Body By Design Personal Fitness Training

Body By Design Personal Fitness Training's Ashley Leong-Lewer is hosting a Local Supporting Local Movement / Giveaway starting tomorrow. Over the next four weeks, Antidote Healing will be hosting a giveaway every Monday of local merchandise of about $300 of food, beverages, dry goods and self care items to support our local community. There will be two identical giveaways one on FB and one on IG, for a total of $2400 of local products that will be donated over this month. Please show your support by sharing, liking, commenting, adding this to your stories and of course, entering this movement!

The Truth About C-Sections Whether you have a vaginal birth or a caesarean birth, there is always a time period where recovery, healing and self care is needed. Watch here to learn about the myth about C-Sections and what you can do to best assist your healing!

Enter to win this amazing Local Giveaway put on by Ashley Leong-Lewer who has created a new business Antidote Healing with her husband, Christopher James Lewer.

Local Supporting LOCAL GIVEAWAY time!!! In efforts to support our small local community and show abundance during such times of scarcity and uncertainty, Antidote Healing has organized a $392 Giveaway Box full of our healthy elixirs, vegan food delivery from Chomp Vegan Eatery, Immune Boosting Supplements and soap from Canadian Pine Pollen Co., delicious hot sauce from Sriracha Revolver Hot Sauce, antioxidant super nutritious pomegranate reduction from Red Crown Pomegranate Juice, delicious dehydrated goods from Local Pulse, high protein vegan protein bars from FuelUp protein Bar and all natural self care kit from A Healthy Beginning! SHARE to Win and Support Local! (Contest details below)

I am so proud today to say that we gave our healing elixirs away to two full medical offices of doctors, nurses and essential service providers as a thank you to saving lives everyday! We are so blessed for all the essential services that we have and so lucky to be part of Vancouver!

In times of scarcity, Antidote Healing has created a movement to share abundance with the community through local giveaway that they will be hosting each week for the next four weeks. If youd like to win this $300 gift package of food and goodies, enter to win this amazing LOCAL MOVEMENT!

Body By Design Personal Fitness Trainings Ashley Leong-Lewer is hosting a Local Supporting Local Movement / Giveaway starting tomorrow. Over the next four weeks, Antidote Healing will be hosting a giveaway every Monday of local merchandise of about $300 of food, beverages, dry goods and self care items to support our local community. There will be two identical giveaways one on FB and one on IG, for a total of $2400 of local products that will be donated over this month. Please show your support by sharing, liking, commenting, adding this to your stories and of course, entering this movement!

Hi friends! This is Ashley Leong-Lewer and Christopher James Lewer together we make up Antidote Healing. A little bit about us, we were two world travellers who... met on a solo trip on a flight in Thailand. We travelled the world together and became one. Singularly, Ashley has been a holistic personal trainer based out of the Vancouver area, specializing in the integrated system of the pelvic floor using a holistic method of rehabilitation, nutrition and lifestyle for almost 17 years. Chris, has been plant based and a holistically minded chef based outside the New York City area for over 20 years. Our company, Antidote Healing, was born after we were in a near fatal car accident that left us with a wide array of injuries that changed the course of our lives. In efforts to get off harsh pharmaceutical pain killers, we started brewing these traditional herbal elixirs that we had learned while studying around the world. Our efforts to heal, holistically and naturally, led us to more travels and more studies of ancient medicines, which lead us to create our four healing elixirs that we have today. On that fateful day, we were given a second chance. A second chance to live our lives differently, to live our lives to serve in community for others. In the hospital that fateful day, we made a promise to one another that we would become better and do better, to share abundance and love to all of those we came into contact with. Antidote Healing is an extension of this vow, from the organic ingredients that we use, the glass containers bottles and recyclable lids, to the local companies and small farmers that we contribute to for our ingredients, to the fund that we have started (called the Be A Hero Foundation), we do our best to plant our values into our company. It is this reason why we have decided to create our movement called Local Supporting Local, to support the amazing companies that we love and are so deeply connected to, and to support our local community. It is a great honour that we will be the host of this movement that we hope that it will continue beyond just us and will spread to other local communities around us.

In life, I have learned that as an individual, I can only accomplish so much, however as a team, WE, as a collective, can accomplish a LOT. This is the reason w...hy, Chris and I have decided to bring small local businesses together to help support the local community. @antidotehealing along with other amazing local companies and food providers are teaming together to share abundance in this time when people are feeling so much scarcity and uncertainty. Our wish is to spread abundance and love to all around us. For this reason, we have started a movement called Local Supporting Local. Each week for the next four weeks, @antidotehealing will be hosting a Local Supporting Local Giveaway with a handful of amazing local companies to deliver abundance to two lucky winners. This movement will be hosted on both Instagram and on Facebook with a new winner from each platform each week. The amazing, local businesses who are so generously involved in this movement are: @kindredcultures @fuelupproteinbar @ninaspierogi @loaskin @canadianpinepollen @a.healthy.beginning @blueheroncheese @pommenatural @susgrainable @mariesguiltfreebakery @kape.coffee @litasmexicanfoods @localpulse @panelalemon @chiwiskiwichips @shaniseasoning @yoggu.yogurt @simplydelishsoupandsalad @plantbasefood @backformorebites @tempeafoods @sriracharevolver @sola.skincare @chompveganeatery @thevancityherbivore_ And more to come! Please show your love for these amazing companies who are working so hard to share their love during this hectic time by sharing this post #LocalSupportingLocal #InThisTogether #StrongerTogether #SupportLocal #grateful

Here is the story of the new company that Christopher James Lewer and I just started: Antidote Healing exists is because of our history. Christopher and I met while we were both traveling solo, exploring culture and studying healing modalities in Thailand. Chris, was a plant based, health minded, chef working outside New York City, I was rehabilitative, holistic personal trainer from a small city outside Vancouver. We found that we both had a passions for holistic healing, t...ravel and philanthropic work. We dated long distance while we set goals to collaborate together on our philanthropic goals. Our first big goal was to organize a fundraising convention outside New York, to raise funds to build a school dormitory for underprivileged girls in India. In that one day, we raised almost enough money to fund the entirity of the school! Nine months later we flew to India to help with the build of the school and learn Ayurvedic nutrition. Shortly after, we married and continued our journey together exploring the world, studying healing modalities and growing as a couple. We traveled more areas than I can list here, and ended up stumbling upon our next philanthropic endeavor in Indonesia, when we rescued an abused, orphaned puppy, who we named Kerala. During the time we were in Indonesia we learned the beauty of their culture and learned from local herbalists how to make Jamu and Bandrek, traditional healing elixirs (two of our elixirs that we have brought to market here in Vancouver). After a very stressful and difficult time trying to bring Kerala home to Canada, we (and the dogs) were involved in a very serious car accident only two days after returning home. Everything changed after that day, as we had adjust our lives to trauma our bodies and minds experienced. We found refuge in the elixirs that we learned and combined these elixirs with the various modalities of treatment that we were receiving. These elixirs has been (and still is) a pivotal part of our healing. This is our antidote, let is be yours.

I had the most amazing time speaking Grace + Flows Boss Up Vancouver! this past weekend. I was absolutely blown away at all the positive comments and support of our new business. This post left me speechless with gratitude <3

Lets Talk Sex: To be honest sex is the least talked about subject when dealing with the pelvic floor. Most women are not comfortable talking about the difficulties that they experience with sex such as pain during intercourse, vaginal dryness, frequent UTIs (urinary tract infections), yeast infections, BV (bacterial vaginosis) are all very unsexy challenges that can come up when partaking in intercourse while experiencing pelvic floor issues. Left untreated, the worse these... issues get. First and foremost, if you are experiencing pain during intercourse, if it feels like "hes hitting the top" or you experience sharp pains doing the deed, it is super important that you book an appointment with a pelvic floor physiotherapist/physical therapist who can do internal examinations and treatment. This is something that indeed CAN be treated and helped with! If your uterus is out of alignment whether it is shifted or flexed forward or back (anteverted, anteflexed or retroverted, retroflexed), this change in alignment can significantly change your experience while partaking in sex (think painful). Changing the angle and position of your pelvis, such as elevating the hips to encourage the uterus to slide back upwards can help with the sensations that you feel. Maya abdominal massage is another avenue that I encourage and teach my clients, this way you will not only get treatment of abdominal massage therapy from a trained therapist, but also be an active role in your own recovery by doing self-care abdominal massages daily to encourage the best alignment of your uterus. I also encourage frequent oral sex, as this can help increase vaginal lubrication without ever being painful. This allows for you and your partner to experience passion and intimacy, while improving cervical fluid quality (think: use it or lose it), and also avoid the painful aspect of sex (while seeking treatment from a pelvic floor physical therapist). I highly recommend that you speak to your doctor about these infections while also seeking the aid of a pelvic floor physiotherapist and maya abdominal therapist to rule out any other health issues. #letstalkpelvicfloor

I recently had someone say to me that they want to work with me but refused to see a pelvic floor physiotherapist. I advised against working with me at all if she was not willing to work in conjunction with a pelvic physio, as I felt that she could be wasting both of our time and her money. If there are internal adhesions (scarring) that is pulling the structures of the pelvis, it will affect your ability to "connect" to your pelvic floor when I am cueing during a training s...ession. When there are adhesions affecting the pelvic floor, no matter how much cueing or exercise you do, you wont be able to connect until that pathway is clear. I like to think of this analogy to turning a light switch on and off but the electrical wire is not connected. If there are adhesions pulling on the pelvic floor, no matter how many times you tell your pelvic floor "on" the connection may not be there. Seeing a pelvic floor physio to break apart the scar tissue (through internally release) in conjunction with doing proper exercise, breathing, stretching and massage are absolutely key to a full recovery. Self care such as abdominal massage and exercise are invaluable, and combined with internal release work by a physiotherapist is a winning combination. #letstalkpelvicfloor

Had an amazing turn out and experience educating our community about the pelvic floor. My goal with @cookingwiththelewers was to teach people: What is the pelvic floor Signs + symptoms when to see a pelvic floor physio and seek treatment for the pelvic floor Nutrition to bring down inflammation in the gut to reduce stress on the pelvic floor and digestive organs Lifestyle habits to improve pelvic floor function... We had a great experience and enjoyed sharing our knowledge. Thanks for all who came out! #letstalkpelvicfloor @ Natures Fare Markets See more

Chris and I were so excited to see our seminar poster all over Natures Fare in Langley yesterday. Well be combining our knowledge in the pelvic floor, digestion and gut health to give you information on how to live a healthier lifestyle to help support your pelvic floor on Thursday May 30th at 7pm at the Natures Fare in Langley. See you there!

I am excited to announce that I will be speaking about pelvic floor health at @naturesfaremarkets in Langley on Thursday May 30th at 7pm. Learn how to take care of your digestive and reproductive health by learning more about your pelvic floor and its importance in maintaining balance of your whole body. #letstalkpelvicfloor

A medical procedure that was said to be "safe" for urinary incontinence, prolapse and pelvic floor dysfunction turns out to cause more harm than good. When dealing with pelvic floor issues such as urinary incontinence, pain during intercourse, prolapse, diastasis and more, speak to a pelvic floor physio and seek other alternatives to safely training your core and pelvic floor. There are breathing techniques to help you relax your pelvic floor to assist in relaxing the pelvic... floor (that may be too tight as a result leaking), as well as exercises to work on engagement. I have found that working with a pelvic floor physio while also working on alignment through the Feldenkrais Method and breaking up scar tissue with Arvigo Technique of Maya Abdominal Therapy followed by the Hypopressive Method has been a winning combination of helping my clients improve pelvic floor function and strength, all while building their confidence. See more

C O N T E S T T I M E ! ! ! Enter to win this great local product @naturebeewraps a "planet friendly alternative to plastic wrap"! All you have to do is: 1. S H A R E this photo 2. F O L L O W @naturebeewraps and @ashleyleonglewer... 3. T A G two friends *For extra entries tag additional friends in separate comments below. Note: One winner will be announced for Facebook and one for Instagram. Contest ends: Tuesday April 16th, 2019

Most of you follow my personal page @ashleyleonglewer, but in case you didnt see, I decided to do a repost on my pelvic floor specific page, that after lots of requests to bring back group classes, I have decided to start up my group training again. This will be a Womens Wellness program that will be focused on healing from the inside out, specifically for pelvic floor safe exercise. I will of course be incorporating my many modalities of training to bring you the most well... rounded program I can offer. In this program you will learn: pelvic floor safe core exercises yoga kickboxing conditioning holistic nutrition stress management self care massage hypopressive non-surgical tummy tuck training Pricing for this six week program will be $259. Spaces will be limited and I will not be holding any spots, so keep your eyes open for when registration opens up. #letstalkpelvicfloor

Massaging the tummy daily to stimulate lymphatic drainage and circulation can help to improve digestion, detoxification and relaxation. Take a couple minutes each take for your self care and rub your tummy! Here is a clip of me instructing how to do a simple lymphatic massage at the The Victoria Womens Expo. #enjoy #letstalkpelvicfloor

Here is a little snippet on the core contraction that I taught the audience at the Victoria Womens Expo yesterday. Because kegels simply arent enough! #letstalkpelvicfloor

Yesterdays talk turned out to be even better than planned. Big thank you to @victoriawomensexpo for the opportunity to take center stage and speak about different signs and symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction. A lot of women went home with a better awareness of their bodies and some tools needed to help improve their pelvicfloor through posture, breathing, core engagement and tummy massage! #letstalkpelvicfloor Big thank you to @christopherjameslewer for videoing some of the talk and for all the support to make this talk happen

Women risk depression and anxiety if their uterus is out of alignment. If it is they can suffer a wide variety of issues one main one being digestive issues. If the uterus is misaligned, digestion and circulation is affected thus decreasing nutrients available to the brain as well as a decrease in blood flow and lymphatic drainage (this detoxification is shunted). These issues can be significantly reduced through abdominal massage, breathing and herbal remedies to improve the alignment of the uterus as well as function of the digestive, circulatory and lymphatic systems. #letstalkpelvicfloor

I am super excited to announce that I will be a Key Note Speaker for the The Victoria Womens Expo this Sunday March 3! I will be on stage from 1:30-2:30pm to present: "Lets Talk Pelvic Floor: Chronic Pain, Migraines, Digestive Issues and its Relationship to the Pelvic Floor." Body By Design Personal Fitness Training #vwe19 #womensexpo @ Victoria, British Columbia

Over this past year since the accident, Chris (@christopherjameslewer) I have been through so much. The injuries we sustained drove me to the distant corners of the world to learn some of the most holistic methods of therapy and rehabilitation. After traveling to Seattle, Washington and Santa Fe, New Mexico for the Feldenkrais Method and then to Kelowna for my first training in The Arvigo Technique of Maya Abdominal Therapy, then to the Philippines for their traditional metho...ds of massage and herbalism and now lastly to Belize for my professional training in The Arvigo Technique of Maya Abdominal Therapy...I have come to the realization that it is time to update my website and redefine what I do as a movement therapist. In the past I was an injury specialty (active rehab) personal trainer. My focus was on learning the integrated system of how the musculoskeletal system functioned in order to learn the primary cause of injuries and pain. However I missed a huge piece of the puzzle, the visceral organs of the abdomen. I knew tons about the muscles but the organs were a component that I had not considered. Now after experiencing the injuries to my abdomen and being unable to get the answers I needed from the medical professionals in Canada, I sought further education. My new spin on my training and rehabilitation is now what I would define as a Pelvic Floor Personal Trainer who focuses on the integrated system of how the musculoskeletal, digestive, reproductive, lymphatic, circulatory and nervous systems all play a roll in injuries and healing. #letstalkpelvicfloor

Currently fully immersed in the most holistic abdominal training I have ever found. This past week I have been learning how to decrease interabdominal pressure through massage and holistic therapy. Using the Arvigo Techniques of Maya Abdominal Therapy I have learned new tools to improve fertility, digestion, elimination, pelvic floor issues, chronic pain (in both men and women) and menstrual and womens issues. This has been the course that I have been craving for so long and... so desperately needing (since the accident). In western medicine, the coccyx and sacrum position/alignment is not really addressed in how it affects the uterus (or vice versa), overall reproductive system (including fertility), digestion and circulation. The Arvigo Technique has brought up and can help with so many crippling issues that so millions of people suffer from such as: Fibroids Painful menstrual cycles Infertility Chronic miscarriages Bladder infections Incontinence Hemorrhoids Back pain Prostate issues (And so much more). All by improving circulation, lymphatic drainage, nerve function and organ motility. I am amazed at the changes I am already feeling and I know that the tools I am learning right now, that not only will I be able to help nurture my own injuries but also Chris and all my clients. #letstalkpelvicfloor

Enter to win a Prairie Naturals Organic Aqua Greens! Share and Follow to win!

C O N T E S T G I V E A W A Y! ! ! Enter to win this amazing Pamper Package from Mediterra Soaps to spoil yourself this holiday!

Pelvic floor dysfunction is not just a problem in the pelvis but can also be an alignment issue of the thorax and neck. If you suffer from pelvic floor dysfunction its important to not only train and work on your pelvic floor but also stretch and align your thorax and neck. Here is a seated side stretch that I get my clients to do daily to help reduce pressure on their pelvic floor. #letstalkpelvicfloor

H O L I D A Y G I V E A W A Y ! Enter to win an amazing float experience! All you have to do is: 1. L I K E this post. ... 2. S H A R E this post 3. T A G two friends who would benefit from floating. *Extra entries for additional friends tagged in separate comments* Contest ends December 11, 2018. Good luck!

Since my own personal experiences of healing pelvic floor dysfunction from my car accident, I have really come to value the combination of healing therapies that I have learned over the years. Yoga alone has been a blessing in my life, but when combined with the Feldenkrais Method (to retrain my brain how to move), Hypopressive therapy (what I like to call "nonsurgical tummy tuck training") and Maya Visceral Massage, I have found this to be a winning combination to give me relief and improve my overall pelvic floor + core function. I am so thankful for the amazing creators of these therapies who have helped me to help myself and my clients cope and heal from pelvic floor dysfunction. #thankful #letstalkpelvicfloor

Enter this weeks Local Spotlight Flaman Fitness! Share this video to enter to win the contest below!

Twisted Sumo Squat: I love teaching this stretch to my clients as it accomplish many of their goals: 1. Stretches the hips and thorax (ribcage) 2. Realigns the connection of the thorax to the pelvis 3. Opens up the pelvis to relax the pelvic floor muscles (which is helpful for clients who are hypertonic *too tight*, who may experience incontinence)... 4. Strengthens the legs and butt to create a toned lower body I personally have been doing this stretch to improve my connection to my body, retraining myself how to relax my pelvic floor (as I too, have been hypertonic in my pelvic floor since the car accident) while simultaneously improving my flexibility and tone. I recommend to try this 30 seconds per side, for 2 sets, three times per week. #letstalkpelvicfloor @ Willoughby, Langley, British Columbia

Three exercises to improve pelvic floor health & function: #1 - Angel Wing Breathing (lateral costal breathing) - which helps to utilize the thorax to align the posture and decrease pressure on the pelvic floor. #2 - Malasana - Supoorted Yoga Squat to help relax the pelvic floor muscles and open & stretch the hips to align (and once again decrease pressure on the pelvic floor). #3 - Supported Bridge Pose - Ises gravity to naturally lift the pelvic floor and the uterus up a...nd in while simultaneously working on your Angel Wing Breathing to align the thorax (ribcage) with the pelvis. Do these exercises every day to every second day for optimal results. A big thank you to Flaman Fitness Langley for generously providing us with these high quality products which I personally use every day. If youd like to win the products that I used in this video enter this contest to win! Contest rules: 1. Share this post 2. Follow Body By Design Personal Fitness Training and Flaman Fitness Bonus Entries for each comment that tags a friend. Tag up to five friends for five bonus entries. Contest ends Tuesday Nov 27, 2018. Keep your eyes open for the announcement of our winners! Please note: Sharing settings must be on public so we can see your name and enter you to win. Winners must pick up winning equipment at Flaman Fitness Langley

Want to learn exercises to help heal the pelvic floor? Learn how to relax and lift the pelvic floor for optimal function through three easy exercises in my upcoming video posts this week. This Weeks Local Spotlight is @flamanfitnesslangley who has graciously agreed to giveaway the high quality equipment that I am using to teach these videos. Stay tuned for our next contest giveaway! #letstalkpelvicfloor

Pelvic Floor Safe Exercise: When training the core muscles youll often see videos or pictures of a super fit person doing crunches or sit ups and recommending this for flat abs, the problem with this, is that sit ups and crunches increase interabdominal pressure and increase pressure placed on the pelvic floor muscles. This interabdominal pressure can increase pelvic floor dysfunction or the tearing of diastasis and in some cases even cause diastasis (in individuals who do r...epetitive sit ups and crunches), especially if they are susceptible to tearing such as an individual who has undergone an abdominal surgery, pregnancy (whether its a vaginal delivery or though c-section) or experienced trauma to their sacrum (or tailbone). This is why it is important to know how to safely train your deep core muscles. I am pictured here doing a core contraction followed by a single leg lift. To do a core contraction, place your hands on your hip bones and draw your fingers inwards towards your groin two inches until you feel a small dip in your muscles. This is your deep core muscle (the transverse abdominis). Now imagine that your uterus and pelvic floor is like a jellyfish and that you are swimming your pelvic floor upwards and back towards your spine. A more graphic but in my opinion a better description, is to imagine youre drawing a tampon up and inwards towards the back of your spine. If youve engaged your core correctly, you should feel your fingers slide inwards towards each other and your stomach flatten slightly. To do a single leg lift: Hold your core contraction while you breathe out and lift your foot off the ground an inch. Maintain this core engagement until you place your foot back down. If your fingers suddenly push outwards (towards the ceiling) it means you lost your core control, this is a sign to just stick to the core contraction for now. The third photo is only to be done if you can maintain core stability without having abdominal doming (where the internal obliques push outwards and take over the job that the deep core muscles are supposed to be doing). #letstalkpelvicfloor @ Langley Events Centre

Congratulations to @Cathou Hebert for winning this weeks Local Spotlight Land Art Canadas chlorophyll! I hope you love this product as much as I do <3

Here is (Part 2) of a lesson that I will often get my clients to do at home in order to assist in improving body awareness, breathing by relaxing the diaphragm. #letstalkpelvicfloor