about me
Hello!
My name is Pat McCashin and I live near Tofino on Vancouver Island in British Columbia, Canada. I grew up in Calgary on the Canadian prairies but have lived on Vancouver Island for the last 20 years. Vancouver Island is a place of mountains, forests, waves and wilderness. Living here is a dream come true and has allowed me to follow my passions of exploring the outdoors through surfing, SUPing, working, hiking and biking. Along with my love and interest in all things healthy, I hope to share some of these experiences here with you.
My Current Lifestyle
I live, what some would consider, a very healthy lifestyle. Generally, I exercise regularly, practice mindfulness for focus and stress relief and eat well. Specifically, my main workout consists of a Qigong and Tai Chi session with an Ashtanga and Yin Yoga practice. My other workouts include my favorite activities of surfing, stand up paddle boarding, hiking, biking, working and gardening. In addition to my Qigong, Tai Chi and yoga practice, I do tummo/Wim Hoff breathing every morning and take a cold water plunge or shower every day.
I have been following a whole food plant based diet for over four years and love it. My energy levels are great and I just feel good, both mentally and physically. My daily diet consists of muesli or porridge with lots of added fruit, nuts and seeds in the morning and mainly hearty legume, whole grain, root vegetable and vegetable salads and stews for lunch and supper. I snack mostly on seeds, nuts and fruit but will occasionally have granola bars or crackers and hummus and confess to having a weakness for peanut butter and banana sandwiches on sourdough or sprouted bread.
I haven’t been to a gym in years and I don’t lift weights. I no longer drink alcohol or smoke cigarettes. My lifestyle habits and choices came through trial, error and hard work. I hope to pass along some of my tips, strategies and solutions on how I got be where I am today, thriving in sobriety and living a healthy, active life after decades of alcohol abuse.
Interest, Experience and Intent
My interest in all things healthy came to me at an early age from my mother who was a health nut before it was trendy to be one. She was constantly trying new health foods and cooking decidedly tasteless meals all in the name of good health. But when she died of colon cancer, I was confused and disappointed that such a healthy person could die at such a young age from so terrible a disease. She tried to fight her disease with healthy practices and foods as well as traditional medical treatments, but to no avail. My mothers was the first death that heightened my interest in figuring out what truly was a healthy diet and what constituted a healthy lifestyle.
The second was my best friend and older brother, who died of alcohol related liver disease when he was 46 years old. My own struggles with alcohol addiction and abuse honed my interest to a razors edge and has pushed me to research, study and practice healthy lifestyle choices for both physical as well as mental issues. As I continue to explore solutions for diseases of the mind and body, I hope to share, not only my successes, but also my failures on how to live a healthy, happy life.
Thanks for reading,
Pat.
