Healing through internal processes

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By: Beth Barr

In this week’s installment of the SHEC Interview Series, we feature Krista Madsen, an assistant professor in the Department of Kinesiology. Madsen’s dedication to the dissemination of knowledge led to her becoming the department’s first teaching professor, a position she holds with pride along with a firm determination to “ignite lightbulbs” for students.

Madsen believes that her fascination with the human body began in childhood. She doesn’t exactly know why, but speculates that it might have to do with a textbook her parents had at home; Madsen marvelled at the diagrams, and at how all that “stuff” fit inside each person as she peeled back layers of skin, muscle, vasculature and organs. Combine this experience with her natural tendency towards sport and visual learning, and you get a kinesiology professor whose ability to clearly illustrate and demonstrate principles ensures no student gets left behind.

When asked what she loves most about her work, Madsen has a lot to say – what’s not to love about her job? However, she became noticeably excited about the notion of watching students take what she presents, in any of the ways she manages to frame and re-frame concepts, and move on to do exciting things, from furthering advanced research, to landing top positions in emerging fields. She says she “really enjoy[s] the mentorship aspect.” In kinesiology, Madsen teaches from second to fourth year, and strives to challenge students and create opportunities for them to grow. She discovered that while she “appreciate[s] research and uses it all the time,” she “really enjoys the process of knowledge translation,” which is how she makes concepts manageable, useful and meaningful for students.

When asked about her regrets of undergrad, she mentions lack of sleep and poor cooking skills. She highlights the real importance of good sleep habits, and taking “moments of pause” to check in with yourself, even if you feel like you can keep going. Madsen suggests that listening to what your body actually needs (such as a nap) can overrule that adrenaline-filled need to accomplish things, and leave you more refreshed and ready to take on your challenges. She mentions immune function in relation to sleep and food, and reminds us of the viral hot box we live in, especially during exam and midterm seasons.

I wanted to know in what ways students could lead a more balanced lifestyle. She responded that “we always have the chance to start with today,” and went on to explain that while long term goals can be useful, we need to accept that “we are presented with choices in every moment,” and we have to do make small changes within them. If you only focus on the long-term goal, you may feel like you’re failing all the time, which can wear you down.

By focusing on today,” she said, “you can experience many small successes from moment to moment.”

She recommends minimizing any mental or physical barriers to make positive changes, like keeping your exercise gear by your bed, and advises acknowledging your unique personal victories rather than comparing yourself to external standards that can be self-defeating.

A major theme that flowed through our conversation was self-judgement. Madsen doesn’t recommend bogging oneself down with negative perceptions and judgements, and she links this back to the idea that we’re human and sometimes things aren’t right for us. “Just let it go,” she says. In terms of New Years Resolutions, she thinks they can be great; those who need a concrete starting point can begin with something realistic. Those who need less structure can start these habits at any time – but they all benefit from new efforts and goals they undertake.

Finally, Madsen touched on mental health and the mind-body link. She says that “mental health can be a struggle for many people, and physical activity can have a very positive impact when people take a balanced and rewarding approach to exercise.” She encourages students who are struggling – whom she might see in a classroom setting – to seek the help they need without judgement and to remove the barriers they perceive around help and self-help. Madsen is a firm believer in the mind-body link, and advocates care on all levels.

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