A Fresh Experience

Me, according to me: 

My name is Joshua and this is the beginning of a new chapter in my life.

This extension of my strictly race report/ athletics blog at Watershed Athlete is new alternate format that will chronicle my graduate studies at SFU in the Health Education and Active Living/Lifestyle (HEAL) program. I am grateful for this opportunity as it will afford me time to delve into studying avast subject area that I am very passionate about: the health and well being of not only myself and my family, but of the conditions, notions, definitions, and societal aspects of health. I will share my findings with you along the way, and perhaps challenge the readership of Watershed Athlete with what I will discover.

I have worked in education and recreation for the last 18 years, 10 of those as a high school teacher. I developed a love of for acting and performance in my elementary school days. Through high school and my undergrad, I managed to transform those experiences into something that has allowed me to share the importance, love, appreciation for and the value of the arts everyday with my students.

The impetus to become a teacher stems from the fact that I had some pretty fantastic ones as role models growing up. I remember the greatest, most beloved teachers that I have ever had the honor to be a student of, or work with. I aspire to embody the qualities that they lived: a mentor who can positively influence the lives of their students. A person who challenges and encourages them to address issues and problems with creative approaches. One who inspires purposeful creativity and helps individuals build and develop their own thinking.

Why HEAL? Why now?




Athletics/competition and physical fitness are two very important positive outlets in my life. Those outlets have developed into obsessions over time. I began mountain biking in Kamloops (1997), with my brother and a few friends. That first ride had me hooked; I was on a borrowed bike that was too small for me. I bought my first pair of purposeful running shoes in 1999 in order to train for the Vancouver Sun Run, which I completed. I remember it was a painful experience, the run, one that I returned to in the following year, and have subsequently moved on from.

Biking and running--two ways of moving my body that I get an immense amount of satisfaction out of. The ability we as human beings have to more our bodies over space and terrain is something that I am fascinated with, a concept that we often take for granted. I move in the woods, over mountains, on the road, and in the trails because I can. It is exhilarating.  I do not want to lose sight of the physical privilege that I have that affords me to do so. My legs take me many, many places.

In August 2010, I was involved in a bike crash on a training ride that left me in hospital for 6 days with a Grade III separated shoulder, 8 broken ribs, and a collapsed lung. This period of my life was one of immense pain and healing from my injuries. Two surgeries and much physiotherapy helped me to gain back the strength and mobility in my body, to the point where I am now pushing the boundaries of what I believe I can do--what we as humans can do. I am using myself as an experiment: just how far can I cycling? How far and fast can I run? In that crash my own mortality was front and center: I was ready to let myself expire in the ditch and take on the next journey. However, to my surprise, I learned in a hurry that the human will to live was stronger than anything I have ever experienced. The graceful strength I was able to conjure, broken in a ditch on the side of the road, was amazing.

In the years following, I have made a commitment to myself: to stay in the best physical shape that I, as an individual, can in order to grow old with my children. I want to be the dad who can run and play with his kids until they have their own kids. Then I want to run with my grand kids. Life is a precious thing, something that I cherish everyday. I realize that there are many things in my power that I can do to to preserve my own longevity. I am curious to define what is out of my hands that determines my personal health, identifying the key issues in our societal health.

The mind and body, and their interconnections

My approach to the mind and body relationship is from the my experience as an athlete. Thinking back to the many events that I have been a part of, and the types of preparation that I did in order to compete at my best. I realize that the mind is very powerful tool, one that can over-riding the bodies natural tendencies to quit when stressed. I also know that the body has amazing resiliency in healing itself from stress and trauma. Often times, we do not allow ourselves to experience what we are capable of. I am curious to find out just how far I can push my body.

With training, the body will let you know when enough is enough. When racing, or doing anything that is highly demanding on the body, the determination of the mind can trump the body's natural ability to quit. The mind and body must be tuned in order to get the best out of oneself. I look forward to challenging myself in new ways, rewiring my brain, and use my body in uncommon movement pathways.

My Goals for HEAL:

As an educator, I am looking forward to sharing my knowledge from this program with my students--allowing them to see beyond the egocentric, individual pursuits in life that are ubiquitously promoted by our mass media, entertainment, governmental policy development, political systems, and economic structures. Already I am recognizing the health of those around me as determined not by their individual pursuits (although that is an important part of health), but as a product of the national and global system that we experience on a day to day basis.

I am excited to incorporate my passions for health and promotion of the arts in my classroom, two very vital things in our society that are, in my opinion, undervalued.

I want to explore and dig into the current notions that we associate with physical activity: nutrition, hydration, training, recovery, and the many other components that determine individual health. I look forward to challenging the norms of what we as a society are conditioned to accept as normal when it comes to our own personal health.

I am looking forward to sharing diverse perspective with my cohort in the HEAL program. This will be a very fun and fresh 2 years. I hope that it does not fly by too quickly, as I would like to enjoy the work, the company, and the learning.

I am sure that I will gain that, and so much more.

This is the beginning. I am ready to start!

Black Tusk in the distance.
Singing Pass, Garibaldi Provincial Park. August 2013.