I recently spent four days at an exclusive, executive health retreat called Canyon Ranch Health Spa in Tucson, Arizona. While there, I partook in many lectures and workshops involving physiology, brain health, aging, intuition, and exercise. In these lectures, I heard it said that science is doing a very good job at proving the interconnectedness of the mind, body, soul and spirit. When there is an effect on one part (ie. smelling a pleasingly fragrant flower), another part is also affected, (ie. happy hormones are released into the body slowing heart rate). A person is a wholistic bundle of energy, not a bunch of parts acting independently of each other. In the same token, when there is dis-ease in one area or system, it can create dis-ease in other systems.

For example, in one workshop I attended, the facilitating doctor summed up the workshop explaining that expressions of tenderness and compassion develop the frontal brain. The frontal brain is probably the least developed of the various brain segments. When tenderness is withheld from another, cortisol is released and accumulates in the heart of both the giver and the receiver. Too much cortisol in the heart can cause the heart to die. Consider this the next time you choose not to show compassion.

The suggestions below were given to me from a medical doctor with credit from Dr. Andrew Weil’s Integrative Medicine Program at the Tucson University. When I sat down in front of the doctor, he asked me how he could best serve me. I told him that I would like his opinion on what priorities I should focus on as I move into the second half of my life, and wanting to do it with vigour and vitality. He told me that if I follow the following suggestions, chances are that my life will be lived out well. Barring an unforeseen accident or medical complication, if my life is a 5 on a scale of 10, chances are that one of these areas is not being attended to.

Suggestions to live by:

• Get regular check ups and blood tests – heart and blood pressure checks, glucose, liver and cholesterol tests.
• Digest, absorb, and eliminate foods with high nutrition.
• Get active and stay active – shortening and lengthening lots of different muscles, breathe heavy for 20+ minutes and practice balance and good posture.
• Sleep well – the body needs revitalization time from the stresses of the day.
• JOY – start appreciating smells, touch, sounds, sights, tastes and energies

Visit www.sculptpilates.ca for more info

The Pilates movement is turning out many styles of training, not unlike yoga. But unlike yoga which is 1000s of years old, Pilates is only about 80 years old. Therefore, we can go right to the inventor of Pilates, Joseph Pilates, and read (English translation) his philosophy of movement, without having to sift through various translators. Because there are many definitions of Pilates floating around out there, all of which are probably true to one extent or another, please allow me to share some of Joseph’s thoughts with you. This will start the first of a three part series discussing Jo’s, the founder of Pilates, ideas on health and wellness.

There is a growing consensus amongst the health and wellness community (fitness professionals, medical doctors, naturopaths, health educators, physiotherapists, massage therapists, chiropractors, body workers, dancers, recreational enthusiasts, etc.) that Pilates is the fitness our bodies need. Jo would agree saying, “Our interpretation of physical fitness is the attainment and maintenance of a uniformly developed body with a sound mind fully capable of naturally, easily, and satisfactorily performing our many and varied daily tasks with spontaneous zest and pleasure.” (Instead of zest and pleasure, I would say ease). Let’s break these ideas of Jo’s down.

Attainment & maintenance

Attainment and maintenance of a developed body and sound mind happens through Jo’s set of many exercises which he called contrology. The science of contrology works to balance the body and mind according to natural laws that govern the body like proper breathing of fresh air, sweating and clean skin, proper spinal alignment, functional use of muscles and bones, fun and play, feelings of revitalization and connectedness, self-confidence, and finally, happiness.

Uniformly developed body

A uniformly developed body is realized as one works to develop a balance of strength and flexibility around joints on both the left and right side of the body. It is “the conscious control of all muscular movements of the body. It is the correct utilization and application of the leverage principles provided by the skeletal (bones) framework of the body, as well as, the principle of equilibrium (equal muscular development) and gravity (simple floor exercises) applied to movement.” A strength and flexibility program should not create tension or over-fatique. Exercise should be done thoughtfully, with limited repetition, and with a variety of movements.

Sound Mind

A body freed from nervous tension and over-fatique is the ideal shelter for a well-balanced mind that is fully capable of successfully meeting all the complex problems of modern living. Personal problems are clearly thought our and calmly met.

Performing daily activities with ease

Shouldn’t this be this be the ultimate goal of any exercise program? Jo goes onto to actually say that life should be performed with spontaneity, which comes from self-confidence, and zest. I think the main piece of teaching Jo offers his students with respect to daily performance is in the idea of good posture. Whether sitting, standing or walking, good posture will only expend 25% of your energy and leave 75% as surplus energy to be able to meet the needs of other activities like housework, social events, brainstorming sessions, attending to children, emergencies.

I think that we need to understand that Pilates is more than just a set of exercises, in its essence, it is a whole body wellness strategy. I hope that you will embark on learning its principles unto the development of a sound body, mind and spirit.

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Photo: Contributed - (Flickr user, brownwall)

Give me strength! But what is strength? Have you ever stopped to consider what is strength and how do you know when you are strong? Is strength measured on how many push ups you can do, or how fast you climb up a set of stairs? Maybe. But how often do you have to do a push up as many times as you can? Or how often do you have to better your time storming up a flight of stairs? For most of your life, you don’t. For most of us, we simply need the strength to do our daily activities well. Activities like:

• Lifting: Laundry basket, grocery bags, child/grandchildren

• Reaching: Refrigerator or clothes dryer, dishes on shelves, grabbing objects on floor

• Power: Standing up from chair, going up stairs, walking up incline

• Balancing: Walking (single leg activities), moving while holding awkward objects

• And combinations of the above

Therefore, most of us need functional strength. Unless we are trying to do a specific movement that will win a gold standing, we are just trying to complete movements to the success of accomplishing our daily activities. This is called functional strength.

Training for functional strength means performing work against resistance specifically in such a way that the strength gained directly benefits the execution of daily activities. In other words, the goal in functional strength training is to transfer the increase in strength gained in one movement to improving the performance of another movement by affecting the entire neuromuscular system. For this reason, training the movement control is as essential as training the individual muscles involved in the movement.

For example, to improve one’s ability to rise from a chair, squats improve lower body strength and neural control better than sitting in a machine and doing knee extensions. Exercising both the muscle and the movement together creates a greater level of strength for the required movement. For many of our day-to-day activities, the muscles that need strengthening are those that support our spine and the movements need to be controlled and thoughtful.

Pilates is known for its focus on the muscles and the movements that strengthen the stabilizers of the spine - core strengthening. Pilates teaches the body how to create an ergonomically correct posture and how to maintain that posture so that the body is in the most stress free posture that it can be in while it moves throughout the day.

Pilates gives you the strength you need to do your daily activities well. It is a fantastic feeling to be confident in your body and have the ability to be agile and capable. Pilates is for everyone who wants to move well. So, if you need strength, then you need Pilates.

For more information, please go to www.sculptpilates.ca.

Photo: (Flickr user, aussiegall)

The human foot is a biological masterpiece. Its strong, flexible and functional design enables it to do its job well and without complaint, as long as you take care of it and don't take your feet for granted. The human foot is complex, containing within its relatively small size twenty-six bones (the two feet contain a quarter of all the bones in the body), thirty-three joints and a network of more than 100 tendons, muscles and ligaments, to say nothing of blood vessels and nerves. This combination of networks coordinate together so that we can be mobile on our feet. Our feet are vital to health and mobility. They carry us an average of 115,000 miles in a lifetime. Over an average day of walking our feet can be required to bear several tons of impact. This helps explain why your feet are more subject to injury than any other part of your body. Of course, as we get older, these problems can get worse. For older people, foot problems can mean the difference between needing institutional care and being able to live at home.

If your feet are out of alignment, it can cause problems throughout your body’s skeletal structure. For example, if the arch is fully collapsed or rolls inward, you have flat feet. This means that you’re missing crucial arch support. Without proper functioning feet, one’s walking pattern will be compromised and can lead to more serious foot, ankle, knee, hip and spine problems. Excessive pronation is one of the most common causes of knee pain in joggers.

In my studio, we have become more and more aware of foot problems. If you’ve ever experienced a broken toe, you realize just how much you use your toes. People who have suffered from plantar fasciitis know how painful normal life becomes. The plantar fascia is a very thick band of tissue that covers the bones on the bottom of the foot. When this fascia become inflamed, it becomes painful, making walking difficult. If you don't treat plantar fasciitis right away, it may become a chronic condition. If left untreated, you may develop foot, knee, hip and back problems because of the way plantar fasciitis changes the way you walk. With proper treatment, most people are better in 9-12 months. Who wants that kind of pain and inconvenience for 9-12 months?

I have a client who runs the December Honolulu marathon. When I asked him how he did, he said, “Great ‘til the last 8 km where my foot totally swelled up and I just barely hopped across the finish line.” After he shared his experience with myself and the class, I decided to dedicate some time in that class to do some simple foot exercises. This beautiful, outwardly healthy, relatively strong and flexible 26-year-old male could barely spread his toes apart or move his ankles. No wonder his foot gave out on him.

If you are experiencing discomfort or pain from your feet, please seek the attention of a podiatrist, and don’t wait. In the meantime, avoid having to see a podiatrist by not taking your feet for granted. Practice some foot and toe intelligence with these simple foot exercises so that you can prevent injury, doctor’s visits, and potentially months of life altering discomfort.

Exercises

1. Ankle dorsiflexion: pull the top of your foot towards your knee

2. Ankle plantar flexion: pull the heel towards the back of your knee

3. Ankle inversion: pull your instep towards the inside of your knee

4. Ankle eversion: pull the outside of your foot towards the outside of your knee

5. Spread toes equally

6. Lift the big toe and lower the other 4 toes, then lower the big toe and lift the other 4 toes

7. Wrap toes around a bar and release

And after you’ve exercised your feet, exercise your charm on a loved one for a foot massage. Now that’s what I call caring for your feet!

For more information, got to www.sculptpilates.ca