Do you ever have trouble falling asleep? Once you finally do get to sleep, does the smallest little noise wake you right back up? Like me, do you seem to finally be drifting off and in a really deep sleep about the time your alarm clock goes off in the morning? Are you looking for a few new things to try to help you sleep better and wake up more rested?
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Archive for the ‘Health’ Category
6 Tips for Getting a Good Night’s Sleep
Extreme Heat & Exercise – Stay Safe, Stay Fit, Stay Indoors & Do Pilates!
We’re in the middle of the Summer scorching season here in Kansas. The highs this week have been well over 100 degrees! Staying safe and exercising in extreme heat conditions is something that everyone should be aware of. Consider your choice of activities wisely. Do you really need to go out for a run in the heat of the day? Or would an indoor workout be more advisable? If you exercise early, or later in the day it might be a little cooler, but you still need to be careful. (If cooler is 90 degrees instead of 105 – it’s still HOT!) Be sure to drink lots of fluids, and pay attention to the warning signs for heat exhaustion and heat stroke.
Your life depends on learning to listen to your body and NOT overdoing it in the heat!
Continue reading ‘Extreme Heat & Exercise – Stay Safe, Stay Fit, Stay Indoors & Do Pilates!’ »
Pilates and the Pelvic Floor: For Poise and Help with LBL
I was recently interviewed by my friend Marilyn Suttle who is the resident LBL expert for Poise.com. LBL stands for Light Bladder Leakage, which affects 1 out of 3 women! One out of three women, means there are a lot of folks who could benefit from a better understanding of the benefits of a strong pelvic floor. I’m a firm believer in utilizing Pilates to help with pelvic floor strength, not only does using the pelvic floor better support your body for exercise and movement, but it can also definitely help with LBL. Quite a few of my clients over the years have commented that their LBL problems went away after they started Pilates. Fewer bladder problems is a nice added bonus to better whole-body health with Pilates!
Thought some of you might enjoy reading the blog post Marilyn wrote after interviewing me about Pilates and the Pelvic Floor.
Continue reading ‘Pilates and the Pelvic Floor: For Poise and Help with LBL’ »
Pilates & Health Improvement:
Remember Your Journey, Document Your Progress
I had a discussion at the end of a session with a very loyal and long-standing Pilates client this week. After the many, many years of consistent Pilates this person was feeling frustrated that they weren’t super flexible yet! “After all this time, why aren’t I any better? Seems like by now I should be like Gumby!”
This got me to thinking how interesting our perspectives are about our own health. By my opinion, this client has made HUGE improvements in flexibility, strength, body awareness, and mechanics. And where I used to have to put ALL my body weight into spotting things and trying to help get things bend better, now I can lightly put a hand here or there and things start moving!
If we spend 2-4 hours a week doing Pilates, we then have 20-22 hours of time to forget (or time to reinforce other habits. (Some of which might be good, and others probably aren’t helping our body mechanics and movement.)
For Example:
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Toning Shoes – Do They Really Work?
Do Specialized Shoes Like MBT’s and Sketchers Shape Ups Really Help Tone your Legs and Give You a Better Workout? The American Council on Exercise, ACE Fitness research results are in on the benefits of “Toning Shoes” MBT’s, Sketchers Shape Ups and Reebok Easytone Shoes compared to a regular pair of running shoes.
This question about the difference between toning shoes vs. a regular pair of running or walking shoes always comes up when I teach my Fantastic Feet Workshop!
Everybody’s looking for the best option to get the most bang for their buck for a workout. But lots of bucks it takes to buy these fancy “toning” shoes! Is the cost for the claims of burning more calories, solving joint pain, working your hamstrings, butt and calves harder really worth it?
According to the ACE study – there is no statistically significant increases or evidence to support the advertising claims. A regular pair of tennis shoes can provide the same benefits as your MBT’s or other Shape-Up shoes, based on the ACE research study which measured fitness and wellness benefits.
Do I own a pair of Toning Shoes – YES. Do I wear them often – NO.
Why did I buy them? Because I had so many clients asking if they should buy a pair that I wanted to experience what it felt like to wear them so I could give a more educated opinion on what these shoes felt like during a workout and how they affected my gait and stride.
What’s my opinion?
Since so many people are running around in flip-flops and other strapless or backless shoes – in general, for most of the population – stride length has been compromised. If you watch people walk, the legs swing more to the front of the body than behind the body. (We’ve made this adaptation to keep our flip-flops from falling off our feet!) Because of this the hips, hamstrings, and glutes don’t get a chance to work like they should because the legs are never in extension (behind the body) far enough for these muscles to fire.
Our strength to propel the body forward when we walk and run comes from the back of the legs – hamstrings, glutes, ankle and foot. Without a long enough stride, hip, knee, and ankle mechanics are compromised. And if you take a look at most of the cardio equipment on the market (with the exception of a treadmill) the stride/swing for the legs is primarily to the front of the body which continues to enhance the imbalance that has been created by our poor shoe choices and shortened stride!
So accepting by the research that you’re not going to burn more calories, or work harder by wearing toning shoes what might be the value of wearing toning shoes for a workout? For me, the rocker-bottom helps free up the swing of the leg and makes it a bit easier to increase stride length to feel what I should be doing all day long (in any pair of shoes) to get the legs behind the body for better stride length.
I wear my MBT’s every once in a blue moon! The rest of the time I prefer to focus my attention on making my body do things right (rather than rely on my shoes to do the work.)
What Do YOU Think About Toning Shoes?
- Do you own a pair of toning shoes?
- Why did you buy them?
- How much do you wear them?
- What’s your overall opinion of toning shoes?
If you want to read the research, click here for the ACE Fitness article.
What’s Your Main Focus – Features or Flaws?
Do you LOVE Yourself? Do you LOVE your body?
Are you doing healthy things on a regular basis to treat you with love, affection, and kindness?
I am well aware that I’ve got my own challenges with body image, and have spent my entire life struggling to overcome them. (Some days I’m completely happy with me, and other days I feel like I’ll never have the body of my dreams… which causes me to feel bad that I’m not a lean, wispy, 5’6″ and 110 pounds. But instead a mere 5’4″, compact & muscular, and a fluctuating 150-155–Funny, 20 years ago when I was only 118-125, I had the same poor attitude and thought I was fat!) And unfortunately, I know that I’m not alone. With the hype and peer pressure from the media, and magazines–too many of us always point a negative, critical eye to our own body and we end up focusing on our flaws instead of our features!
So let’s take a moment to celebrate how much we LOVE our features!
I love sharing this exercise, and hope that you’ll drop me a line and tell me about your experience.
Here’s What To Do:
- Find a photo of yourself that you LOVE!
- Blow it up to an 8×10 glossy and print a copy.
- Get out a sharpie or your favorite magic marker.
- Around your body, write as many positive words as you can think of that express who you are and the things you love about yourself.
- Strive to fill the page with words. (if it doesn’t happen when you first sit down to write–don’t worry… keep your pen handy and as things pop into your head, you can continue to add them.)
- Frame your photo & put it somewhere where you will see and reflect on it daily!
There is great power in positive words. The messages that we send and surround ourselves with (our mental self-chatter) really does affect our attitude and our health. Negative chatter = negative attitude, and positive chatter = positive attitude!
Tell yourself daily how much you love YOU, and use this exercise to keep all the great things you love about yourself front and center so you’ll confidently be sending yourself daily doses of positive energy to stay focused on your great features instead of your flaws!
Self-love is a key to wellness success!
Moving Meditation: Pilates and Other Great Mind-Body Exercise Methods
I read an article the other day and it said, “Pilates isn’t a mind-body exercise in the meditative way that Yoga, Tai Chi, or Qi Gong are, but it does use your mind to influence and improve your body.”
Loading ...Here’s Why:
It’s not just, let’s move the body, but let’s be aware, in-tune, and conscious of what we’re doing, how, we’re doing it, the initiation point, end point, and in-between points for every movement.
I think it’s wonderful that we have options for focused fitness and enhanced wellness for improved mind-body health. There is a method out there to help meet the needs of each of us as individuals. And if you want to develop and fine-tune your skills, cross-training and exploring different mind-body methods may give you an increased appreciation for your body, health, and the ancient wisdom that is at the root of each of these techniques.
Look for my series of upcoming posts on the benefits of each of these great mind-body methods.
- Pilates
- Yoga
- Tai-Chi
- Qi Gong / Chi Gung
- Martial Arts
- Meditation
And I’m curious to know… What’s your #1 favorite Mind-Body Wellness method? Answer the survey, and if you have a moment – tell me why it’s your choice in the comment section below.
And the Survey Says… “What’s the #1 Reason You Workout?”
Well, here is the question of the day!
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There are so many different reasons that each of us is inspired to exercise. And your inspiration might change throughout the year. Finding the motivation factor to keep fit is one of the keys to success.
I believe that if you know what motivates you, you’ll be more apt to do whatever it takes to stick with your workouts. And if your reason isn’t important enough…well you might workout occasionally, but not enough to really reap the benefits you’d like to achieve.
So take a moment to answer this question on my poll for the day. And then on those rare and occasional moments when you’re feeling un-motivated, and un-inspired to “get your sweat on…” perhaps you can think back to your response to this survey and recommit to your self and your health to get your tennies on (or swim suit, or Pilates attire) and make the most of your workout!
If you’re one of those die-hard, “I never miss a workout” types – Congratulations, You are truly inspirational and it shows in your attitude, commitment, and physique.
I’d love to know the WHY behind your #1 reason too, but there’s not a fill-in the blank response on the poll form, so if you’re inspired to comment and share, please pop your thoughts into my comment form below.
Have a Fit & Fabulous Day!
Will Health Promotion Help Reduce Pain for Adolescents with Cerebral Palsy? And What About Pilates?
I recently came across an abstract on PubMed.gov about the prevalence, distribution, and effect of pain among adolescents with Cerebral Palsy by Dorlap & Bartlett.
Out of their sample of 230 teenagers studied, 64% of the girls and 50% of the boys reported that they had experienced pain in the last 6 months. Foot, ankle, and knee pain seemed most prevalent, low back pain was also reported.
The Study Concludes:
“The high prevalence of pain and its effect on daily activities suggests a need for greater focus on health promotion.”
My Thoughts on Health Promotion and Pilates:
I would love to see some research done on Pilates to reduce pain and improve motor function for adolescents with Cerebral Palsy. All I can go by is the actual improvements that I’ve seen with my CP clients!
Over the past 15 years I’ve had the opportunity to work with three CP kids, (2 were short-term clients, one has been consistently participating in Pilates programs for more than 12 years) All three of these amazing kids showed dramatic improvements that they carried back into their daily life activities.
I have seen changes in gait, motor control, balance, flexibility, strength, body awareness, confidence, coordination, and the list goes on…
One of my CP clients has transformed from extreme pigeon-toed gait and tripping over her own two feet on a regular basis, to trying out for the basketball team in high school, taking ballet classes for a while (requires external rotation of the hip and the ability to move in a toe-out position) wearing high-heeled shoes for her school dances without fear of falling, and she even learned to roller-skate! If you can’t keep your feet both facing forward, roller-skating is not an option.
All these activities she was unable to even consider before Pilates, and the day I knew Pilates had made a dramatic difference was when her grandmother brought her in for a lesson and said to me, “I went to see my granddaughter’s perform in a play last weekend, and I had to go back and see the show twice! I missed her entrance… She used to walk with a funny gait and now she walks just like everybody else.”
The combination of strengthening and stretching that is at the core of Pilates equipment training makes it an optimal choice for helping improve balanced muscle development which leads to better body alignment, strength, and flexibility. The fact that on the Pilates Reformer you start flat on your back and work to stretch and strengthen the hips, knees, ankles, and feet actually targets the most prevalent reported pain that this study brought to light.
The muscles of child with Cerebral Palsy might be a bit more tightly contracted, and more resistant to increasing flexibility, but in my experience, just like anybody who has a tight muscle, it will require consistency with the right exercises and activities to begin achieving positive improvements.
It’s evident to me that regardless of your physical condition, the right exercises done consistently over time can only lead to one outcome – health improvement! In my experience…Pilates can be an excellent choice to reach this goal.
Scoliosis: Brace, Fuse, or Exercise?
There is controversy over the use of braces to correct excessive curvature of the spine (scoliosis) in teenagers because research has failed to prove that they work. “Bracing is regarded as effective by some and as useless by others.” According to Stefano Negrini, MD the scientific director of the ISICO (Italian Scientific Spine Institute) in Milan.
The cause of most adolescent scoliosis is unknown. It affects 3-5 out of every 1,000 children, and is more common and more severe in girls.
Scoliosis can be:
- Idiopathic – Of unknown cause.
- Functional – From poor posture and body alignment habits.
- Structural – Caused by disease, or birth defects.
So why is bracing used if the experts aren’t positive it’s actually working?
Based on the severity some sort of treatment is required, because if left untreated damage to the spine, heart, and lungs can occur as an adult. Bracing is less evasive and still allows the option to strengthen the body through exercise and movement to balance and support the spine. The alternative option of surgery and spine fusion is a permanent and last-resort option to protect the health of internal organs and quality of life.
What else can you do to treat Scoliosis?
While studies so far show that none of these can prevent the progression of scoliosis, they may offer some relief of symptoms.
- Manipulation by a Chiropractor, Kinesiologist, or Osteopathic Doctor
- Electrical Stimulation
- Diet & Nutrition
- Exercise
The benefits of Pilates for clients with scoliosis
Over the years, I’ve had many clients with varying degrees of curvature of the spine participate in Pilates programs. And while there might not be documented research to the benefits of Pilates exercises for scoliosis…From my experience, I have seen amazing gains in strength, and mobility. The curves don’t go back to normal, but it is possible to learn how to strengthen the body and retrain some of the weaker muscles to better support the spine and achieve more optimal muscle balance. Plus increased body awareness of good and bad posture habits is vital to learn how to avoid falling into the poor alignment that the scoliosis curve would prefer. Spend more time using your own muscles to strive for good posture through Pilates and other fitness exercises, and you’re retraining the body for better health.
Looking at the Difference in Support Options
A brace is an external support for the spine. If the brace is doing the work, our muscles don’t have to work as hard (and in my opinion….may become weaker over time.) But if you don’t have the muscle awareness or strength to properly support the body all day long…bracing may be required to assist.
Spine fusion surgery creates permanent internal support for the spine. (While this might solve one problem, it has the potential to create others) And generally speaking fusion surgery is a last resort option.
Exercise strengthens the core and back muscles so your body can provide it’s own muscular support for the spine. Pilates exercises with the focus on core stabilization, and functional mobility of the spine in all directions – flexion, extension, side bending, and rotation, and should be considered as a primary care option to assist in improving health and supporting the spine.
The National Institute of Arthritis and Musculoskeletal and Skin Diseases continues to research and learn more about treatments for scoliosis to determine the best modalities for improved health. I hope in time, that more documented research into the benefits of Pilates for scoliosis will be conducted.
