{"id":3464,"date":"2021-03-23T22:33:51","date_gmt":"2021-03-24T02:33:51","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/?p=3464"},"modified":"2023-09-14T15:51:10","modified_gmt":"2023-09-14T19:51:10","slug":"active-champions-series-catriona-le-may-doan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/blog\/active-champions-series-catriona-le-may-doan\/","title":{"rendered":"Active Champions Series: Catriona Le May Doan"},"content":{"rendered":"

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“I truly believe that being active & making an effort to be outside, to do an activity of some kind, will be key for us to recover from the effects of the pandemic.”<\/h2>\n
\"catriona

PHOTO COURTESY: CATRIONA LE MAY DOAN’S INSTAGRAM: @CATRIONALD<\/p><\/div>\n

When it comes to high-performance athletes, engaging in physical activity<\/a> comes naturally and frequently. But after the days of competing are done and daily life starts throwing you curveballs, squeezing in time to move your body can sometimes feel overwhelming – especially if you’re a single working parent navigating life through a global pandemic.<\/p>\n

However, for two-time Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater and mom of two Catriona Le May Doan, getting active with her kids and leading by example is the key to maintaining both her physical and mental health. Her commitment to the power of sport and physical activity is exemplified through her work with Sport Calgary<\/em><\/a>, supporting the growth of sport in her province,<\/p>\n

“We were always in various sports growing up and we never specialized early on,” Catriona explained to ParticipACTION. “We also played sports regardless of if we were excelling at them or not, and then as I got older the focus for me became high-performance sports and speed skating.”<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

“I think we have to get out of our mindset that physical activity is just organized sport – it’s about leading an active life.<\/h2>\n
\"catriona

CATRIONA WITH HER DAUGHTER, GRETA, AND SON, EASTON. PHOTO COURTESY @CATRIONALD<\/p><\/div>\n

“I’ve continued to live that active lifestyle with my children. Whether it’s participating in what I call ‘old lady hockey\/old lady ringette’, cross-country skiing, going on walks, going to the gym, my kids are active with me. I try to be an example of that for them and in my work with Sport Calgary, helping introduce sport and activity to the community as well.”<\/p>\n

Despite all her amazing work in community and time spent getting active with her family, Catriona is feeling the mental health effects of spending more time indoors being sedentary. Just like for thousands of other Canadians, life can be hectic and stressful.<\/p>\n

“As soon I’m busy and stressed, I start letting go. I’m not myself,” said Catriona. “People just assume that getting active is second nature for me, but I’m a single mom trying to work and keep a household going and I’m stressed about everything around me.”<\/p>\n

“I know that as soon as I’m not active, I struggle. It’s easy to push it aside and say, ‘I’ll do something tomorrow’ instead of saying, ‘I’ve got 10 minutes, so I’ll go walk around the block’. That’s what it takes, a little bit every day can really help.”<\/p>\n

The impacts of the pandemic on Canadians’ health are very real. Over the past year we’ve all naturally spent less time moving around in the ways we are used to, but things are getting better. Physical activity and sport will be key in helping Canadians of all walks of life and abilities get back to normal, in both body and mind.<\/p>\n

\"catriona

PHOTO COURTESY: CATRIONA LE MAY DOAN’S INSTAGRAM: @CATRIONALD<\/p><\/div>\n

“I think we have to get out of our mindset that physical activity is just organized sport – it’s about leading an active life,” said Catriona.<\/p>\n

“I’ve had people say to me ‘I’m not a sport person’, well, do you garden? Do you go for walks? Then you’re active. I truly believe that being active and engaged and making an effort to be outside, to do an activity of some kind will be key for us to recover from the effects of the pandemic.”<\/p>\n

“Most of us understand the physical benefits of sport, but the pandemic has shown how much we are missing the social and mental health side of it, and how important those benefits will be in moving forward from all this”<\/p>\n

The best part of physical activity and sport? Everyone can soak up the amazing physical and mental health benefits of moving your body, like getting better sleep, having more energy, and reduced anxiety. As Catriona points out, it’s better to get started than never try at all.<\/p>\n

“Regardless of your age or ability, it’s okay to try and fail. Because it’s okay to try something new and struggle,” Catriona said. “As I mentioned before lock down with ‘old lady hockey\/ringette’, while I’m fast to get to the puck, what I do with it after is not pretty.<\/p>\n

“Everyone assumes that because I was really good at the international level at one sport that I will be great at these other ones – but it’s humbling and I’m okay to not be very good at stuff. So, I just want people to understand that it’s okay to fail. It’s better to try it even once than to not try it at all. Give yourself a chance.”<\/p>\n

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“I truly believe that being active & making an effort to be outside, to do an activity of some kind, will be key for us to recover from the effects of the pandemic.” When it comes to high-performance athletes, engaging in physical activity comes naturally and frequently. But after the days of competing are done […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":3481,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"The Active Champions Series is a new monthly showcase of compelling stories from influential Canadians who make physical activity and sport a key part of their everyday lives. We hope these Active Champions will inspire Canadians everywhere to move a little bit more every single day.<\/em><\/strong>\r\n

\u201cI truly believe that being active & making an effort to be outside, to do an activity of some kind, will be key for us to recover from the effects of the pandemic.\u201d<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_3467\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]\"catriona PHOTO COURTESY: CATRIONA LE MAY DOAN'S INSTAGRAM: @CATRIONALD[\/caption]\r\n\r\nWhen it comes to high-performance athletes, engaging in physical activity comes naturally and frequently. But after the days of competing are done and daily life starts throwing you curveballs, squeezing in time to move your body can sometimes feel overwhelming \u2013 especially if you\u2019re a single working parent navigating life through a global pandemic.\r\n\r\nHowever, for two-time Olympic gold medal-winning speed skater and mom of two Catriona Le May Doan, getting active with her kids and leading by example is the key to maintaining both her physical and mental health. Her commitment to the power of sport and physical activity is exemplified through her work with\u00a0Sport Calgary<\/em><\/a>, supporting the growth of sport in her province,\r\n\r\n\u201cWe were always in various sports growing up and we never specialized early on,\u201d Catriona explained to ParticipACTION. \u201cWe also played sports regardless of if we were excelling at them or not, and then as I got older the focus for me became high-performance sports and speed skating.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u00a0\r\n

\u201cI think we have to get out of our mindset that physical activity is just organized sport - it\u2019s about leading an active life.<\/h2>\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_3473\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]\"catriona CATRIONA WITH HER DAUGHTER, GRETA, AND SON, EASTON. PHOTO COURTESY @CATRIONALD[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\u201cI\u2019ve continued to live that active lifestyle with my children. Whether it\u2019s participating in what I call \u2018old lady hockey\/old lady ringette\u2019, cross-country skiing, going on walks, going to the gym, my kids are active with me. I try to be an example of that for them and in my work with Sport Calgary, helping introduce sport and activity to the community as well.\u201d\r\n\r\nDespite all her amazing work in community and time spent getting active with her family, Catriona is feeling the mental health effects of spending more time indoors being sedentary. Just like for thousands of other Canadians, life can be hectic and stressful.\r\n\r\n\u201cAs soon I\u2019m busy and stressed, I start letting go. I\u2019m not myself,\u201d said Catriona. \u201cPeople just assume that getting active is second nature for me, but I\u2019m a single mom trying to work and keep a household going and I\u2019m stressed about everything around me.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cI know that as soon as I\u2019m not active, I struggle. It\u2019s easy to push it aside and say, \u2018I\u2019ll do something tomorrow\u2019 instead of saying, \u2018I\u2019ve got 10 minutes, so I\u2019ll go walk around the block\u2019. That\u2019s what it takes, a little bit every day can really help.\u201d\r\n\r\nThe impacts of the pandemic on Canadians\u2019 health are very real. Over the past year we\u2019ve all naturally spent less time moving around in the ways we are used to, but things are getting better. Physical activity and sport will be key in helping Canadians of all walks of life and abilities get back to normal, in both body and mind.\r\n\r\n[caption id=\"attachment_3477\" align=\"alignleft\" width=\"300\"]\"catriona PHOTO COURTESY: CATRIONA LE MAY DOAN'S INSTAGRAM: @CATRIONALD[\/caption]\r\n\r\n\u201cI think we have to get out of our mindset that physical activity is just organized sport - it\u2019s about leading an active life,\" said Catriona.\r\n\r\n\"I\u2019ve had people say to me \u2018I\u2019m not a sport person\u2019, well, do you garden? Do you go for walks? Then you\u2019re active. I truly believe that being active and engaged and making an effort to be outside, to do an activity of some kind will be key for us to recover from the effects of the pandemic.\u201d\r\n\r\n\u201cMost of us understand the physical benefits of sport, but the pandemic has shown how much we are missing the social and mental health side of it, and how important those benefits will be in moving forward from all this\u201d\r\n\r\nThe best part of physical activity and sport? Everyone can soak up the amazing physical and mental health benefits of moving your body, like getting better sleep, having more energy, and reduced anxiety. As Catriona points out, it\u2019s better to get started than never try at all.\r\n\r\n\u201cRegardless of your age or ability, it\u2019s okay to try and fail. Because it\u2019s okay to try something new and struggle,\u201d Catriona said. \u201cAs I mentioned before lock down with \u2018old lady hockey\/ringette\u2019, while I\u2019m fast to get to the puck, what I do with it after is not pretty.\r\n\r\n\u201cEveryone assumes that because I was really good at the international level at one sport that I will be great at these other ones - but it\u2019s humbling and I\u2019m okay to not be very good at stuff. So, I just want people to understand that it\u2019s okay to fail. It\u2019s better to try it even once than to not try it at all. Give yourself a chance.\u201d\r\n

Download the ParticipACTION app for free today!<\/h2>\r\nFor your shot at awesome prizes, grab your friends, family, and coworkers and download the ParticipACTION app in the\u00a0App Store<\/a>\u00a0or\u00a0Google Play<\/a>\u00a0now and get rewarded for your physical activity.<\/strong>","_et_gb_content_width":"","inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[32,38],"tags":[64,473,130],"benefits":[],"class_list":["post-3464","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-inspiration","category-mental-health","tag-mental-health","tag-speedskating","tag-sport"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3464"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3464"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3464\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":303161,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3464\/revisions\/303161"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3481"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3464"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3464"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3464"},{"taxonomy":"benefits","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ecsdev.participaction.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/benefits?post=3464"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}