Key Outcomes

Learn to recognize and expand beyond a narrow athletic self-concept by exploring the intersections of identity, meaning, and resilience, especially during times of injury, transition, and challenge.

Gain tools and perspectives for cultivating an integrated sense of self—embodied, embedded, and extended—to enhance resilience, adaptability, and long-term mental well-being.

Engage in experiential practices rooted in mindfulness, meaning-making, and the arts to deepen self-awareness, foster relational support, and promote healing and growth.

Understand how to integrate insights from psychoeducation and wisdom traditions to support performance under pressure and guide others through transitions with compassion and integrity.

Meet Our Speakers

Andre Talbot

Movement educator, Mindfulness facilitator, and Psychotherapist

Andre is a movement educator, mindfulness facilitator, and psychotherapist with decades of experience supporting human development, sport performance, and athlete care. A former professional athlete and Grey Cup Champion in the Canadian Football League, he draws on his deep background in athletics, embodiment practices, and trauma-informed care to support a diverse range of clients. Following his retirement from professional sport, Andre co-founded the Spirit Loft Movement Centre in Toronto (est. 2011), a hub for integrated movement and wellbeing practices. He also works in athlete care spaces, developing and delivering innovative programs that integrate mindfulness and movement-based strategies tailored for high-performance environments, working with clients across the CFL, NHL, AHL, U Sports, and Olympic levels. Andre holds a Master’s in Theology with a focus on Spiritual Care & Psychotherapy and has engaged in years of dedicated Zen study and practice—all of which inform his wholistic and integrative approach to athletics, contemplative life, therapeutic care, and community building.

Workshop Overview

This workshop invites athletes and coaches into a reflective and experiential process exploring how identity, meaning, and resilience intersect during times of injury, transition, and personal challenge. In the high-performance culture of sport—often governed by the norms of "bigger, faster, stronger" and reinforced by a business-driven model—athletes are vulnerable to overidentifying with their athletic role. This narrow self-concept, while fueling short-term success, can compromise long-term wellbeing, hinder adaptability, and create deep psychological distress when disruptions occur. Through a systems-based and wholistic lens, participants will be introduced to a broader, more flexible sense of the self—one that sustains mental health, supports performance under pressure, and enhances fulfilment in sport and beyond. We will explore how cultivating an integrated self—that is embodied, embedded, and extended—can support resilience and post-traumatic growth. Emphasis will be placed on athlete care: building relational support, deepening self-awareness, and engaging in practices of meaning-making through reflection, creativity, and mindfulness. Drawing on insights from psychoeducation, wisdom traditions, and the arts, this workshop is designed to support athletes and those who guide them in navigating transition and uncertainty with integrity, curiosity, and courage.