Vancouver Squash League at the Bentall Centre Athletic Club

Racquet sports have had a long and colorful history at the Bentall Centre Athletic Club. For more than 30 years our members and guests have been spending a significant portion of their fitness and recreation time playing Squash and Racquetball. For some, it’s a highly competitive game of strategy and consistency, and for others it’s a lighthearted way to have fun, burn off stress, and get some great exercise.

September is an important time of year for the Squash program at the Bentall Centre Athletic  Club  because it’s the beginning of the season. And if you’re interested, you can come and participate in many ways.

The first way is by joining the Club as an All facility Member. This opens the door to meeting with one of the Club’s Squash Pros, David Adams, who will get you on court, and then help you get established in Club's Box Leagues or Club Ladder.   These in-house tournaments could be considered a more casual competition where you are added to a box and given a certain time to contact your opponents and schedule a match to play at your mutual convenience… it can be either before work,  lunch, or in the evenings.  Points are awarded depending on the outcome of each match and then used in an algorithm to fairly decide a Club ranking. This also provides information to the pros on how to develop the next Box League and situate you on the Club Ladder. There is also a “Pick and Play” list (which is easier again) and set up like a contact list of time to time players. It's ideal if you’d rather show up, play, and not keep track of scores.

The next way to get playing Squash is by joining the Bentall Centre Athletic Club to participate in the Vancouver Squash League. For 18 years, Andrew Lynn our head squash professional & assistant manager has led the charge in organizing and facilitating the Squash league.  It involves 80-85 people consisting of 11 men’s and woman’s teams from division 1 to division 7 who regularly commit to a rotating league of interclub play on Monday nights. Each team consists of 5 players (and a couple of spares) who play either here at home, or travel around to play at the 15 other Clubs throughout the city. So, if you want to be involved in the Squash community and enjoy the social aspect of competitive team sports, I highly recommend you visit the Club to get started. You’d typically need to commit a minimum of 3 hours once per week plus a little more for travel, practice and social gatherings. The season spans from October to April.

There are also some important dates that I’d like share with you about the Squash calendar at the Bentall Centre Athletic Club:

1. The Season Opener. On Sept 12^th 2012 there is an in house tournament that helps decide the pecking order of the Club players. It helps establish ability levels and provides information on how best to distribute the talent throughout the divisions. Plus, it’s fun to go head to head against your comrades who will be your teammates for the rest of the season.
2. The Halloween Open. Needless to say it’s at the end of October. Like any official tournament, it’s open to anyone and hosted by the Bentall Centre Athletic Club.
3. The International Day Tournament. Generally in late January. Stay tuned for more info.
4. The Handicap Challenge. Hosted by David Adams every Monday evening after the Vancouver Squash League has concluded in April. It’s light hearted and fun. It’s also accessible for every level of ability.

For more information about the Squash Programs at the Bentall Centre Athletic Club please contact Andrew Lynn at alynn@bentallkennedy.com or call the Club at 608 689 4424.

Yours in Health,

CH 

Liver Health & Liver Wellness

The Liver, What is it?

The liver is the largest internal organ in the body. It keeps us healthy with over 500 functions dealing with digestion and detoxification. Notably, the liver breaks down and metabolizes the food we eat in terms of carbohydrate, fat and protein, as well as purifies the blood from foreign chemicals and internally made hormones. The liver helps regulate blood sugar levels, can store some nutrients, synthesize blood proteins, and has a remarkable capacity to repair itself when damaged.

Liver Cleansing foods

Our habitual diet directly affects the health of our liver.  The foods shown in image are all natural items found to have a positive affect on the liver’s function. Some people believe that dietary cleanses and supplementation are the way to restore ideal liver function, and others (like this author), believe it’s better to just regularly include the garlic, green tea, avocado, spinach, turmeric, arugula, cruciferous vegetables, and citrus in their diet on a regular basis. Also it best to remove large helpings of alcohol, red meats and deep fried foods.

Follow the link to NaturalNews it has an awesome reference page and peer reviewed information regarding nutrition and other natural topics including NaturalPedia, Healing Food Reference, and the Herb, Supplement and Nutrient Reference. 

http://www.naturalnews.com/Index-Reference.html

Liver Cleansing Exercise

Besides diet, Exercise is the other half of the equation when it comes to keeping your liver healthy.  By participating in any type of vigorous physical activity for 45+ minutes every day, you will find the key to unlock the door to fountain of youth… and long term health for your liver.  Exercise helps maintain hormonal balance, correct blood pressure, reduces stress, clears your pores through sweat, and ensures your bones are strong, but most importantly: exercise keeps fat away from your waistline.  Through much research, exercise physiologists have found the likelihood of contracting cardiovascular disease very high in men with waist sizes greater than 94cm or 37inches, and women with waist sizes greater than 80cm or 31 1/2inches. The moral of the story is excess fat around your waist which covers your internal organs will kill you in the long run. The correct balance between the right amount of exercise and diet is a little different for everyone, however to find out more about what is right for you… come visit The Bentall Centre Athletic Club in the Lower Plaza of Bentall 4 - 1055 Dunsmuir Street, Vancouver, BC. 

http://www.bentallcentreathleticclub.com/

Liver Conscious Personal Care Products: Arbonne!

When our bodies are in contact with environmental pollutants, process foods and chemically laden cosmetics our bodies become stressed and liver can be overworked and overloaded. Some toxins can come from the environments we habituate, but others can be found sneaking into our daily routine (besides diet) through regular home care products like soap, shampoo, conditioner, toothpaste, skin lotion, SPF, deodorant, and the list goes on. The average person uses about 12 personal care products a day. And unless you have a background in organic chemistry it’s sometimes difficult to differentiate between what is healthy and what is not. This is where Johanna who is an Independant Arbonne Consaultant can help you choose the best products to suit your needs. http://www.johannahunt.myarbonne.ca Arbonne produces premium botanical and 100% Vegan and gluten free wellness products who ensure that all their products are free of harmful ingredients. You may not be able to control things like air pollution, or hazardous building materials, but you can control what goes on your skin, and  therefore reduce contaminants from your liver and other internal organs. To obtain a free sample, or place an order:  follow the link to reach Johanna Hunt at Welcome Your Wellness. call: 604 848 9576.

Eastern Philosophy: The Liver Meridian & Ohashiatsu

Dating back 3000 years or so, wellness practitioners in the East have observed and charted out a series of Ki (or Chi, or Prana) energy flows in the body. These Ki flows or 12 energy meridians have great significance to wellness and the anatomy in terms of the natural course of neural pathways, circulation, myofacial tracts and philosophical issues. Overall, using meridian theory could be seen as a more holistic approach in terms of body wellness incorporating both the emotional and the physical. One of the 12 Ki meridians is the Liver which is described emotionally by livelier characteristics such as anger, tears, shouting and control and physically follows a path from the big toe up the interior side of the leg past the liver and finishing at the 6^th rib (see image above).  By using massage and pressure point acupressure and a specially developed system of movements, Ohashiatsu can affect the receiver in a profound and effective way for strengthening, healing, relaxation, tension release and energy balance. I will be offering sessions at The Bodystorm Gym in Squamish on Monday , Wednesday and Thursday.  Visit witnessyourfitness.ca for more information.

By appointment only. Please contact cameron.a.hunt@gmail.com to book a private session.

Click for more details about body work and Ohashiatsu.

http://www.thebodyworker.com

http://www.ohashi.com/

Hope to see you soon.

CH