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April is Stress Awareness Month in Canada. That feels odd to say. All of us are already very aware of stress. But the problem is that for the longest time, stress was seen as something to get rid of, to spend energy hammering away at purging it, eliminating it. Stress has always been known to cause headaches, stomach aches, insomnia and depression. Not so long ago, you were supposed to suck it up, do your work and not complain. But then researchers began to discover links between elevated levels of stress and all kinds of serious diseases, like heart disease and diabetes. We can not get rid of stress; your mind sees all stimulus as stress

What we can do is choose better thinking styles about stress and practice the embodied exercises and breathing we teach at the studios to eliminate the negative effects of that stress. What strategies work for you, to keep you strong and resilient? Getting your cells to move, to create fluid exchange and then training the base muscle and then the bigger muscle and then doing cardio is a great 4 step recipe for success. Your mind will flow with your body; your body with your mind!

When it comes to health and well-being, regular exercise is about as close to a magic potion as you can get.” Tich Nhat Hanh

Alliance for Pilates in Healthcare
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Fight it with Fitness Fridays

#fightitwithfitness

What do you fight with fitness? STRESS? Anxiety? Fear? Depression? Weight gain? Joint stiffness? Pain? Join our refreshing choice of classes on Friday classes! It’s your spirit that makes exercise medicine. Get in your own game. Be on your own side.

No classes Friday April 2, 2021

To finish off March MATness..Pilates Fest North (PFN),  Canada’s premiere Pilates Festival coming Fall 2021, invited me to make this video for March MATness. Plan to join us at PFN this fall with presenters from all schools of Pilates from around the world. In Canada, 1/3 of instructors are Contemporary trained, 1/3 Stott trained and 1/3 Classically trained so try some of each! I am honoured to be teaching Pilates and introducing MELTed Pilates to Pilates instructors from around the world!

The Saw is a useful exercise to relieve neck, shoulder and low back strain and pain from sitting at a desk, or in front of the TV, for too long….however you roll during a lockdown! What it does: it stretches your entire spine and back line of fascia, it relieves tight hips and hamstrings, it is a full body stretch when the arms are added in and it challenges coordination with the breath, pulses and hand gestures, if you add those in. What’s important: Don’t overstretch or hold your breath. If your neck or shoulders or hips need a break, try it again after a short rest.

There are a number of ways to manage and reduce stress in our lives. Most of them are related to getting out of our usual patterns, and leaving our worries behind, if even for a moment. So, for example, getting off the couch and getting up and moving is a great stress reliever. Once you are stable and aligmed, yo can do  more vigorous the exercise & get your heart rate up a little  with affirmations. Think cardio meets CBT. It seems that exercise is good for just about every health problem you can imagine, and stress is no different

April’s series is about the power to create change from personal power – it’s remembering that with awareness (Sati) comes choice and it’s in this place that we can choose what we think, say and do. Connecting to your personal power starts by acknowledging that everything is energy. If we want our life to get better – if we want our emotions to be more positive and strong – we have to change what it is we’re doing.

The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result. intenSati, on the other hand, is about upgrading what we’re doing – it’s thinking differently, moving differently and speaking differently so that we can break the cycle of stuck and create a new energy signature.

You’ll find a powerful cardio series that will allow you to accept life as it is and to embrace your challenges so that you can set yourself free from the cycle of negativity. You’ll also find a thoughtful Lower Body sequence designed to promote positivity in the body and remove mental and emotional blocks, as well as a closing meditation that will help seal all of this month’s work in. This month of April 2021, how do you want to feel? And what thoughts, words and actions are in alignment with that energy signature?

WED 6 pm
FRI 9:30 am (no class Fri April 2)

Ever get the feeling in your back that you need to stretch BADLY and nothing is going to get in that deep or fast? ELDOA is deep, deep fascial stretching. In English, it is called LOADS

It is a great addition to your existing  routine or to start something new.

The exercise pictured here is T6 and it targets the spine right where you need relief after sitting at a desk all day

In-person Group ELDOA class Thurs @ 7:15 pm at the Corydon location with AnnabelNo previous experience needed. All inclusive class.
Private ELDOA instruction also available so contact Annabel at 204.999.9984

The fascial system is the stabilization system of our bodies. When its stiff-to-elastic properties get out of balance from too hard a workout or too long a posture, without replenishing the water in the tissues, we get stiff- to- elastic imbalance and our alignment and mobility is compromised.This is not just because of the dry layers of the fascia but because  the free nerve endings and sensory nerve endings in that fascia are going to send and receive information in a poor way.

If you repeat that  poor posture and poor movement pattern, it becomes not only faulty but your default movement pattern.  Once you are there, you go down that rabbit hole of dysfunction and compromising more and more till you nervous system says “I can’t compromise one more time” and you go to move and…oh, you throw out your back or your neck And then you are really cranky and sore. You can’t sleep and are nasty to be around. You are not only stuck in you fascia and movement but in you mind and thoughts because they are one in the same. This is part of the stress and fear reflex of the nervous system and this is what MELT teaches you to massage the joints and tissue, and tap into yourself to be the Master of your Mind, Mouth and Movement.

Pilates is practiced world wide and has gained popularity in recent years, spurred in part by growing evidence for its health benefits. Hundreds of studies have suggested that Pilates breathing techniques may benefit people with a wide range of medical conditions, including COPD and for post -COVID pulmonary support.
Pilates combines sequences of slow, flowing upper- and lower-body movements with breath awareness and a variety of thinking skills that include focused attention and imagery. It’s highly adaptable and therefore ideal for people with different fitness levels. You can do Pilates on a Reformer, a special Stability Chair or while sitting in a sturdy chair, on your bed or the floor. For example, you can extend your legs, move them from side to side, or lift them, even when you’re sitting. The Reformer does help support the limbs so you can focus on your core without hurting your back and neck. As well, the Reformer is a special raised mat so you do not have to worry about getting up and down off the floor.

Studies suggest that Pilates can help people boost their ability to walk and do other types of exercise, as well as improve their quality of life. The benefits are thought to arise from the combination of movement, breathing, and relaxation.
The movements safely and gradually strengthen the heart and major muscle groups. The deep breathing exercises enhance oxygen uptake, which can ease breathlessness. Finally, the meditative aspect of the practice helps lower stress.
Hour-long classes cost $15 for ZOOM , $18 for in-person and  $21 for a drop-in. Wear loose, comfortable clothing and footwear is not required. Check our schedule for what works for your life and contact us. Free Virtual and in-person consultations are available by texting us at 204.999.9984 to create a health care plan that includes Pilates. Pilates is considered an umbrella treatment under Physiotherapy so book with the physio to recover it under insurance.

April is Stress Awareness Month in Canada. That feels odd to say. All of us are already very aware of stress. But the problem is that for the longest time, stress was seen as something to get rid of, to spend energy hammering away at purging it, eliminating it. Stress has always been known to cause headaches, stomach aches, insomnia and depression. Not so long ago, you were supposed to suck it up, do your work and not complain. But then researchers began to discover links between elevated levels of stress and all kinds of serious diseases, like heart disease and diabetes. We can not get rid of stress; your mind sees all stimulus as stress.

What we can do is choose better thinking styles about stress and practice the embodied exercises and breathing we teach at the studios to eliminate the negative effects of that stress. What strategies work for you, to keep you strong and resilient? Getting your cells to move, to create fluid exchange and then training the base muscle and then the bigger muscle and then doing cardio is a great 4 step recipe for success. Your mind will flow with your body; your body with your mind!

“Strength doesn’t come from what you can do. It comes from overcoming the things you thought you couldn’t.” ~Rikki Rogers

Happy New Week and new month! This month’s series is about consciously choosing how we want to feel regardless of our circumstances.With self-awareness, we unlock access to choice: we get to choose how we respond, who we are being, how we are feeling. The practice of intenSati is the embodiment of consciously calling up a renewing emotion and experiencing it fully.

In this month’s intenSati classes, you’ll find a cardio series that will allow you to embody the energy of gratitude so that you can look for possibility, train your brain to welcome adversity and bounce forward no matter what life throws at you. You’ll also find a stretching sequence designed to promote positivity in the body and remove mental and emotional blocks, as well as a closing meditation that will help seal all of this month’s work in.

This month, which emotion are you choosing regardless of your circumstances?