Yogagurl Sponsors CN Tower Climb!

The dream of yogagurl is to empower & inspire women. With this in mind, Alex sponsored three determined girls to climb to the top of the CN Tower!

From left to right, meet Marg Skorka, myself, Erika Lucivero, and Monika Krupa; aka, 'Alex's Angels' hehe! We are dressed head to toe in some very comfortable and sustainable yogagurl yoga wear!

All proceeds for the climb were donated to the United Way. This motivated us to raise money, but what motivated us to climb this BEAST of a tower?!?! A challenge! Marg wanted to challenge herself to do something she hadn't done before. Monika and I were doing this for our second time (yes, we must be crazy!) and were aiming to beat our previous times! Since my last climb, I had a major lifestyle change that had me question how I would perform on this climb.

I became a gluten-free vegan 5 months ago. It began with a detox and the elimination diet followed. This made me aware of several food allergies and sensitivities that I had. Coincidentally, I began interning at yogagurl and had the privilege of leaning from and being supported by Alex. Alex is highly influenced by the Thrive diet, developed by vegan athlete Brendan Brazier.

I have always been active, but I definitely noticed a surge of energy on this diet. I was so excited to see how I would perform on the climb... until I was attacked with a horrible flu that had me quarantined and bedridden for three weeks! I healed a week before the climb (thankfully!) and had to find the best and fastest way to prepare in order to optimize my performance. So what did I do?

Exercising again started gradually, focusing on bringing up my endurance and strength. I still had a lingering cough so I used steam to help heal my lungs. Most importantly, I focused my attention on nutrition.

Vega has a whole food optimizing powder that I used to make shakes twice a day. While sick, I would literally feel healthier right after drinking it. It is PACKED with nutrition and maca! It’s amazing! I drink it once a day now, but at the time, I needed my nutrients!

Another way I got nutrients was through eating ‘superfoods.’ These include hemp (hemp oil in salad), chlorophyll (in my water), greens, coconut milk/oil (cook with coconut oil!!), and sprouts (like quinoa to replace wheat). These are amazing options you could add to your diet! Remember, it’s not as much about eliminating foods like meat, as it is about adding foods like these!

I was feeling pretty good the morning of the climb! I ate fruit for the sugar rush/energy and drank Vega sport for the electrolytes (hydrates your body). You don’t want to eat too much before a workout because then your body will focus its energy on digesting instead of fueling your muscles!

The three of us did some stretching to warm up and then went for it! Being sick definitely affected my performance. My lungs were screaming at me!! My determination broke through and I managed to knock a minute off my previous time, finishing at 19.41 minutes! Marg/fellow vegan finished at 20.08 and Monika/superwoman finished at 17.02!

I know that without having changed my lifestyle I wouldn’t have been able to heal as fast as I had and perform so well! Yoga and meditation gave me the mental capacity to stay focused and keep going. Although my breathing went from breathe in… breathe out… breathe in… breathe out… to breahinoutbrtethoutinbrethinout… JUST BREATHE!!! Haha

The plan for the next climb is to get a group of people together wearing men’s underwear. We’re talking tighty whiteys! You’re welcomed to join our group, or make one of your own with your own theme! You don’t even need to climb the tower. You could do anything! Have fun with it! Be creative! Challenge yourself and play!! I hope I’ve inspired you so you can go out and inspire others!! Like Ghandi said, ‘be the change you want to see in the world.’

-Erika xo <3