Shasha Shaun Navazesh, founder of Shasha Bakery, practises his yoga poses prior to a class
Originally from Azerbaijan, Shasha Navazesh, CEO of Shasha Bread Co., immigrated to Canada 24 years ago by way of England and the U.S. and became an executive chef in Toronto. The 55-year-old baker credits yoga with helping him develop a flexible mindset, enabling him to adapt to different stages in his life such as remarrying and welcoming a baby. But he wants to ensure his workout sustains him through all the unexpected changes still ahead.
My goal
"To stay healthy and fit."
My workout
"I've been going to Yogaspace for two years. I do vinyasa [level 1 to 2]for an hour and a half every Sunday, and Wednesdays off and on. I picked up yoga while I was in India in '85. It's not a sweating yoga, but it's hard. It's not fast, you hit poses long enough to get the stretches and it contributes to my body and my energy.
"For 20 years, I've climbed. The last thing I climbed was Mt. Kilimanjaro. I've climbed Pacaya in South America, and I hike.
"In the winter, we dance on Friday and Saturday with the kids [a 17-month-old baby and a 10-year-old]for a couple of hours. The dance is very modern, loose, alternative – you make some sense of the music and the beat.
"At home, first thing in the morning before I shave, I do stretches. I stand in the middle of the room with my arms hanging, and then I swing them around so they slap the sides of my body. I turn to one direction 12 times, and turn to the other direction. Then I go hang from a bar between a doorframe, and do my hanging postures. Ten years ago, I had a car accident, and I suffered for three years, and I find that stretching the spine to let go of the weight of the heaviest part of my body helps me relieve pain in my neck. But I've always hanged. I have a monkey inside me."
My lifestyle
"We cook and eat at home. It's Shasha-style, one-pan cooking. We consume as much raw food as possible, grain and root vegetables, and we either blanche or pan-fry to sear and then bake fish or chicken. In winter, we make a lot of stews.
"I eat breakfast with the youngest one and my wife. My porridge is a combination of five different grains, goji berries, pecans and walnuts in almond milk, cut fresh fruit. I'm at work at 8:30 a.m., which is two kilometres away. I eat lunch with my wife and kids at 12 o'clock and have a catnap for 20 minutes. After that I have some fruits, and I go back to work. Everybody has dinner eaten at 7:30."
My motivation
"Excellence, my loved ones, and my life journey."
My anthem
"CDs from Buddha Bar."
My challenge
"A feeling of resilience. My goals and dreams and hopes have changed throughout my life and my challenge is being flexible to go with the changes and not break."
The game plan
The critique
Michael Sommers, founder of Toronto-based Evolve Chiropractic, sees a gap in structural work that develops the connection between the brain and a set of underused core muscles to alleviate back and neck pain.
Tone up neural connections
"I recommend front plank and side plank, with a progression of intensity and duration. When Shasha's capable of maintaining a perfect position for 45 seconds, add 15 to 20 seconds to hold the position, but always stop when the body oscillates too much. If he sees other muscles straining, he's done. These are muscle engagement exercises, and he can do them daily, but five days a week is good."
Do isometric neck retractions
"Shasha could put a small towel rolled up behind the neck, tuck the chin in, and then, push the head back into the towel for 10 seconds, repeated four times, to work deep neck flexors that can stabilize the neck. Within a couple of weeks he should notice comfort in the position and longer hold times. This way he combines flexibility with strength work."
Condensed and edited
Special to The Globe and Mail