By Rose Simpson
Making new friends as an adult is hard—at any age. By midlife, routines are set, circles shrink and many people quietly accept isolation as an unavoidable part of growing older. Teresa Bowskill Playne refused that narrative.
Instead, she chose something radical: to take responsibility for her health, her strength, and her future—and to do it publicly, unapologetically, and later in life than most people think possible.
Teresa’s story is not one of overnight transformation. It is a story of accumulation—of courage gathered, muscles built, losses survived, and joy reclaimed. It is a reminder that reinvention does not expire at 50, and that women are not meant to shrink quietly as they age.
In 2010, Teresa was living a full life in the small hamlet of Bailieboro, Ontario. She worked in the lab at Quaker Oats in nearby Peterborough and was raising two children with her husband of 35 years—a relationship that spanned 42 years in total. They had met as children and purchased their home in 1993, building a life rooted in family and stability.
One evening, on her drive home from work, everything changed.
While waiting to turn into her driveway, Teresa was rear-ended by a fully loaded transport truck. “I was lucky to walk away,” she says. “But my body never forgot.”
Chronic pain followed. Surgery came next, with a vertebra and partial disc removed. Sensation eventually returned to her left foot, but relief did not. “I looked fine on the outside,” she recalls, “but I was living in a body that didn’t feel safe or strong.”
Still, she carried on—especially for her children.
Her son Jimmy, a self-taught multi-instrumentalist, began touring internationally at just 12 years old. He went on to play with The Sheepdogs for eight years, toured with Blue Rodeo, and opened Ganaraska Recording Studio. Today, he is a permanent member of Blue Rodeo and performs with his wife, Brittney Brooks, in their folk-country rock project.
Her daughter Stephanie was an elite speed skater, winning provincials and moving to Quebec to pursue an Olympic pathway. She later returned to Peterborough, completed both her undergraduate and nursing degrees with honours, purchased a home with her fiancé Yashar, and is now planning a family.
When they were younger, it was challenging juggling their schedules and helping them realize their dreams.
“I didn’t feel like I had permission to fall apart,” Teresa says. “So I didn’t.”
Years after the accident, when the pain became impossible to ignore, Teresa turned to movement—not as fitness, but as survival.
She began studying yoga and Qigong, drawn to practices that rebuilt trust in her body. “I wasn’t trying to be flexible,” she says. “I was trying to function.”
That curiosity deepened into formal training. Teresa became a yoga and Qigong instructor, then a Thai yoga massage therapist, blending therapeutic touch with functional movement. She earned her Paddle Canada certification and became a SUP yoga instructor, taking her practice onto the water—where balance and presence are non-negotiable.
“Every modality taught me something,” she says. “But the common thread was learning that my body wasn’t broken—it was under-supported.”
That insight grew into something bigger. Teresa began hosting international yoga, paddleboarding, surf and adventure retreats in Mexico—immersive experiences centered on movement, exploration and connection. Her husband joined her, taking months off work to support the dream.
Financially, it was risky. “I didn’t charge enough. I didn’t have a proper business plan,” she admits. “It was an expensive, working vacation—but I loved it.”
That chapter closed, but not permanently. “I’ll go back,” she says. “This time with structure and sustainability.”
Perhaps the most unexpected transformation came later.
At 52, Teresa picked up a five-pound dumbbell for the first time in her life.
“I had never lifted weights,” she says. “I started small because I had to.”
What began cautiously became disciplined and consistent. She sourced heavier weights through Marketplace and Amazon, gradually progressing until she was lifting more than her own body weight.
The impact was profound. Her body composition changed. Bone density improved. Chronic pain faded as she built strength around compromised areas. “Muscles don’t know how old you are,” she says. “They only know whether you’re using them.”
Today, she lifts heavy five days a week. “Strength gave me my life back,” she says.
In 2024, Teresa was hit by another truck—this one emotional.
Her husband left.
The end of a marriage that had defined most of her life was devastating. “I didn’t just lose a partner,” she says. “I lost an identity.”
At 55, she did something that terrified her: She joined a ball hockey league—with no hockey experience whatsoever.
What she found surprised her. Friendship. Laughter. Dinners. Dancing. A sisterhood she didn’t know she was missing. “I found women,” she says. “And I found myself again.”
Teresa’s philosophy now extends beyond the gym. She incorporates facial HIIT training to engage the fast-twitch muscles of the face, supporting tone and vitality. “It’s not about looking younger,” she says. “It’s about aging with intention at age 57.”
She is returning to college to complete her Registered Massage Therapist certification and plans to relaunch her international retreats—wiser, stronger and fully prepared.
Teresa Bowskill Playne has survived trauma, chronic pain, grief, and reinvention—more than once. She didn’t do it by shrinking. She did it by building.
“If I can do this,” she says, “any woman can. Especially if she’s in her 50s.”
