Sustainable living isn't just for the external environment. It is for our internal environment too.
Hi, I'm Nina.
For more than thirty years, I have studied the relationship between physiology, performance, and human potential.
You Can't Change The World On An Empty Tank
My own experience with burnout became the beginning of a much deeper inquiry into the relationship between physiology, energy, performance, and human potential.
That inquiry has shaped the last three decades of my work and ultimately led to the creation of Long Haul Energy™.
From Burnout to my Life’s Work.
At the time it felt like a complete collapse. Looking back, it was a gift that put me on a path I might never have found. I quit my job and started pursuing a return to health.
I retrained as a personal trainer, even though I had never been fit a day in my life and rebuilt myself from the ground up…studying the body from every angle I could find. On this picture I am 50 and in the best shape of my life.
As I started improving I made a vow that I would spend my life helping others avoid the same fate, and I have kept it every day since. I am thirty years in and this passion, this obsession with our body and how it works, only grows stronger every year.
Sustainable Living Isn't Just For The External Environment
For many years, sustainability was a central part of my work and my thinking.
Over time, I became increasingly interested in another form of sustainability—the sustainability of the human body.
The way we produce energy, recover from stress, adapt to change, and sustain our contribution over a lifetime.
Because true sustainability is not only about the world around us.
It is also about the physiology within us.
Our Living Body Has An Intelligence Beyond Anything We Can Imagine
The more I studied physiology, the more I came to appreciate the extraordinary intelligence of the human body.
Our bodies are constantly adapting, communicating, recalibrating, and seeking balance.
For example at sixty-five, our hormonal transition has become deeply personal as well as professional. Much of my work is helping women understand and work with that intelligence rather than against it.
Because when we understand the body's signals, we can make better decisions about how to support energy, resilience, recovery, and long-term performance.
Why Long Haul Energy Exists
For more than thirty years, I have studied the relationship between physiology, performance, and human potential.
What I have come to believe is that many of the challenges experienced by accomplished women in midlife are not failures of motivation, discipline, or resilience.
They are signs that the physiology which carried us through our first decades of achievement is changing.
Through the years, I have watched countless leaders ensure everyone around them has access to support while never finding time to prioritise their own wellbeing.
I created Long Haul Energy™ to change that.
Because when the long-haul engine comes online, everything shifts.
More energy. Sharper thinking. Deeper sleep. Greater resilience.
And something many leaders have forgotten is possible: the ability to come home, put the day down, and be fully present.
With a book.
A cup of tea.
A dinner with someone you love.
Because your whole life matters — not just your performance.
Like you, family and home are important to me. Pictured with Peter meeting our newest grandchild. Biking with our dogs.
One of the most important things I do is get your Long Haul Energy online so you also have energy for yourself, your loved ones and home. It is life affirming.
Energy for your whole life.
Today, I help women leaders who are navigating the most significant physiological transition of their adult life — and whose performance, health, and quality of life are being affected in ways they've never experienced before.
Many have tried everything — the diets, the programmes, the doctor's advice. Nothing has worked because nothing addressed the root cause: a metabolic system that needs recalibrating, not managing.
Background
All publications and presentations appear under my former name, Nina Leavins.
Academic credentials.Master of Science in Sport and Exercise Science, MSSES. University of New Brunswick. Bachelor of Science in Business Administration, University of Denver. Registered Holistic Nutritionist, Canadian School of Natural Nutrition. Certified Primal Health Coach, Primal Health Coach Institute. Certified Yoga Instructor, Sivananda Dhanwantari Ashram.
Peer-reviewed publication.
Neary, J. P., Roberts, A. D. W., Leavins, N., Harrison, M. F., Croll, J. C., & Sexsmith, J. R. (2008). Prefrontal cortex oxygenation during incremental exercise in chronic fatigue syndrome. Clinical Physiology and Functional Imaging.
Conference proceedings.
Leavins, N. H., Neary, J. P., Albert, W. J., Smith, D. D., LaChapelle, D., Croll, J., Bernhardt, T. A., & Roberts, A. W. (2005). Assessment of muscle oxygen saturation in patients with whiplash-associated disorder (WAD) during isometric exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 37(5), Supplement, S365.
Leavins, N. H., Neary, J. P., Albert, W. J., Smith, D. D., Croll, J., Bernhardt, T. A., & Roberts, A. D. (2005). Haemodynamics of the trapezii muscles of patients with whiplash-associated disorder during isometric exercise. SCPE/CSEP: Ideas to Action — Healthy Living in Canada, p. 89.
Neary, J. P., Roberts, A., Leavins, N. H., Harrison, M. F., Croll, J. C., & Sexsmith, J. R. (2005). Muscle oxygen resaturation following occlusion in chronic fatigue syndrome patients. SCPE/CSEP: Ideas to Action — Healthy Living in Canada, p. 89.
Articles and commentary. The Next Crisis: Crisis of Physiology. Tid og Tendenser, March 2015.
Television and media. Featured expert, X-Weighted documentary series, Slice TV (2008). ATV Evening News (2005). CBC Local Evening News (2004). The Vancouver Sun (2000).
Invited presentations. Swiss Ball Exercise Applications — Invited presenter. Occupational Therapists Association. Vancouver; Exercise and Diabetes — St. Mary's Diabetic Group Meeting. Fredericton; Managing Diabetes Through Exercise, Canadian Diabetes Association Annual General Meeting. Fredericton.
Corporate programme design. Self-Care for Excellence. Commissioned to design and deliver a bespoke self-care programme for Nobia AS top executive team across Europe .
Your Most Influential Years May Still Be Ahead Of You
If your energy, resilience, or performance no longer feels aligned with the demands of your life and leadership, I invite you to schedule a confidential conversation.
We will talk about where you are, what you are experiencing, and whether this work is the right fit.
Nothing is assumed.
Nothing is pushed.
It is simply a conversation between two people who take leadership and performance seriously.
