Speaker 0 00:00:01 Good morning, Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. You've tuned into the Mac city morning show. I'm your host, Elliot Pierre. And we're going to start the show off the same way we start every show off with a moment of gratitude. I know you could be doing a million other things with your time. So the fact that you choose to spend with us truly does mean the world to me. So thank you on that note, Tanner,
Speaker 1 00:00:21 How she caught me loves you're listening to the next anymore in shelter
Speaker 0 00:00:30 And we are back. All right. I'm excited about today's guest. Cause a as per usual, he is a complete stranger to me. Gotta thank Kate Suvay, uh, for hooking us up at her, uh, shop, uh, last week. But, uh, yeah, don't know this gentlemen, we're going to learn about them today. So I'm really excited as you know, I don't introduce my guests because they can do that better than I can. So on that note, sir, uh, can you tell everybody who you are and what you're all about?
Speaker 3 00:00:54 Sure. Thank you. My name is Justin <inaudible>. I am the first and only walk therapy instructor in Fort McMurray in Northern Alberta. And I combine block therapy with my background in holistic nutrition and body mind nutrition to give my clients a very unique experience of home.
Speaker 0 00:01:11 Okay. So what is block therapy right off the get-go?
Speaker 3 00:01:15 So buck therapy is in my opinion, the simplest most effective form of self-care bodywork in the word in the world. Okay. So basically it just imagine if you would, we took the top benefits of some of our best modalities, massage, yoga, Cairo, physio, meditation, breath, work forms of exercise. And we made those benefits accessible to anybody any time of the day, regardless of where you were in the world, regardless of health status, regardless of age or physical ability. And we empower people to become their own healthcare advocates so that they could function for you and look their best. Right. And in a very big nutshell, that's what blocked their,
Speaker 0 00:01:59 Okay, cool. Okay. So I have a little bit of background in a little bit of what you spoke about. Um, I was doing marketing and human resources for a physical therapy company in town for a number of years. So I know a little bit about like the word you said, modality and human resource or, and, uh, physical therapy and massage therapy. So I know a big component of those is the evaluation or the assessment. When somebody first comes in to find out like, Hey, my shoulder, my leg, these are the things that are causing the issue. And then it's the job of the practitioner to like, say, okay, well, the reason your left shoulder hurts is because your right actual is actually hurting, right? So with block therapy is this like you meet with your client first and you go through, okay, what are you're trying to achieve? And then you put an exercise plan together, or how does that work? Especially like you said, they can do it independently.
Speaker 3 00:02:48 Yeah. So there's a variety of ways of entry into trying it. So I teach group classes like a yoga class, but I can come out and actually go through a sequence of positions on the block. So essentially what we do is we position ourselves on the block and we practice proper diaphragmatic breathing and melt through fascial adhesions in the body, huge heart tissue, right? So it's a very much a whole body approach versus a targeted approach. Now I'm training to become a block therapist. So I'm doing assessments with people. So as you look at your whole body picture of them, essentially, if they're not here, right, and we look at how their body is wound and, and adhered in the fascia. So generally most people have what's called a flat tire. So they've, we've collapsed into a certain posture we've taken on misalignment. And that, for instance, generally in the feet and the calves is what drives the whole structure of the fascia and the body. Okay. So we take this whole body approach regardless of where the issue is. We do keep that in mind. Of course we do target certain areas and, and, and, uh, look at the cause sites versus the pain sites, but it's a very much a whole body approach and people can, can learn it for themselves or you can come see somebody like myself and get more guidance specific. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:04:01 Gotcha. Very cool. So how did you stumble along this, uh, this, I don't know if
Speaker 3 00:04:07 Therapy yeah. Walk there. So, yeah. Um, I studied, I mean, I did the whole university college thing and then I came upon the world of holistic nutrition right back in like early two thousands. Okay. So 2006, I became a holistic nutritionist. Um, I moved to Fort McMurray in 2008. Okay.
Speaker 0 00:04:25 Well, okay. You've been here for a bit
Speaker 3 00:04:26 Then. Yeah. Came in 2008, selling nutritional supplements in Newfoundland in the early two thousands. Wasn't exactly a profitable venture. So it was like, where did I go to make some money or Murray? Right. Uh, I came for what I thought would be a short period of time. Right? Know, I'm still here 13 years later. So for many reasons. And, uh, so I started to take some body mind nutrition courses out of an Institute in Calgary called the body mind Institute at the time. Okay. And around 2013, they had this offering for block therapy. And I was like, what is this thing? Walk therapy. So I started reading about it and I started finding out as much as I could about it. And it just made a lot of sense. And I read some of the writings of like the founder and the creator who is a woman named Deanna Hansen out of Winnipeg.
Speaker 3 00:05:09 Who's an athletic therapist. And she developed this whole process starting in around 2000. And, uh, in 2010, the blog came out and this movement that's phenomenal. I call it was born. So I was taking this course. I took it, I got it for myself. Yeah. You know, and I remember the first time I ever this, this exact law here, put it on the floor and lay on it in my belly, started to breathe and the intensity and like the pressure through my whole body. I was like, wow. Cause I, I held so much tension and pressure in my gut. Okay. So, okay. So it's very good to just releasing relaxing and allowing the body to function as it should needs.
Speaker 0 00:05:47 Very cool. Now, in regards to the holistic eating. Yeah. Tell me a little bit about that. Um, I, yeah. Tell me a little bit about it. I'll go into my own story afterwards, but sure.
Speaker 3 00:05:57 So yeah, so holistic nutrition, and now I take a little bit of a different approach. Okay. Most nutritionists, holistic, traditional are going to tell you what to eat. Right. My approach is more mindful, so I focus on how we eat. Okay. So you could have the perfect meal plan that, you know, the top nutritionist has done for you. That's right. Eat this at this time. And, but if you're, for instance, really busy or stressed, or you just had a fight with your spouse, or I'm nervous sitting down, talking to you in this setting. Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:06:28 Alcohol helps with that,
Speaker 3 00:06:31 But I'm not really going to feel like eating because my digestive system is like, shut down. Let's try it because I'm moving into this fight or flight state. So blood, everything is kind of going out to the extremities for this response to deal with this perceived or real threat. Right. So when we do that, all the blood goes away from the course or digestive organs shut down. So you could be eating the perfect diet, but if you're stressed and busy enough focused and mindful with your eating, right. Doesn't matter what you're eating. It's first let's condition and focus and support the body to accept that food. Yeah. And to put it in the best state to handle and digest and eliminate that food. That's right. That's my approach. It makes a big difference.
Speaker 0 00:07:09 It's a huge difference. A few months ago. I'm a bit of a hippie sometimes, but, uh, I was reading a book and it was like, when you're eating your food, you are listening. Yeah. I was listening. Yeah. I don't read, uh, like I do sometimes the most time it's audio books. So I was listening. Thank you, Tanner. And it was saying, um, be mindful when you're eating your food. Yeah. Say thank you for your food. Don't watch TV. Don't be texting. Just like enjoy the experience of eating your food. Even if it's junk food. Yeah. No matter what you're eating. And like once again, kinda hippy-ish even if it's junk food, it's good for you. If you thank the food and you eat it and you're mindful your body will absorb it and accept it better, you know? So definitely that makes a lot of sense if you're like stressed out or if you're, you're nervous, you're your, body's going to absorb that differently. Totally. Yeah. I agree with that. We'll put you on this track. So you went to university in college. Well, what were you taking initially when you went?
Speaker 3 00:08:08 Uh, I got an honors degree in environmental science and then I went back to college and got an advanced diploma in Marine geomatics. So then I went to work off shore in the Gulf of Mexico. Okay, cool. I'll share a surveying on like boats and Briggs and stuff like that. Yeah. Then it was a friend of mine from home who I went to college with and uh, he came across this nutritional supplement, these like nutrients. So this line of saccharides essentially. Yeah. I just, I just started to dive into nutrition and I started reading and I was like, up to that point, you know, I was very much a, just a believer in, if you're going to get sick, you're going to go to a mainstream doctor and that's the best. Yeah. Maybe I think a little differently than that these days. But uh, of course they still have their value that's right. A hundred percent. Um, but was like, yeah, it is a combination. Right. And it's making the most of what we have available to us, but I just discovered like this whole world nutrition and we can actually essentially heal ourselves and become our own healers. And, uh, that was just to me, that was just the best thing ever. And so then it's just been this continual learning and exploration for myself and neat. Yes.
Speaker 0 00:09:15 That's a great thing. That's awesome, man. So where's home for you. Where do you start out?
Speaker 3 00:09:18 Uh, I'm from small town. Newfoundland. What,
Speaker 0 00:09:20 What town, what small
Speaker 3 00:09:21 Town are you from? Milltown data spare.
Speaker 0 00:09:24 Okay. Where's that in? Newfoundland? What's that close to nothing.
Speaker 3 00:09:28 Yeah, actually it's um, if you're in central Newfoundland, like TCH around just east of state grand falls. Yes. Yes. If you go south, right, right through the center of the island, down to the coast, right in the center, right down the coast. That's where beta spirit is
Speaker 0 00:09:47 Neat. Okay. I've spent a lot of time in Newfoundland, but not where you live.
Speaker 3 00:09:50 Yeah. You've got to make a point to go with it. You don't just pass through. It's kind of the end of the road.
Speaker 0 00:09:54 Uh, how many, uh, what's like not exact number. What's the population. What you grew up with? Like, is it a Hamlet? Is like they have all weird names for small places. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:10:01 So we were from the bay, we call it and it's a despair. Um, so it's combination of St. Alban's St. Joseph school. Milton had David spare Khan river. I'm from Milltown. Um, we had to, you know, for three schools and all those communities. Yeah. Um, my community, maybe a couple of thousand people go to St. Alban's three or four or 5,000 people max. Oh, cool.
Speaker 0 00:10:22 Very small. So you knew your neighbors. Oh, totally. Yeah. And anybody from a different town UAP down the road. That's cool. Yeah.
Speaker 3 00:10:29 It's a beautiful spot to grow up. Like it's new Finland, the rock, we think it could be barren, but this area was founded on a mill mill town, like four sole mills, right around in the forestry. So lots of woods, lots of fjords. So the bay itself is we're actually 26 miles inland from the ocean, but we're right on the water. Oh, so it's this big, fewer that goes, yeah. Inland. And we're actually fresh water because we have the largest hydro plant. So on the island. And um, so the bay, of course he's originally salt water, but we tried this freshwater estuary now a lot of agriculture and things like that.
Speaker 0 00:11:07 Cool. So from time to time, do you, like, I had a different career prior to doing what I do now, and obviously you did as well. Um, you think about that sometimes. Is it something that you still get to utilize that skillset or you're totally like, that was back in the day and I do this well.
Speaker 3 00:11:24 Yeah. The officer serving only lasted about a year. And um, then I, I just went traveling, you know, kind of try to find my way, got involved in a whole nutrition thing. When I came here, I kind of put the nutrition thing to the side to get a job and then to go to work. Right. And I went to work for, I can chew a tech company in town. There we go. Did a lot of stuff. Works on site. Yeah. Moved into some leadership roles and supervision, supervision. Um, I, she left and went traveling for six months in south America again. Nice. And then came back, went back to the same company and got into HSE. So I ended up until last summer was the supervisor for each, is he okay. My company. And then a little bit of another side note. I also am really into like gardening and permaculture. Oh, okay. So I was taking my second permaculture design course and we live in a condo and I had to do a project and I was like, where can we, uh, I don't have land. I can't, you know, garden, but I looked at our property. We actually had a lot of unused space. So I started to design this, uh, community garden for a condo. Cool. Yeah. And actually worked out. We actually did it and it's awesome. It's rolling now. It's nice.
Speaker 0 00:12:32 Nice.
Speaker 3 00:12:32 That kind of got spirit on thinking, you know, with the whole COVID thing. I was like, life's only, you know, we only got so much time that's right. And if you're not doing what you really want to do, um, when are you going to pursue it? When are you what's really valuable between permaculture and then really putting some time to become an instructor of walk therapy. Yeah. Bringing back my whole holistic background and kind of tying it all together. Yeah. Um, I just went for it and there you go, man. I ended up
Speaker 0 00:12:57 Here today. That's a good takeaway from COVID. Yeah. That's a good takeaway. Yeah. All right. We're at the part of the show called the Mac CD minute. This is Tanner segment. Okay. He's going to ask you some questions. I have no idea what he's going to ask you. So I wish you the best of luck. Tanner hit him with the Mac city minute.
Speaker 4 00:13:12 Alrighty. Question number one. What is your most memorable meal you tried in your travels outside Canada?
Speaker 3 00:13:20 Uh, let's say Guinea pig, right? Peru. That's like a delicacy. We, uh, yeah, we'll take any pig.
Speaker 4 00:13:28 Question. Number two. What is your favorite thing you've learned from your time around the block?
Speaker 3 00:13:36 How easy it is to be healthy and feel good.
Speaker 4 00:13:39 Question number three. What is your favorite thing about working with people's health?
Speaker 3 00:13:46 It's it's showing them they can empower themselves and become their own healthcare advocates. And it's again, easier than they might think.
Speaker 4 00:13:53 Question number four. What is your favorite part of working on boats?
Speaker 3 00:13:59 Boats. None of that. That's why I quit. Maybe the food and just the excess of food that you always say.
Speaker 4 00:14:08 And I bet it was fresh. And your final question, what is the most interesting thing you've learned about the human body?
Speaker 3 00:14:18 The fascia system, how important fascia is to overall functioning and well-being and the fact that medical science essentially kind of dismissed it for 500 years. That's right. So
Speaker 4 00:14:30 Phenomenal. Those have been your five questions.
Speaker 0 00:14:34 That's funny. Nothing about boats. That's hilarious. So, yeah, my, um, my parents are from south America. That's where they come from, Guyana, south America, British Guyana. So when you were down there, what different countries, where did you go with?
Speaker 3 00:14:48 Uh, the last time I spent most of my time in Southern. Okay. And then a little bit of time exploring Brazil. Oh, sorry. Bolivia. Okay. And then again in Peru and Ecuador and I've spent some time in Pru prior. Yeah. Pru is like beautiful and phenomenal, but it's also in the scariest experiences of my life. For sure. Really? Yeah.
Speaker 0 00:15:10 Uh, like you worried about your personal safety or you're in a jungle and you're like, oh, Nope.
Speaker 3 00:15:17 Combination stuff, personal safety from someone else, but a crazy bus rides in the mountains that seemed to never end. That's terrifying to me because you have no control. And you're just looking down this cliff into this river. Yeah. A hundred
Speaker 0 00:15:32 Meters now. That's right.
Speaker 3 00:15:33 Um, and then of course, if you got into more exploration on the inner world with plant medicine that's right. Uh, that's a very deep and can be sometimes quite terrifying experiences, especially if you're not prepared for that experience.
Speaker 0 00:15:47 That's right. Okay. Very cool. Interesting experience. Awesome. Yeah. It's one thing when I, uh, I love to travel and I've been to a number of third world countries that's and, uh, how they view safety in regards to the road and other components of day-to-day living is very, very different from how we look at things in north America. So I remember as a, as a child, always just being like, are you sure we should do this mom and dad, this seems extremely sketchy. And they're like, no, don't worry. It'll be fine. And you're like, all right, but in the back of your mind, you're like, this is a coin flip,
Speaker 3 00:16:23 Still go back
Speaker 0 00:16:23 Or visit, or I haven't been back in a number of years since I was in my late teens, um, to where my parents are from. But I do often go to like different Caribbean islands and whatnot. Um, and do I, I love, I love to travel and I love like central and south America. Um, what I'm really excited about now that COVID is kind of, sort of over, I don't know how we want to call it, but I really do have like a bucket list of in, um, places over in Europe that I'm super excited to, to potentially go see I've done. Like just a little bit of traveling to Europe, not a month, not as much as I should have. So that was my takeaway from COVID get on a plane. Yeah, for sure. Yeah,
Speaker 3 00:17:01 That's right. That's I kind of feel, you know, when it hit, depending on, uh, who knew the end point or when it was ending, but yeah. Having a little bit of confidence, at least I got a chance to explore some more
Speaker 0 00:17:11 That's right. That's right. Where it goes from here. Cool. All right, man. Well, that's the end of our show. We keep kind of tight 20 minutes ish. So I want to thank you very much for coming. Um, the one thing that is, uh, is the honest truth is I'd love to have you back again. Um, and I tell a lot of guests this, and more often than not nowadays, they take me up on it. This is a forum that any time you want to come to talk about anything, maybe what you're doing professionally or personally, or you just want to come and hang out and BS with myself and Tanner, please feel free to come back and hang out. Thank you. Sweet. All right. Now everybody gets to shameless, shout out before they leave. So this is your time to shine. Who do you want to talk to? What do want to promote? It's all you,
Speaker 3 00:17:51 Uh, people that are looking to feel better and have a different experience of health. You can check me
[email protected] and I'll have some free resources on there in terms of mindful eating and what I look at it. Some foundational pieces to health and come check us out in a group, walk therapy class, and feel what this is all about.
Speaker 0 00:18:08 Cool. So outside of your website, do you have any platforms that they can follow you on as well?
Speaker 3 00:18:13 Instagram does Zen belly and Facebook at this end belly. So here we go.
Speaker 0 00:18:17 Perfect. Sweet. All right. Well Fort McMurray, wood, Buffalo, and the rest of the world. Thank you very much. That's been another episode of the Mac city morning show. Once again. Thank you so much for tuning in. It really does mean the world to me. Hopefully you're having a great day. We'll see you tomorrow. Peace.
