My own search for the wellness Holy Grail

Our society is so wounded up by youthfulness.  But shouldn’t the real holy grail be wellness.  It is always changing especially as we are aging.

My last year’s resolution was to get back to me and taking care of myself.  Isn’t it odd that I as a business owner of a Pilates wellness studio, have trouble taking care of myself.  I am moving all day but I demonstrate on and off.  I don’t consider this a workout because I am concentrated on the client and not myself.

This last year I have put aside time to take ballet class, take private Pilates sessions and some somatic classes like Feldenkrais and Hanna.  Last summer I hurt my knee hiking.  It is definitely sliding around, but I am not in pain.  When I get my form correct, my knee feels great.

As an ex-dancer, most aerobic activity either aggravates my knee or I am bored.  Getting back to dance, I feel spiritually and physicality great.  The slow bar warmup allows me to get my knee warmed up and not clicking.  It is moving the entire time so I definitely feel the heart rate go up.

Finding time for my own Pilates practice has helped so much.  I don’t know how people can work out with no guidance.  My teacher challenges me and balances my body.  We all have overuse injuries popping up whether it is like me pulling on springs all day or the person sitting all day at the computer.

I love the somatic work.  I see it as a moving meditation.  Somatic practices like Feldenkrais, Bartenieff Fundamentals, Hanna and BodyMind Centering help put my mind and my nervous system on a new calming journey.  Again, going to class helps me focus my mind.  Running your own business is so stressful and my mind turns frequently on what I need to get done.

So What will be your search for your own Holy Grail?

Balanced Body’s Orbit™

I just took a teacher training course on Balanced Body’s Orbit. I can’t tell how great my body feels and I am even sore.

This deceptive simple tool invites a 3 dimensional fitness.  The Orbit opens your spine, legs, hips and shoulders in such a unique way.  I have been having some hip problems from my dancing career.  With the Orbit, I was able to gently invite new mobility in my hip.

When you use it to enhance your fitness, it will up the ante.  Ahhhh, pushups with either your hands or feet on the Orbit will make it so much harder.

Balanced Body’s Orbit™

With Lesley Powell 11/13  9:30 – 4:30
Roll through a fun, full-body workout that strengthens, stretches and challenges on multiple planes!
Super fun and super circular, the Orbit™ rolls into your classes or personal training sessions to enhance flexibility, stability, strength, balance and coordination. This 6 hour course includes standing, seated, all fours, plank, prone and supine exercises creating a full body workout for any client. Workouts are included to teach you how to format a group class.
Workshop package includes:

• Six-hour workshop (value $229)
• Orbit and Level 1 DVD (value $229)
• Training manual (value $50)

Note: prerequisite for workshop is Mat 1 or personal training certification.
Register early and save!
Just $399 for a package that includes the Orbit, six-hour workshop, DVD and complete manual. Must register at least 30 days prior to workshop date. (You save $109.)
Just $429 if you register within 30 days of workshop. (You save $79.)

If my schedule does not work for you, go to Balanced Body for other faculty teaching the Orbit.
Call Balanced Body 1-800-pilates or www.pilates.com to register

Through my studies with Eric Franklin, Irene Dowd and Amy Matthews,  I have come up with a podcast of simple ways to exercise your feet.

By changing your foot fitness will change how you stand and how you use your core.  In my DancingMindBody class on Friday mornings, I start with rolling the feet on the Franklin Balls and some kind of foot exercise.  It is amazing to observe how the tone of the abdominals improves after this foot warmup.  We haven’t even done an abdominal exercise!

BodyMind Fitness May 20-22 2011:

Revolution of Hand-Scapula & Shoulders 

$476
 Please call office for this deal and register for entire weekend

• Friday:     Revolutionary Shoulders 5-7 pm
• Friday:  
Fitness Coaching: Matching Learning Styles 7-9 pm with Dr. Martha Eddy
• Saturday:  Anatomy in Clay® with Doris Pasteleur Hall
• Sunday:  Scapula Revolution: Hand-scapula Relationship with Lesley Powell

49 W. 27th St. Mezzanine B, New York City 212-904-1399 www.movementsafoot.com


Revolutionary Shoulders 5-7 pm
With Dr. Martha Eddy
Friday May 20 5-7 PM $60 Early Bird discount by 5/14 $50

Learn how shoulder carriage and movement is improved by attention to breath, spinal use, and overall posture. Find out how baby movement is still important for adults in our fitness regimen!

Fitness Coaching: Matching Learning Styles 7-9 pm
With Dr. Martha Eddy
Friday May 20 5-7 PM $60 Early Bird discount by 5/14 $50

This is a laboratory for wellness professionals. Do you wonder how to better motivate your clients? Learn to match your style to those of each of your clients. Learn the theory of Multiple Intelligences. Get great results in motivating, dealing with complex issues and feelings, improving alignment and fitness, and activating healthy habits. Holistic fitness is important and current, be on top of the wave.

Anatomy in Clay®
with Doris Pasteleur Hall
Saturday 9 AM -5 PM  $275  
Early discount see dates below

Building the muscles of the body on a Maniken® model allows you to observe movement from a 3 dimensional perspective. Placing, sensing, and observing the layers of muscles will help you integrate their relationship. Going back and forth between the model and movement, we will become aware of the layering of the deep to superficial muscles.

• May 21: Shoulder Girdle Early discount $250 sign up by 5/14
• August 6: Knee and Feet Early discount $250 sign up by 7/29
• October TBA: Spine

SHOULDER WORKSHOP: 
Scapular Revolution 

with Lesley Powell
Time:  9:00 AM – 4:00 PM Sunday 5/22  $200
Early registration by 5/13  $175 PMA Approved 6 cec

The arms connect to the torso through the shoulder girdle, shoulder blades, clavicles and humerus bones. Each bone moves in different degrees of rotation and timing. The timing and the control of these motions are essential to a healthy shoulder. This “scapular-humeral rhythm” is like a symphony—each bone is an instrument playing a different variation of a melody.
When the shoulder girdle moves correctly, great function is invited.  Each bone of the shoulder girdle; the clavicles, the scapulae and the humerus bone, have a unique rhythm of movement to facilitate the arm moving in space.
A great scapular-humeral rhythm will invite the correct phrasing of the arm and core muscles. When you get a client to better use her shoulder girdle, her arm strength, posture and connection to the core will improve. Learn how this rhythm works and how to help your clients improve theirs.

What is Core?

This weekend we ran BodyMind fitness: Core.

I shared the teaching with Dr. Martha Eddy, Doris Pasteleur Hall and Kim fielding.

Core is more than your abdominals. It is the torso that houses important organs for breath, circulation and digestion. Giving 3D support is not only important for backcare; it gives the organs room to function. If a person’s posture is chronically slumped, can you see how it will affect breath and the movements of the diaphragm and lungs. With diminished breathe, comes poor circulation without the right amount of oxygen getting to the blood and heart. A domino effect!

A lot of fitness’ core training is bracing down on the torso. Great core support should uplift you. Getting to the deeper
muscles of the core takes great awareness and sometimes backing away from more superficial muscles such as the rectus.

Training of the Pelvic floor, transverse abdominus and the multifidus have a different quality of tone than many muscles. It is the coordination of these in dynamic movement that it becomes complex. Take the plank pose, a full body action.  Bonnie Baindridge Cohen has a great image about deeper muscles.  They current into the joints for stability where our larger muscles groups current out.  When you see poor torso stability,  you see the larger muscles groups compressing the torso down.

BodyMind Fitness

BodyMind Fitness Takes off Feb 4.

Sign up before 1/31 for entire certification and receive a special discount.

I am also fortunate to be surrounded by incredible teachers. To remain a good teacher, you must stay fresh and updated on all the info about the body.

Lesley Powell

I, Lesley Powell,  join again with my colleagues; Dr. Martha Eddy and Doris Pasteleur Hall with our own BODYMind Fitness certificate program.

The three of us bring together a wealth of knowledge about the body and somatic practices. Our faculty’s experience includes somatic practices of BodyMind Centering(R), Laban, Franklin method, Pilates, Anatomy in Clay, Tom Myer’s Anatomy Trains, somatic coaching, biomechanics, yoga, dance, fitness and more.

Special Open House with Dr. Martha Eddy. 5:30 social  6 PM talk

• BodyMind Fitness
• Dynamic Embodiment

Sign up before 1/31 for entire certification and receive a special discount.

Excellent sources to read are Liz Koch and Eric Franklin.