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One thing you can do to protect your knees is to work on the stability of your hips. Once you’ve spent time hydrating your lower body, and moving on to the Lower Body Stability Sequence, we then build base stabilization muscle with the Reformer Legs in Straps to lock and load the joint stability in place, increasing the stability of your hip girdle that will significantly reduce your risk of knee pain and injuries.

#pilates #pilatesreformer #joints #knees #hips #activeexercisetherapy

Does it hurt to turn your head to see cars in the lane behind you? Do your knees and back feel stiff and achy? Is it difficult to reach the cereal on the top shelf or bend down to pick up something off the floor?
Would you like to find an easy way to become more flexible, ease pain, improve your balance, and prevent falls that can threaten your independence?

Discover simple fascial stretches that improve balance, increase flexibility, and ease pain and then hop on the Reformer to train the deep base stabilization muscles to keep the balance and flexibility. We will work with you on any existing stretches and exercises, physio or otherwise, that you have and make them work better.

Our Spring Fascial Stretch programs teach:

• How a tight ankle or calf muscle can make you more likely to fall
• The secret to making arthritic joints more flexible
• 4 ways to make stretching easier
• The trick to being flexible enough to touch your toes
• The best stretches to do to increase your range of motion
• 2 muscles that can give you a pain in the back, and how you can get relief
• And so much more

You’ll learn how stretching and flexibility can help you improve your balance and prevent falls, all customized to your ability. You’ll find moves to boost overall flexibility and loosen up tight muscles, plus specific stretches to ease back pain, sore knees, and the neck and shoulder pain that comes from spending too much time sitting at a desk staring at a computer! These stretches will also warm you up before your workout, and are best for a variety of sports, like golf, tennis, cycling, walking, swimming, and more.

Read on…

Just a loving reminder that masks must be worn, as displayed in this graphic provided below, over the nose, mouth and chin inside our two studios. By properly wearing your mask, you make it easier on the instructors so they don’t have to keep reminding you, and it is more comfortable for your fellow students as well. Thank you.

The Yoga Barre allows the individual to choose whether to wear a mask or not when you are attending their classes i.e TRX, Yoga, Spin,  and Fusion in the other rooms. Thank you.

After a brief client survey, instructor, and physiotherapy consultations, we are requiring the continued use of masks in the studios. We are not classified as a gym. We are working in the medical model. We have many immuno-compromised clients and some instructors as well. We think it is prudent to wait and see what happens as masks start to be removed. We will re-evaluate after March 31. Thanks to those of you who texted/called/emailed your input. Thanks to the team of instructors for their ongoing support, advice, caring, dedication, and excellent educating and instructing. #pilates #marchmatness22 #pilatesmanitoba #theyogabarre

Excerpt from James Gordon, MD, at the Feb 17-19, 2022 Integrative Healthcare Symposium in New York City. Gordon, who is founder and executive director of The Center for Mind-Body Medicine in Washington D.C., defines mind-body medicine as grounded in the scientific understanding of the complete interpenetration of mind and body. It incorporates tools and techniques of self-care.

“We are a human community and a community of healers,” said Gordon, “… this is also an invitation to find out more about this community of healers…you can integrate this work into your practice as it suits you, and as it moves you, and reach out to the larger community”.
Mind-body medicine enables us to enter the constant communication that is going on among all our organs and to affect in a positive way every aspect of our physical and psychological functioning.
The other part of mind-body medicine, since there is omnidirectional communication between the organs and cells in our body, is that it is possible to enter the conversation that is going on in a powerful and therapeutic way with biological measures, thoughts and feelings, the way we relate to people.
Self-care is critical to this work, Dr. Gordon said. There is a shift from a system that is dominated by professionals and that relies on almost exclusively on professionals telling people what to do and doing it for them, to a system where self-care is crucial. It challenges everything from the power structure in medicine to the therapeutics that are used to the economic structure.

To find the missing link to your health and wellness. Explore our fascial hydration therapy options, available in private training or group class settings. This work can integrate with your medical doctor or secondary care practitioner. Our specialty work aligns best with those who philosophically align with the belief in the innate healing of a whole person/whole systems body. Tap into the power of your fascia and autonomic nervous system.

If you can’t fit in the full Upper Body Compression Sequence, the most important work to do is the Upper Back Glide, Rinse, and Shear. Then add the other compression moves (Inner and Outer Shoulder Blade, Side Rib, Arm, and Chest) as much as time allows to make greater, more lasting changes.

Spinal instability can contribute to low back pain, but the “big three” Pilates exercises can help. A strong core can stabilize your spine to help keep your lower back healthy and pain-free. The muscles and ligaments surrounding your spine can weaken with age or from an injury, which can make movements like twisting, stretching, lifting, and bending difficult.

The lower back often has to compensate for this lack of mobility, which places greater stress and burden on its muscles. People with back pain often fear movement, which can make their back stiff and their pain even worse. Yet, a stable spine is also more flexible, so it can support a full range of natural movements and healthier movements reduce pressure on the low back and lower the risk of pain and injury.

Spine stability is achieved with a balanced approach to your entire core musculature. This means you engage all the core muscles at once — from the abdominals to the whole back. This comes in handy when you make movements that require sudden strength and a broad range of motion, like lifting and carrying groceries and placing them on the counter or floor. Spine stability means your entire trunk is working together in rhythm, like a world-class symphony.  

So how do you get a stable spine? Why the Big Three Pilates exercises of course…
The Curl-up, the Side Plank, and the Bridge. These exercises engage all the important muscles needed to improve spine stability.

Start with five repetitions of each of the three exercises. Then do three reps of each, and finish by doing each exercise just once.