Movement & Strength
Exercise
The body is a temple. These are the spaces where I cultivate strength, discipline, and vitality.
Riverdale Fitness
Inglewood, Caledon
Riverdale Fitness in Inglewood has become a steady, trusted companion through this sabbatical — a place where I come to move, to strengthen, and to belong a little. There is a small tradition here that brings a smile to my face every single time I visit: each week, someone writes a new joke on the whiteboard in the women's locker room. It is a tiny, ordinary grace — a moment of shared laughter tucked into the rhythm of the day — and it reminds me that the best communities are built from just these small, faithful gestures of kindness and humour.
Subsection
Physiotherapy
Among the quieter but deeply meaningful intentions of this sabbatical has been the decision to tend to my body with the patience it deserves — to finally address the lingering neck, knee, and heel pain that I had long been setting aside. On May 7th, I began my physiotherapy journey once again, returning to the capable hands of Carolyn, who has been my trusted practitioner for many years. Her skill, attentiveness, and warmth make every session feel like a true act of care.
Then, on May 14th — in the unheroic but humbling act of tidying the house — I threw out my neck and was subsequently diagnosed with torticollis, or "wry neck." It is, I can confirm, every bit as uncomfortable as it sounds. There is something almost poetic about sabbatical teaching us where we are most in need of healing.
Carolyn Quinton-Smith, PT — Resolution ClinicSubsection
Yoga
Studios and communities where I've found balance, flexibility, and inner peace through the practice of yoga.
August 8, 2026
Breathwork Seminar
Power Yoga Canada · Georgetown
On August 8th, I enrolled in a full-day breathwork seminar at Power Yoga Canada's Georgetown location. The day was an immersive education in healing through breathwork, yoga, and body awareness — learning to let the breath itself become the medicine. There is something quietly profound about returning to the breath: the one thing always within reach, the steady companion we so seldom notice. To spend a whole day attending to it, learning its rhythms and its healing capacity, was a deeply restorative act — a reminder that the body knows how to mend when we finally give it our attention.
Oxygen Fitness and Yoga Georgetown
Georgetown
Oxygen Yoga & Fitness is the beautiful convergence of my two favourite aspects of fitness: infrared heat and resistance training. For years, I adored the intensity of hot yoga and quietly wished I could experience high-performance strength work in that same heated sanctuary — and here, I found exactly that. The infrared heat doesn't simply warm the room; it penetrates deeply into the muscles, accelerating circulation, detoxifying the body through a deeply satisfying sweat, and dramatically lowering the risk of injury. Just as a cold elastic will snap under pressure, cold muscles are far more vulnerable. With infrared heat, the muscles are truly ready — warmed from within — giving me the confidence to push harder, move more freely, and train with greater intention. I invested in a one-month unlimited membership from April 15 – May 15th, and it was one of the most rewarding decisions of my sabbatical. I will absolutely return.
Yoga with Amy at Flash Academy
Georgetown
Amy is a yoga instructor and a dear friend of Melissa Downey's. On Friday mornings at 9:30am, I have participated in her relaxing yoga practice — a gentle, restorative way to close out the week, guided by a teacher whose warmth makes every session feel like a quiet gift.
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