Page Name
Yoga & Pilates mat classes
BASICS & BENEFITS
PILATES
Although the fitness industry would have you believe Pilates is a "new" craze, celebrities and dancers have been shaping their bodies with it for years. With proven results, athletes wanting to rehab or prevent injuries were the next to discover it. Now it's available to you!
Pilates is a way of exercising your body with principles based on stretching and strengthening the muscles while initiating the movements from the "core" or abdominal and lower back region of the body. Pilates movements are based on techniques involving alignment, breathing, centering and balancing the body. It is a non-impact exercise that teaches the client to move from the center with focus.
Our mat classes are a great way to experience Pilates for yourself. Rates and times are available on our Schedule & Rates pages.
YOGA
Yoga consists of a series of movements that help strengthen the body and increase mental vitality. How you use your body is an expression of your soul. Yoga creates beautiful expressions. Yoga can lay the foundation to transform your body with personal power and an understanding of yourself. You may learn to feel inner peace and serenity in challenging situations.
Athletic yoga takes the heart rate to 60% to 70% of maximum effort which trains the body with perfect efficiency. Strength is gained when smaller muscles are engaged in postures (asanas) requiring them to hold a variety of weight. Larger muscles are lengthened and then used to stabilize and steady the body while contracting. This has the same benefits as strength training, while also realigning the body.
Ultimately, the greatest gift yoga may bring you is the ability to build a body free of fear and repetitive negative patterns. Yoga will lay the foundation to transform your body with your own personal power and understanding. You will learn to feel inner peace and serenity in a challenging situation. How you use your body is an expression of your soul. Yoga creates beautiful expressions.
Our mat classes are a great way to experience Yoga for yourself. Rates and times are available on our Schedule & Rates pages.
Read more about yoga benefits...
Return to Life
I have been accused (rightfully so) of writing articles mostly about yoga and abandoning the Pilates portion of our studio. Forgive me. Please. And quit E-mailing me. Pilates is an important element of the studio and that's obviously why we have it here. It has many health and healing elements to it that many of the diehard yogis may not understand. Let's do some Pilates 101 this month from Joseph himself. Much of the following information is derived from his writings Return to Life Through Contrology.
What is Contrology? The system of exercise that coordinates the body, mind and spirit. Through Contrology you first purposefully acquire complete control of your own body and then through proper repetition of its exercises you gradually and progressively acquire that natural rhythm and coordination associated with all your subconscious activities.
Wow, Joe, that seems like a lot of $5 words. Here it is in English: Gain mastery over your core (abs, back, buttocks and lung area) and over time your body and mind come into a natural harmony physically which will overflow into a spiritual harmony as well. Through regular practice, the body creates new patterns of perfect alignment that will be repeated subconsciously, thus dissipating everyday aches and pains.
If you will faithfully perform your Contrology exercises regularly four times a week for three months, you will find your body development approaching the ideal, accompanied by renewed mental vigor and spiritual (energetic) enhancement. It's designed to give you suppleness, natural grace and skill that will be reflected in the way you walk, in the way you play and in the way you work. You will develop muscular power with corresponding endurance, ability to perform everyday living activities, walk, run or travel for long distances without undue body fatigue or mental strain.
Joe doesn't have a way with words, does he? This is what it does: You have to be consistent. It won't work any other way. You begin to move with grace and ease, instead of grunts and moans. It will allow your body to gain access to the full power available when your mind trains your breath and muscles to move in unison. He taught to "squeeze" every atom of air from your lungs until they are almost as free of air as is a vacuum. He also said that the human body could withstand more neglect, successfully, than can the complicated machinery of a modern steamship (I'm not kidding). Let's say computer, instead. The statement is true, nonetheless. There is no good reason to tax our bodies beyond bounds of endurance, as we would just hurt ourselves. A balanced exercise program is what we are aiming for.
Bodily House Cleaning with Blood Circulation
Pilates creates an internal shower, as does yoga. The bloodstream will carry and discharge more and more of the accumulated debris created by fatigue. The exercises carry blood into capillaries, which ordinarily are rarely ever fully stimulated once we have reached adulthood. They revitalize the organs of the body, including the important sweat glands, reduce heart strain, purify the blood and develop the lungs. In order to receive these benefits, the exercises must be done with precision and followed to even the subtlest degree.
Pilates Principles
There are several variations of Pilates principles, ranging from those that Joseph Pilates pioneered in the early 1900s to contemporary adaptations that incorporate modern understanding of fitness, anatomy and biomechanics. Some Pilates forms tout five basic principles, while others stress nine fundamentals. Essentially, the Pilates principles are as follows:
- Concentration - That all-important mind-body connection. Conscious control of movement enhances body awareness.
- Control/Precision - It's not about intensity or multiple "reps"' it's more about proper form for safe, effective results.
- Centering - A mental focus within the body calms the spirit. A particular focus on the torso (abs, pelvic girdle, lower back, gluts), as develops a strong core and enables the rest of the body to function efficiently. All action initiates from the trunk and flows outwards to the extremities.
- Stabilizing - Before you move you have to be still. Makes for a safe starting place for mobility.
- Breathing - Deep, coordinated, conscious diaphragmatic patterns of inhales and exhales initiate movement, help activate deep muscles and keep you focused.
- Alignment - Proper alignment is key to good posture. You'll be aware of the position of your head and neck on the spine and pelvis, right down through the legs and toes.
- Fluidity - Smooth, continuous motion rather than jarring repetitions. Pilates has a grace and elegance to it.
- Integration - Several different muscle groups are engaged simultaneously to control and support movement. All principles come together, making for a holistic mind-body workout.
What does it really do? Similar to yoga in that we stretch and strengthen, Pilates offers a wonderful compliment to your yoga practice. It increases flexibility without demanding it as yoga some-times can. It increases body and breath awareness, focus and alignment. The best part of Pilates for me is that I can have a workout that rejuvenates my body without wearing it out. If I know I am the center of my own problem and don't have the energy to face my yoga mat, I can shift to the other mat, Pilates, and still nurture myself.
How Yoga Heals.
It has become common knowledge that yoga is good for you. Currently yoga is being used as a therapy for cancer, infertility, lung disease, multiple sclerosis, Parkinson's disease, insomnia, high blood pressure, and joint pain. Yet there is very little awareness and understanding on exactly how yoga heals, even in the yoga and medical communities. The key is to understand the relationships between stress, yoga and disease.
Medical research estimates as much as 90 percent of illness and disease is stress related. A few of the many diseases and conditions that have been linked to an over active stress response include: cardiovascular disease, depression, anxiety, obsessive-compulsive disorder, some types of diabetes mellitus, some autoimmune diseases, colitis, irritable bowel syndrome, reproductive problems, and suppression of the immune system.
What we feel as stress, is the product of the sympathetic nervous system or the "fight or flight" response: an almost instantaneous surge in heart rate, cardiac output, blood pressure, sweating, shallow breathing, and metabolism, combined with a tensing of muscles. Internally, the "fight or flight" response shuts down digestion and elimination and reduces blood flow to the internal organs. Short term, this stress reaction is a good thing. The "fight or flight" response prepares us to respond to any environmental threat by fighting against it or fleeing from it. But long term, continuous exposure to stress is harmful, placing excess wear and tear on the body's systems and severely limiting the body's natural maintenance and healing abilities.
Chronic stress can lead to continuously high levels of cortisol. This hormone at normal levels helps to maintain an active, healthy body (including regulation of metabolism and blood pressure). But excessive amounts of cortisol can suppress the immune system and cause sleep disturbances, loss of sex drive and loss of appetite. High levels of cortisol can also increase your heart rate, blood pressure and your cholesterol and triglyceride levels (risk factors for both heart attacks and strokes). The byproducts of cortisol act as sedatives, which can lead to changes in mood, especially to feelings of depression.
Fortunately, the body has a natural counterbalance to the "fight or flight" response, called the parasympathetic nervous system or the "relaxation response" The parasympathetic nervous system becomes activated when the threat or stressor has passed or ended, but it can also be consciously activated by deepening the breath and by relaxing the skeletal muscles. When activated, the parasympathetic nervous system lowers blood pressure, heart rate and respiration (the pace of the breath). Digestion and elimination are allowed to be stimulated, and blood is free to travel to the digestive, reproductive, glandular, and immune systems - systems necessary for the promotion of long-term health. The "relaxation response" is also known as the "rest and renew" stage, when the body has the time and resources to heal the body and to respond to illness. Obviously, by increasing the frequency, time and depth of the "relaxation response" we not only allow our body to recover from illness and disease, but we also practice preventive medicine by allowing the body to perform all of its essential maintenance tasks.
Yoga's emphasis on long, deep breathing and conscious relaxation activates the parasympathetic nervous system and promotes its "rest and renew" functions. In fact, a recent study has shown yoga to decrease the level of the stress hormone cortisol in the blood. The meditative practices of yoga help to reduce the reactiveness of the mind to stressors and to lessen the intensity of the "fight or flight" response. Yoga also teaches us to see potential stressors as challenges rather than threats, enabling one to avoid the stress response entirely.
Not only does yoga's ability to activate the parasympathetic nervous system reduce stress and allow the body to heal itself, but the practice of yoga also improves the body's inherent healing abilities. The inverting, twisting and compressing that occurs in yoga postures enhances the circulation of blood and body fluids. This increase in circulation not only improves the body's ability to deliver the materials needed to allow healing to take place, but also activates the lymphatic system to maintain normal functioning of the immune system and inflammation response.
Yoga poses also improve muscle strength, flexibility and range of motion, all very important for the healing and prevention of musculoskeletal diseases such as arthritis and osteoporosis. Yoga's emphasis on deep breathing combined with backbends improves lung capacity and function. Practicing yoga also encourages one to lead a healthier lifestyle, through developing the self-awareness and discipline required for positive behavior modification.
While yoga possesses such a strong support to the body's healing mechanisms, it is important to view yoga as an adjunct or complementary therapy, and not relied upon as the only therapy for healing disease.
