Breathing – we all do it, but do we really think about it? Did you know that bringing a focus to your breath can help your everyday movement in life and your Pilates practice? We all have days where we just need to stop and breathe. Let’s kick off January, breathing our way into a New Year, making new connections to our BREATH.
Season for Change
When the days get warmer and longer, as Canadians we can’t help but anticipate the change of the season. It has been a long, cold winter. We are ready to give way to blue sky, sunshine and new growth (however, as I am writing this post we are expecting yet another spring snowstorm❄️☹).
It has been a busy week here at ARC Pilates, there are lots of exciting things going on behind the scenes. I have had a weekend filled with discovery and education. I also finished up my campaign on a Heart a Day for FA. As I reflect on this busy time, there is one word that comes up for me and that is LOVE. <3
My oldest son was diagnosed with a very rare debilitating degenerative neuromuscular disease called Friedreich’s Ataxia (FA) http://www.curefa.org in 2011. This has resulted in a loss of balance and coordination; his brain does not tell his limbs where they are in space. Another complication of this disease is scoliosis. He required a spinal fusion to correct his curve and he was fused from T3-L3. Today he has very limited weight bearing ability and uses a wheelchair full time.
Back in 2015, I was working as an administrator in a spine clinic. I am the mother of 4 kids and I was feeling completely worn out. I had begun a serious Pilates practice about a year earlier and I instantly loved everything about Pilates. I began to think maybe one day I could do Pilates for a living. I thought how valuable Pilates could be for the population of patients that I was seeing at the spine clinic. I also thought, “I think this could really help my son and others dealing with neuromuscular disease”. I knew I wanted to make a difference.
1, 2, 3 …., 99, The Hundred
What is The Hundred?
This is the first mat exercise that we see in Joseph Pilates book, Return to Life. This often is the exercise that most of my clients recognize in one form or another. It is the warm up that turns up the heat internally and fast. This exercise is a whole-body experience that when performed correctly is very challenging. It requires a great deal of concentration and control. Interestingly, it is an exercise that is about breath. The strengthening of the core and the rest of the body are just side effects.
This is the first official blog post of ARC Pilates. This is where the journey begins and something new is created. ARC Pilates is all about putting yourself out there. This has been a dream of mine that has required lots of hard work and sacrifice. To see it come to fruition is very exciting.
Well as you can imagine this joke gets made a lot😊, and if you have been in a Pilates studio you know exactly what I mean. All the springs, straps and chains, what could they be for? Let’s take a little tour and I will introduce you to the equipment.