This month has been all about detoxing - starting the new year with reinvigorated energy and a clean palate. But it seemed that while everyone else was going on cleanses and cleaning out closets, I was being fat and lazy on the beach. Don't get me wrong, I LOVED my vacation but my bad habits from the trip really hit me hard when I returned to New York.

I was off to a late start on the January detox and I hate playing catch-up. So, I needed a bit of a boost. For this, I looked for unconventional ways to kickstart my January detox with the remaining time in January.

To kick off, I visited the Russian and Turkish Baths. Sauna and steam rooms are a regular part of many cultures, and the reason seemed clear after I educated myself on their benefits. Not only do sauna visits relieve stress and soothe aches and pains in muscles and joints, saunas flush toxins and cleanse the skin. The contrast between the hot room and cold baths also increases lymph drainage and blood flow in the veins - this help’s the body’s natural detox process. The visit to the sauna also helped me find some much-needed sleep after my serious jetlag after my vacation. I particularly loved the wet saunas and the steam rooms - both helped me get rid of the touch of a cough that I had developed on my flight home.



For my diet, I added a new morning drink to my routine. Now, I try to begin each day with a lemon ginger water. I first came across this simple drink on my vacation where the windy coastal drives made me seriously carsick, and one juice-stand we visited served a variation of this drink under the name “Road Cure”. Ginger is a powerful anti-inflammatory antioxidant, and the preparation following this Lemon Ginger recipe I found is very simple.

More than anything, I wanted to start the new year - and another semester of grad school - with a fresh mind. Between school and working on Just-in-Time, I consume so much information each day that I just need some time to myself to sit in silence and reset my mind. I had been searching the Interwebs for a mental detox solution but wasn’t entirely satisfied with any of the suggestions (make a to-do list, keep track of small successes, have less screen time, etc) until I came across PAUSE, a relaxation app. The elegant and simple mindfulness app removes the noise and distraction of modern-day but asking you to concentrate on one thing - calming down. To this healthy skeptic’s surprise, it’s been very useful and a perfect solution for when I need to sneak in a quick break from the consuming demands of every day.

All images from the good folks at Death to Stock Photo.

I’ve traveled to over 35 countries and lived on 3 continents. There is nothing I love more than discovering new places. With each trip, I learn something new about myself. Over the years, I’ve discovered that I much prefer the adventures of the great outdoors than spending all day touring museums and dining at restaurants.

There is nothing more satisfying than time spent exploring the outdoors. My best nights of sleep are had in the wild, under the starry skies. This year marks 100 years of the National Park Services. In 2016, there are 16 days when you can visit National Park Service sites that normally charge admission for free. The first of these free admission days was this past Monday. While you mark your calendar for the other 15 days, I wanted to share photos of some of my favorite national parks. These are definitely worth a visit, or a long weekend stay.

Yosemite National Park, California: best for stunning views and overnight camping. Great all year round.

Everyone can run with minimal equipment, but the right shoes can go a long way in improving your stride. The best way to get the right running shoes for you is to get fitted at your local running store. Or if you’re doing research at home, you can try out something like Shoe Advisor from Runner’s world. Here are some general things to look out for:

What's your size
I’m a 7.5 in my regular shoe size but an 8.5 in my current runners. You need to size up a half size or a full size for your runners as your foot will expand when you run. In addition, leave a thumb’s space between your big toe and the top of the shoe. Trust me when I tell you that this will save your toe nails.

Find the right support
From my physiotherapist to the guy at the running store, everyone is surprised to see how low my arch is. The arch of your foot will determine how much flexibility and stability you may want in a running shoe. If you have low arches like me, then you’ll likely enjoy a shoe with a lot of support. While flatness of your feet will absorb the shock, it also makes you more prone to injuries, so you want something with support and stability. If you have high arches, then your feet will be less flexible and you’ll want something with minimum support - something with no arch support and no stability features to help your feet absorb the shock. And like the majority of the population who have a moderate arch, you will do alright in most runners,

Test them out
You’re be doing quite a lot of mileage in these shoes so don’t be afraid to test them out. If you’re getting fitted at the store, they should let you run on the treadmill (if there is one in store) or at least take a jog around the store. Similarly, if the shoe bothers you after you’ve tested it at home, don’t be afraid to try to return them. You’ll want to check the return policy ahead of time but I’ve returned a couple runners after wearing them for a 6-, and 8-mile runs; the store never questioned it.

Change your shoes
My laziness gets the best of me and I have to admit, I do a pretty terrible job of keeping track of the milage on my shoes and replacing them out once they’ve reached the end of their lifecycle. Typically, runners need to be swapped out somewhere between 300-500 miles from the first wear. You’ll find that the foam of the shoes become tough and lose their give. If you’re running five 3-mile runs per week, that means a new pair of shoes every 5-6 months. These days, I track my runs in an app that also reminds me when it’s time to treat myself to a new pair of trainers.

I’ve been running 5 x 3 miles a week for the last four years. And let me tell you, the 5K and I are the perfect pair. We’re like Batman and Robin. Woody and Buzz Lightyear. Sonny and Cher. Penn and Teller. Tina Fey and Amy Poehler. R2-D2 and C-3PO. Totally in sync.

I love the 5K for two reasons: first, I’m just too lazy to run longer distances; second, the 5K fits my lifestyle. You see, I used to run during my lunch break at work; I had to get to the gym, do my workout, shower, and come back to my desk all within an hour. The 5K was just the perfect distance for that.

But for the better half of 2015, I’ve been quite bored with the 5K. I stopped trying to improve my time months ago and mostly run to offset the free lunches I was getting at work.

2016 is the perfect time for a new running goal, and this year I want to love a new distance. They say that some runners increase their distance as they age and their legs can’t pump as fast as before. So if that’s true, and my gut seems to agree, then 2016 will be the year I get into the 10K, a healthy 6.2 miles.

The first race I ever ran was a 10K in my hometown called the Vancouver Sun Run. I signed up for it on a whim with my dad when I was 16. I didn’t do anything to prepare for it because I was too busy figuring out this thing called high school. On race day, I came in at something around 55 minutes but hurt for the entire last half of it. After the race, I bumped into my friend who was on my school’s varsity soccer team, he had done the race in 46 minutes. I was too embarrassed to tell him my time.

This year, I’m going to make 10K my favorite distance. Not only that, I’m going to run it in under 46 minutes. And I’m going to make it love me back.


All photos shot on my iPhone6.

Before my parents sent us off on the trip, my mom told me that I need to learn to relax. Well, there is no better place to do that than on the sunny shores of Hawaii.

The Modern Honolulu was a gentle introduction to Hawaii. Alex and I woke up early each day to enjoy Waikiki before all the other tourists woke up. Everything in sight adorned a fresh coat of aqua. I fell in love with the pristine waters of the Hawaiian coast.

If it’s possible to love the scent of a hotel, then my search for the Modern’s lobby scent affirms it. We spent too many hours at the sunrise pool, and when we grew tired of that, we strolled over to the sunset pool. With each day that passed, I grew more eager to get out of the hotel and discover Honolulu. Alex, echoing my mother’s sentiment, kept reminding me to slow down. We have 3 weeks to spend on the beautiful islands of Hawaii, and we are just getting started.

• Aveda Inner Light Mineral tinted moisturizer with SPF
• Avene Eau Thermale Mattifying Cleansing Foam
• Simple Revitalizing eye roll-on (for my many flights)
• Netrogena makeup remover cleansing towelettes: the refill pack because it's easy to travel with

Aside from fitness goals, another popular new year's resolution is to travel more. There's no time better than the present to check off a few things off of your bucket list and if you're goal is to do more traveling in 2016, here are 7 epic trips worth taking this year.




1. Roadtrip across the country in a camper van
A camper van trip is the mother of all road-trips. This year, take that cross-country roadtrip you’ve been day-dreaming about. Imagine this: three weeks in a camper van that’s both home and your method of transportation, blasting 80’s music on loop, driving into the sunset, and waking up next to a new place every morning. Stop for beautiful hikes along the way, or jump in the lake whenever you want a refreshing rinse. Feel free to channel your inner Jack Kerouac throughout.

2. Take a trip to Cuba
As Cuba opens up more and more, you can bet a lot of tourists will flock to the Caribbean country. Your time to go is now, before all the influx of tourism changes the cityscape completely over the next decade. Start your trip in Havana, the beautiful capital of this exotic island country that looks like it was frozen in time.

3. Solo travel through Central Europe
Everyone needs to go on a solo trip at least once in their life. It will teach you a lot about yourself: how to spend time alone, how to entertain yourself, how to dine alone at a restaurant, and give you an excellent mental break. For me, the epic solo trip took place in Central Europe where I backpacked Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Austria. These places are the perfect destinations for solo travel: walkable cities, accessible by train, and plenty of cultural activities fit for a solo traveler.



4. Take the train across Japan
My favorite method of transportation is train travel. The shinkansen travel up to 200 miles per hour, taking you all over Japan in a matter of hours. Visit Japan in 2016 and hopscotch from one place to another from the comfortable of the shinkansen. Train travel allows you to fill in all the blanks from one Hiroshima to Kyoto, and give you another glimpse into Japanese daily life.



5. Canyon hop the 5 national parks in Utah
My favorite national parks in the United States are clustered in Utah and Arizona. 2016 marks the 100th year of the National Parks Service in the US, and there is no better way to celebrate than to embark on a 5-day 5-park adventure in Utah. The Utah Mighty 5, as it is so popularly dubbed, is a thrilling hiking adventure through the changing landscapes of Bryce Canyon, Zion Canyon, Arches National Park, Capitol Reef, and the Canyonlands. You will not regret this.

6. Plan a last minute weekend trip to Greece
For the bold and adventurous, I dare you to take an unplanned last minute weekend trip abroad. I went to Athens Greece for a weekend and it was one of my favorite trips. I loved being transported to another place on short notice, with no obligation and no set schedule, but an open heart and a curious mind to soak up everything about my destination.



7. Visit the last matriarch tribe in remote China
It’s always a pleasure to get swept away to another place, but there is something especially magical about going to a far, far-flung place. I’ve never felt more immersed in another culture than on my visit to the Musuo Tribe in the south of China. With each year, the tribe gets more visitors as the Chinese government replaces windy mountain dirt roads with paved highways. On my visit in 2011, the tribe told me that they had begun to accept and use real currency a few years prior, abandoning their long history of the barter system. In 2016, I challenge you to visit a far-flung place that remains largely undisturbed by tourism to experience a piece of history. Each year, more technology, infrastructure, and overall economic improvement bring increased tourism to truly remote places like the lakefront settlement of the Musuo tribe. Although I have no doubt that visitors help promote a destination, they also alter it - forever changing it.

First, happy 2016!

A lot of fitness goals are coming out of the closet right about now, and many of you want to start running in 2016. I began running regularly in early 2010. I was studying in the south of London at the time, and hitting the gym became a regular habit during the rainy season there. It didn't take me long to gravitate toward the treadmill, and then the trails when the weather improved as the months wore on. 6 years later, I’m still happiest on the run.

Here's my take on how you can also start running.

1. Identify Your Goal

Whether it’s getting in better shape, cross that marathon off your bucket list, or losing 10 pounds, identify what you want to get out of running. When I first began, I wanted to run 5K in under 25 minutes. Like all achievable goal-setting, make sure your goals are SMART: specific, measurable, action-oriented, relevant, and trackable. Once you identify your goal, you will be able to figure out a detailed workout plan from there.

2. Pick Out Your Gear

Whether you plan to run outdoors or indoors, on a track, the pavement, a trail, or the treadmill, you need appropriate gear. Don’t worry about getting the most high-tech dri-FIT stuff; wear something comfortable and loosely fitting but not falling off of you. I started with just cotton t-shirts and gym shorts from my high school days. The one piece of gear you shouldn’t sacrifice is your running shoes. Make sure your shoes fit well (be mindful of squishing your toes) and provide the right amount of support and flexibility for your foot. The best bet is to get fitted with runners at your local sports door.

3. Create A Playlist

Get hyped up with the right playlist. Running is supposed to be fun, despite the amount of pain one might feel during a run. Curate your own playlist or use something off of a player like Spotify.

4. Plan Your Route

For those running outside, make sure to plan your route so you don’t get lost, and so you can track your distance and work out your pace. The perfect route, for me at least, is one that goes in a loop so I’m not circling back the same way. Something as simple as Google Maps can provide you with both mileage and elevation.

5. Start Running 

Do you remember running around the playground when you were a kid? Everyone can run. If you think you’re seriously out of shape, then start by spending 20 minutes a day, 3 times a week. You don’t even have to run for the whole 20 minutes, start by just jogging, and don’t be afraid to walk. The best way to start is with a 4-minute jog followed by a 1-minute walking break. Continue this for the whole 20 minutes. When you get stronger, you’ll be able to decrease the walking time and eliminate it altogether, not to mention pick up the pace of the jog.

Go forth and start running!