Pilates Every Damn Day

Happiness is where it's at!!!!

Get Excited!!!!

New Hip Hop instructor Charlie Ward and I getting excited pre- Beyoncé/Jay-Z concert.  Having fun is the BEST way to look fabulous!!!

Never stop creating!

Check out instructors Annie Murray and Allison Ward rocking out a new lunging move with gliders and the springboard.  I've been teaching almost 10 years and am constantly amazed at the endless amount of variations possible.

Traction that Sacrum!

This is an incredible facial opening technique to release the low back and sacrum.  

I'm using just my body weight to do it.....so simple and effective!

The Scoop

Check out instructor Allison Ward demonstrating a roll up using the chair & slastixs.  She is perfectly illustrating the c-curve of the spine and the scooping action of the pelvis that is required to master this exercise.

Power to the Glutes!

Okay, I admit that's a selfie taken in my kitchen :). However, I'm going to make it an educational moment by talking about the importance of functional gluteal strength.

So, lots of people throw out the word "core strength" as a way to prevent lower back pain and injury.  No one really talks about the glutes though!  The glutes actually attach to the back of your pelvis via the sacrum and are technically on the same kinetic chain as the low back so why aren't people all in a tizzy about the glutes?

Here's why:  It's not the most obvious answer.  People assume that most folks properly activate their glutes since they are a large muscle. WRONG!!!  They activate the quads before the glutes.  You can actually engage your core and still not engage your glutes.  Kind of amazing, right?  

So, how do you functionally activate the glutes then?  It's a prerequisite that the pelvis and spine are stable - so activating the muscles for Lumbo - Pelvic stabilization is of utmost importance.  Then you must maintain that stabilization as you posteriorly glide the leg and activate the glutes.  The emphasis is MAINTAIN stabilization as it is a dynamic process.  If your movement is constantly driving from and referring back to your center of gravity your body has no choice but to use the glutes to move the leg.  Unfortunately usually your low back and quads run the show and that where you get into trouble.  

Listening = Learning

We're always listening to voices, ideas, and thoughts in our heads.  In fact, they drive us and prompt us to take a course of action.  The question is, how deeply are we listening to ourselves?  Are we just listening to our basest and most immediate desires or our we going deeper and truly listening to our hearts and what will fulfill us in our lives?  

I believe that to really learn and grow as a person you must take the time to listen deeply.  This requires spending enough time alone to face all of the weird feelings and thoughts you have and to look at them objectively.  When you do this it is much easier to understand yourself and to then choose what voices, ideas, and thoughts you want to listen to.

We all have negative, inadequate, depressing thoughts but have we really ever listened to them?  They seem so loud but when you start listening to them they appear smaller, weaker, and stupider than you had imagined.  Are those the voices you want to listen to or are you going to listen to a larger, more loving, more positive one?  By simply asking this question you empower yourself enough to be able to make a choice.  In the end it is these choices that determine your perspective and ultimately the quality of your life.

It's Totally Teaser Friday Y'all

Movement is ENERGY

The greatest fallacy we have about our understanding of human movement is that we believe the body to be made up of machine-like parts that operate in a mechanical fashion.

Quantum physicists discovered that physical atoms are made up of vorticies of energy that are constantly spinning and vibrating. Matter, at it’s tiniest observable level, is energy, and human consciousness is connected to it, human consciousness can influence it’s behavior and even re-structure it.

So it is our consciousness that effects and alters the frequency of the energy body which then directly effects the physical body.  

Our movement is a direct expression of our consciousness.  Whatever is going on in our minds will directly effect our bodies and our movement.  

You need more INTENSITY

I guess it's not shocking that I'm writing this post since I'm most frequently dubbed as "intense."

I hear a lot of folks talking about how they don't have enough TIME to exercise and if they had more TIME they would be in better shape.

Totally WRONG.

I know people who spend a crapload of time exercising and still don't look like the stepped off the cover of fitness magazine.

It's not what you do, it's how you do it that matters.  I would say that I exercise a total of 4-5 hours a week.  But guess what, my workouts are very INTENSE!!  Not intense to the point of injuring myself but I push myself to the point of discomfort in a very focused and controlled way.  

The right FOCUS (which requires a lot of mental energy) and INTENSITY are really the formula for success when it comes to exercise and creating the change you want to see in your body!

Men do Pilates Only When.....

They NEED help!!!  It's harder for men to admit they need help.  We all know this.  It is only when they are really in pain or not felling well that they seek it out.  My brother FINALLY started doing Pilates even though I have been encouraging him to do it for over 7 years.  And guess what?  He LOVES it.  So, to all they men out there whose wives and lady friends have been hounding about them about trying Pilates, Just Do It!  Bonus - the ladies will think you are cooler and your abs will look sexier ;)

10 Science Based Reasons To Start Meditating

MEOWLS and the Quest for The True Self

The general consensus in the Pilates industry is that our bodies are machines that we must learn to control.  However, the more I practice Qi Gong and meditation I find that belief to be erroneous.  The ways that we move can be explained mechanically but does that necessarily mean they are inherently mechanical?  When you watch someone move beautifully or gracefully does it look like they are trying to control a machine??  Probably not.

Movement in your body is the unique experience and expression of the self.  What is the true self?? The true self is what remains when you peel back all the tension, fear and anxiety you have collected over your lifetime.  The true self is pure beauty, energy and light.  It is creativity and intuition.  It is raw, vulnerable, unbridled and brilliant.

So, whats the deal with the picture of the Meowl???  You know, the hybrid cat owl creature thats clearly the fabrication of someone who found it hilarious.  

It a raw expression of the true self!!!!

May The Force Be With You in 2014!!!

Happy New Years Eve and May the force be with you (certainly not against you) in 2014!!!

Why Struggle? Find Your Flow!

Work SMARTER not HARDER

Correct Philosophy = Correct Action

I think the picture speaks for itself :)

Does the Body Rule the Mind or the Mind Rule the Body?

Oh, hey!  It's another great adventure in debunking Western Duality!  So, Joseph Pilates said in his book Contrology that "The goal of Pilates is gaining the mastery of your mind over the complete control of your body."  That means they are two different entities and our mind has to control our body, right?  Cool, sign me up!  Oh wait, how does Joe or anyone else for that matter know this?  Cause he said so, DUH!

I posit the following hypothesis about the relationship between the "mind" and the "body".  The mind or consciousness is our bridge to direct energy (via the nervous system) through the physical body.  In Pilates we use the focused intent of the mind to willfully direct energy through the medium of the physical body to create balance and harmony.  So the "mind" and "body" flow together as if they were one thing.

Controlling anyone or anything is exhausting work.  Why not just connect and flow?

I Love Wine and Pilates!

http://www.tmz.com/2013/07/16/brandon-marshall-chicago-bears-playboy-mansion-party/

Check out this video of Chicago Bears player Brandon Marshall.  He talks about how he does Pilates 3x a week and loves it.  It's all about the core, baby.

My Milkshake Brings All The Boys to the Yard

Who doesn't want to grab that?  I mean, seriously.  Not only are nicely shaped glutes aesthetically appealing they are functionally necessary for a healthy low back.  Now that I have your attention read this article about the importance of glute strength!

http://www.easyvigour.net.nz/fitness/h_gluteus_maxintro.htm