Gill Whelan is a firecracker. All genuine smiles and from-the-inside-out enthusiasm, she’s a thrill to chat with. Little wonder then that Whelan’s company, Whelan Wellness, has quite literally exploded since the pandemic, with folks of all ages signing up to engage in an online journey towards wellness with Whelan and team cheer leading the way.

We ask how she’s grown such a following since COVID.  Whelan paused. 

“One of the things that a lot of us learned throughout the initial lockdown in 2020 was, as the world hit pause, everybody took a good look at how they were spending their time, and time is our greatest resource,” she began.

There at the Right Time

People transitioned slowly, sometimes against their will, she added, and began doing some sort of self-care or movement or exercise at home. Whelan was there “at the right time  to offer  structure and guidance,” she continued.

With fitness guidance, mental health sessions, registered dietitian advice and yoga sessions, Whelan helps those at home do it at home.

“There’s no escaping, because it’s right where you are. There’s no making appointments. There’s no worrying about catching COVID. I’m confident that’s why we’ve maintained our client base and grown so much because more and more people are realizing the importance of taking care of yourself and at the same time asking what’s the best, most efficient use of my time to do that.” 

Whelan has been coaching fitness classes for 12 years, but her passion has always been coaching people. “I love the physical push. I love the fitness piece. But to me, there’s always been a piece missing,” she said.

 The fitness piece can be most intimidating, she added. What was often missing was relationship building, she said.

“I’m forming relationships with people and helping them live their best lives. I employed my strategies on myself because if there’s anything here that needs fixing for now, it’s me. I started practicing my four pillars myself, and it’s literally, quite frankly, changed my life.”

It was a turning point.

Finding the Magic

“Previous to that, it was always like I had to go work out because I want to look a certain way, or be a certain size, and then when I started working instead on wellness, I very quickly realized the link between physical movement and mental health. The balancing of all the pieces that makes you feel well, it’s not about what you do in the gym, it’s about how you take care of yourself, how you work on your mental health, how much sleep you get and all of the other pieces.”

And when you do that, when your insides get well, your outside follows and that’s when you really thrive, she added.

The formula, she said, “was like finding the magic.” 

The world needs this right now. People need wellness, she continued. Whelan was on to something and her business grew and expanded across the globe. 

“I  feel very blessed. The impact, it’s intense. What I’m hearing from people is that life feels very defeating. It feels very frustrating. It feels frightening. It feels all of those things. But when we take control of our own wellness, you feel a little more powerful and that’s what is happening in our wellness community.”

Mindset coaching sessions via Zoom help, she said. 

“As we go onto yet another period of unknown with this pandemic there needs to be a calm and people need to feel motivated again and not panicked. Yes, people need exercise, we need to move our bodies, but there’s more. My four pillars are movement, mindset, nutrition and hydration.” 

This anytime, anywhere approach is working. “Regardless of your age, size, gender or location in the world, this works. It’s so flexible. What I aim to do is to remove any barrier that was ever perceived by anybody in feeling healthier, so time zones don’t matter. You don’t need a babysitter. Cost is very low.”

Whelan says she aims to offer something that’s “accessible to absolutely everybody.”  From 18 to 81, all are part of the wellness family, she says.

Start Healthy Habits

“We have all genders and we have absolutely all body types. We scale and tailor the workouts. We have wheelchair users, we have people that are absolutely beginners and we have people who are fitness coaches. But, everybody feels challenged, no matter where you’re at or where you start.” 

Again, it’s not just about the movement. “Every single one of us needs help with our mental health. Every single one of us needs help with our mindset. I’ve been around fitness for a very long time. I’m really passionate about the science and building and designing these workouts so nothing is just slapped together to make you sweat. There’s a real reason for everything that I do here.”

She thrives on variety and has never repeated a workout. There’s live and recorded classes available. 

“I care about each and every exercise,” she said.

With 2022 moving through, we ask if fitness dedication  is sometimes just a New Year’s resolution.  She’s not a fan of such things, she says. 

“I don’t love New Year’s resolutions. It’s because of the rap. It’s because this industry is a multi-billion dollar industry that thrives on people feeling bad about themselves on January 1st, and I won’t do that.”

Instead, she encourages folks to start forming healthy habits, and watch the progression happen. That keeps motivation at an all time high, and keeps everybody excited and engaged. Any overall motivational words she can share, we ask.

‘Self-care is not Selfish’

“Find the best, most efficient system where you can carve time out for you every day. Self-care is not selfish. This is about taking care of yourself. This is about longevity. Let’s feel like our best selves.”

Dig out the best part of you and heal the stuff from the past, she added. “Let’s move forward, continually, move forward. Our eyes are in the front of our head for a reason, so we can move forward. And we can do that from the comfort and safety of our home without a lot of equipment, and without spending a lot of money.”

As a busy mom, wife and business owner, Whelan knows first hand how important it is to be healthy. “You got to find time for you. I’ll be 43 this spring and this is the most consistent I have ever been.” 

Married 16 years and with three boys, they stay active together as a family. “We move our bodies every day in different ways. (Husband) Peter and I did a virtual spin class the other night. The boys play hockey. We’ve got a backyard rink and a little basketball area set up outside too. We are an active family and we really value movement.”

For more on Whelan Wellness, visit whelanwellness.ca or follow on social media

Q: Tell me a little about how Kids Yoga came about! Where did this idea come from? How did you go about bringing it from concept to reality?

A:  I remember being in a yoga class, long before I began my instructor training, and thinking, “I wish I had these tools when I was a teenager.” I had just begun my teaching career (high school) and the struggles that teenagers face today were at the forefront of my mind. Although we often view yoga as a form of physical exercise – and it absolutely is – it is also so much more than that. Yoga reduces anxiety and stress, builds self confidence and awareness, improves focus and concentration, and supports individuality.

The more I thought about it, the more I realized that teaching yoga to children would give them tools that they could use throughout their lifetime – and it would also keep them active.

I began to practice with my youngest son, who was five years old at the time. He loved it – soaked it up like a sponge. I researched yoga for children and read as much as I could on the subject. I then began my instructor certification training. Once I was certified to teach, I reached out to two local schools and the responses were wonderful. I ordered mats, blankets, and a few other supplies and the rest is history!

Q:  What are some benefits of beginning to do yoga at an early age?

A: When we are young we so receptive to learning new things. This is the perfect time lay the foundation on which to build a healthy body and mind.

We all know daily exercise is important, and creating a habit is the first step. Yoga is something that we can do at any time, in any place, without any special supplies or equipment, and it’s fun! It’s gentle and safe, yet builds strength and increases flexibility quickly.

Children are able to see progress right away. They are able to see how strong their bodies actually are. A healthy body image is so important, and shifting the focus from the mirror to how we feel is instrumental in building positive self image and self esteem. I feel that the earlier we can teach this, the better.

In my classes I really focus heavily on the fact that our bodies are all different, and we all look different in our poses – and that’s normal! I emphasis that practice makes progress and there is no end to yoga, we are always improving and there will always be more to learn. Each of us will progress at our own rate and there is no competition. Having pride in our own physical accomplishments is rewarding, regardless what the person next to us is doing.

Yoga also teaches breathing techniques that can be very helpful for children dealing with anxiety, frustration, anger, etc. We sometimes take breathing for granted, but it can be a such powerful tool. A calming breathing exercise can give a child control over his or her emotions. Just as tree pose builds confidence in our physical body, having some control over our emotions builds emotional confidence.

Q:  Walk me through a typical class. What’s going on?

A:  We always start by sharing one good/positive thing that happened that day. Sometimes we share something we are thankful for, something nice we did for someone, or something nice that someone did for us. We then warm up! We flow yoga poses together to fun songs and make sure we wake up all of our muscles. We do our warrior poses which show us how strong we are, and then our balance poses, highlighting our amazing ability to focus.

We play games like Yogi Says, Yoga Wax Museum, and even Yoga Freeze Tag. It’s pretty high energy at times.

Finally we do deep stretching to thank our bodies for being so strong and awesome. We end with a story or a breathing exercise while laying in savasana. The kids love this part so much. We are constantly learning new poses and the kids who have been with me through all three sessions now know over 50 poses!

Q:  What kind of feedback have you heard from kids? From parents?

A: The kids are so enthusiastic, practically bouncing into the gym after school. Some have told me about using breathing techniques before going on stage at a school play, or how they can now tie their shoes without sitting down. They are quick to show me progress they’ve made with a pose, and beam with pride when they learn something new.

The feedback from parents has also been very positive. I’ll often get emails telling me how much a student enjoys my class. It makes my heart happy.

Q:  If my (hypothetical) kid was interested, how would I go about enrolling him/her/them in a class?

A:  I am currently offering an after school program at St. Edward’s School and Upper Gullies Elementary (both in CBS). I’m hoping to add another school in September. If the interest is there, I would love to offer weekend classes as well. All of the registration information is available on my website. I also have Facebook and Twitter accounts which are linked through the website. Anyone looking for additional information can email me directly.

Visit www.santiyoga.net or email at jennifer@santiyoga.net for more information.