on the outside of infected cells and destroy the infected cells. Once an antibody has been produced, a copy remains in the body to recognize the same antigen if it appears again.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 71

• IMMUNE GUIDE •

There are three types of immunity in humans — innate, adaptive, and passive:

Innate immunity Human immune systems, like those of many animals, attack foreign invaders immediately.

These include the external barriers of our body, such as the skin and mucous membranes of the throat and gut. If the pathogen dodges the innate immune system, adaptive or acquired immunity kicks in.

Adaptive (acquired) immunity This protection from pathogens develops as we are exposed to diseases or get vaccinated, building up a library of antibodies to different pathogens.

72 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

Passive immunity This type of immunity is “borrowed” from another source. For instance, a baby receives antibodies from the mother through the placenta before birth and in breast milk following birth. This immunity protects the baby from some infections during the early years of their life.

Immunizations Immunization introduces antigens or weakened pathogens to a person in such a way that the individual does not become sick but still produces antibodies. Because the body saves copies of the antibodies, it is protected if the threat should reappear later in life.

© ISTOCK / TBRALNINA

TYPES OF IMMUNITY

• IMMUNE GUIDE •

IMMUNE SYSTEM DISORDERS Immunodeficiencies These arise when parts of the immune system do not function. For example, they can be caused by age, obesity, or alcoholism. In developing countries, malnutrition is a common cause. AIDS is an example of an acquired immunodeficiency. Some immunodeficiencies can be inherited.

Autoimmunity In this case, the immune system targets healthy cells, rather than foreign pathogens or faulty cells. Autoimmune diseases include celiac disease, type 1 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and Graves’ disease.

Hypersensitivity Here, the immune system overreacts and damages healthy tissue. An example is anaphylactic shock where the body responds to an allergen so strongly that it can be life-threatening.

With so many complex roles in the human body, the immune system is a masterpiece of efficiency.

Respect yours and treat it with the respect it deserves.

Note: the article in Medical News Today was reviewed by Daniel Murrell, M.D.

PART II

Don’t smoke.

Eat a diet high in fruits and vegetables.

Exercise regularly.

Maintain a healthy weight.

s

If you drink alcohol, drink only in moderation.

s

Get adequate sleep.

s

© ISTOCK / MILAN KRASULA

Your first line of defense is to choose a healthy lifestyle. Following general good-health guidelines is the single best step you can take toward naturally keeping your immune system working properly. Every part of your body, including your immune system, functions better when protected from environmental assaults and bolstered by healthy-living strategies such as these:

s

Yes, according to the article “How to boost your

SUPPORT THE UPSIDE

s

“On the whole, your immune system does a remarkable job of defending you against diseasecausing microorganisms. But sometimes it fails: A germ invades successfully and makes you sick. Is it possible to intervene in this process and boost your immune system?”

In the meantime, general healthy-living strategies make sense since they likely help immune function and they come with other proven health benefits.

A healthy immune system can defeat invading pathogens.

s

KEYS TO SUPPORTING YOUR IMMUNE SYSTEM

immune system” by Harvard Health Publishing, February 15, 2021. But it’s a complex subject.

Researchers are exploring the effects of diet, exercise, age, psychological stress, and other factors on the immune response, both in animals and in humans.

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 73

• IMMUNE GUIDE •

Some micronutrient deficiencies — for example, deficiencies of zinc, selenium, iron, copper, folic acid, and vitamins A, B6, C, and E — may alter immune responses in animals, as measured in the test tube. However, the impact of these immune system changes is less clear, as is the effect of similar deficiencies on the human immune response.

If you suspect your diet is not providing you with all your micronutrient needs, taking a daily multivitamin and mineral supplement may bring other health benefits. Taking megadoses of a single vitamin does not.

STRESS AND IMMUNE FUNCTION s

Take steps to avoid infection, such as washing your hands frequently and cooking meats thoroughly.

s

Try to minimize stress.

s

Keep current with all recommended vaccines.

Vaccines prime your immune system to fight off infections before they take hold in your body.

MINIMIZE THE DOWNSIDE With age, the immune response becomes reduced, which in turn contributes to more infections and more cancer. Respiratory infections, including influenza, the COVID-19 virus and pneumonia are a leading cause of death in people over 65 worldwide.

A form of malnutrition that is surprisingly common among older people is known as “micronutrient malnutrition,” in which a person is deficient in some essential vitamins and trace minerals that are obtained from or supplemented by diet.

74 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

Modern medicine has come to appreciate the closely linked relationship of mind and body. A wide variety of maladies, including stomach upset, hives, and even heart disease, are linked to the effects of emotional stress. Despite the challenges, scientists are actively studying the relationship between stress and immune function.

Most scientists try to study more constant and frequent stressors known as chronic stress, such as that caused by relationships, or sustained challenges to perform well at work. Some scientists are investigating whether ongoing stress takes a toll on the immune system.

Regular exercise is one of the pillars of healthy living. It improves cardiovascular health, lowers blood pressure, helps control body weight, and protects against a variety of diseases. But does it help to boost your immune system naturally and keep it healthy? Just like a healthy diet, exercise can contribute to general good health and therefore to a healthy immune system.

SOURCES: How the Immune System Works by Tim Newman, Medical News Today (2018). How to Boost Your Immune System by Harvard Health Publishing (Feb 15, 2021).

© ISTOCK / FATCAMERA

A healthy lifestyle is the best defence.

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chattering teeth arctic 78 THE ART OF LIVING WELL

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KEEP MOVING

Can’t work out? Try working in!

With quarantine and social distancing causing the closure of many gyms, finding the space and time to exercise can be hard.

Our Home Work-in Guide has all you need to stay active and healthy without leaving the house.

Check it out at home at: HOMEWORKIN.CA

www.homeworkin.ca

SILVERMAGAZINE.CA 79

• INSPIRATION •

“

Irrelevance is a great blessing. So I skip reading the newspaper, preferring not to waste the day in hopeless anger, and instead drink my coffee and write a wedding sonnet for a couple I know and joke with my daughter who is starting a new life in a new city and sit with my wife and enjoy the breeze.

”

© ISTOCK / ALEKSANDARNAKIC

~ Garrison Keillor, Garrison Keillor and Friends, Aug. 18, 2021.

80 THE ART OF LIVING WELL