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Breathing well is the first step in developing strength with length. If you have a hard time maintaining the length of your spine when you’re standing still, how the heck are you going to make it happen when you’re bending forwards, backwards, sideways, and twisting?
One of the things that keeps Pilates exercises so challenging, regardless of how long you’ve been doing them, is the concept of developing strength with length. The muscles of our abdominals and back are the ones that help provide the lift, length, and space between the ribcage and hip bones.
Here’s a video with a few thoughts on practicing better breathing habits to help improve your ability to be long and strong. Start practicing this, and then learn how to apply it to all of your Pilates exercises (and other fitness exercises) to get maximum health benefits from your workout program.
Tags: Breathing, Core Strength, Fitness, Health, Pilates Exercises
Posted in All Posts, Breathing, Exercise and Fitness, Fitness, Pilates Exercise, Pilates-Teaching Tips by Aliesa George on February 1st, 2010.
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Timeless wisdom to believe and achieve success anything and everything that you desire in life.
Napoleon Hill shares the wisdom he learned from the billionaire Andrew Carnegie more than 100 years ago. This is an excellent way to get your New Year’s resolutions off to a great start! And well worth watching on a regular basis as a reminder of these principles of success.
- Grab a notebook
- Jot down the thoughts that stick in your brain
- Follow these success principles
- Enjoy the rewards from your efforts
What are YOUR Goals to Achieve and Intentions for Giving in 2010?
Tags: Goal Setting, Health, Napoleon Hill, Prosperity, Wisdom for Success
Posted in All Posts, Business, Goal Setting, Health, Videos by Aliesa George on December 30th, 2009.
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Just tripped across a video news clip from WNBC on Tips for Avoiding High Heel Pain. Oh the things women do in the name of looking good and feeling sexy! So how many of you have experienced foot, ankle, knee, hip, or back pain and now are thinking your poor-fitting shoes might be part of the problem? Or perhaps you never realized that your stilettos might be a big part of the problem… Our feet (as well as the rest of our body) shouldn’t hurt. Pain is the red-flag that there is something we need to pay attention to and take care of. Ignoring things and hoping that it will just go away is never a great option.
Continue reading ‘Foot Care Tips for Avoiding High Heel Pain’ »
Tags: Feet, foot care, Foot Exercise, Foot Tips, Health, High Heel Pain
Posted in All Posts, Foot Care Tips, Health, Links to Interesting Articles by Aliesa George on December 11th, 2009.
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When was the last time that you sat down and really thought about your definition of what wellness means to you? Have you ever written down your thoughts, ideas, and personal definition?
Do you think of wellness only from the standpoint of how you look, or being a certain weight or size? Or do you know you’re well because you have the energy and endurance to enjoy your favorite activities, and have the stamina to play with your children and grand kids?
Perhaps it means that you’re happy instead of battling with your inner-self and fighting to overcome moments (or a lifetime) of depression. It might mean that your medical checkup is showing a strong heart, cholesterol and blood sugar in a normal range, and even though your chronological age is 55, by comparison you have the body of a 30 year-old! Wellness might be a sense of inner peace and calm, or the spiritual connection you feel with your Higher Power.
Maybe your definition is: I’ll be well when I complete my first Marathon, or swim a mile without stopping, or my dog and I will both be well when we consistently take walks together (for the rest of our lives!) I’m sure there are lots of things that you can put on your Wellness Checklist!
Continue reading ‘What’s Your Definition of Wellness?’ »
Tags: Add new tag, Fitness, Goal Setting, Health, Joe Pilates, Joeseph Pilates, Joseph Pilates, Pilates, stress reduction, Wellness, wellness success
Posted in Articles, Goal Setting, Health, Pilates, Stress Management by Aliesa George on August 19th, 2009.
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I have to say that I am grateful for my gymnastics, dance, and Pilates training – especially in regards to body awareness. I’m sure it’s why so many dancers and athletes are embracing Pilates as a component of their injury-prevention and cross-training program. And it makes sense why so many of my clients over the years have started Pilates, because of an injury or problem that limited their ability to participate in general exercise programs. I feel blessed and fortunate to have had the opportunity to work with great coaches, teachers, trainers and mentors, but I know that not everybody out there has had the same experience.
The old saying, “You can’t fix it if it ain’t broke…” Well if you’re not aware of what you’ve been doing to “break” it – how could “fixing” it even begin to solve the problem. The first “fix” has got to be with the mind-body connection and improved body awareness, or old bad habits will be impossible to break.
Regardless of your athletic or dance background, or how old you were when you started your first exercise program, or what physical shape your body is in – it’s never too late to improve your health AND strengthen your mind-body connection! It just takes the desire to work on it – and a good coach to guide you along the way!
Continue reading ‘Body Awareness, Exercise Safety, and the Potential Pitfalls of a Bad Personal Trainer’ »
Tags: body awareness, exercise program, Exercise Safety, Fitness Training, Health, health and fitness, Personal Training, Pilates, Pilates Training, workout program
Posted in Articles, Exercise and Fitness, Health, Pilates by Aliesa George on April 2nd, 2009.
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Yesterday I switched things up for my regular aerobic workout and did my cardio on the rowing machine. Whew…I forgot what a great whole-body workout you can get on a rowing machine.
If you’re one to always head to the treadmill, bike, or elliptical machine – I’d encourage you to check out the benefits of adding even a few minutes of rowing to your aerobic workout program and here’s why:
Continue reading ‘Rowing for Cardio and Health’ »
Tags: Aerobic Exercise, Cardio Exercise, Health, Rowing, Rowing Machine
Posted in All Posts, Exercise and Fitness, Fitness, Health by Aliesa George on March 26th, 2009.
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I’ve been focusing a bit more on my own Pilates workouts lately – and it’s such fun to discover new things about the same old exercises I’ve been doing and teaching now for fifteen years! It’s never boring, and regardless of whether I’m teaching a client, or giving myself a workout – I’m amazed at what I continue to learn about the benefits and subtleties of the Pilates system.
Here’s my revelation for the week! (or perhaps it’s just today’s revelation – and something else will pop up eager for me to share tomorrow.)
I’ve always cued my clients to begin learning their exercises with the awareness of working within the framework of the Pilates “Box.” Think about the torso from shoulder to shoulder, and hip to hip. Every exercise starts from the center of the box, moves away from, and back to center. The farther away from center you move, the stronger you have to be to maintain balance, control, and core support for your exercise or movement. Feeling where the corners of the “box” are help create an awareness of being evenly distributing your weight and staying centered. Great concept!
So when the knees bend in towards the chest on any exercise where should they go?
Continue reading ‘Knees Over Chest Is Best – For Getting Great Benefits from Pilates Training’ »
Tags: balance, body awareness, control, core support, exercise program, Fitness Training, flexibility, Health, health and fitness, Pilates, Pilates Box, Pilates Exercise, Pilates Matwork, pilates method, Pilates System, Pilates Teaching, Pilates Workout, Pilates-Teaching Tips, strength, Wellness
Posted in Pilates, Pilates-Teaching Tips by Aliesa George on March 23rd, 2009.
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Have you ever heard the term “Monkey Mind” and laughed with the visual of a bunch of monkeys jumping around being crazy and wild? And can you relate to a feeling of having those little monkeys running around in your head causing your thoughts to bounce from one thing to the next and making it difficult to concentrate on what you’re doing or get anything done?
We are bombarded with millions of bits of information every second of the day. Our brain has to sort, dump, and store based on relevance and importance for our survival and to insure that we enjoy pleasure and avoid pain. In today’s society – television programs, commercials, and even YouTube have us eager to input micro-blasts of information and entertainment – rapid fire commando style. We look for instant gratification, expect to point-click, and get what we want. The faster you can get results -the better, and if it takes more than a few minutes you don’t feel like you have time to wait.
Does this lifestyle make sense to you? Are you happy having to check your cell phone and text messages every couple of minutes? Do you ever reach a feeling of overwhelm? Wonder why you can’t get it all done? Have you ever gotten completely frustrated with your progress? Or just wish you could have a moment to think!
Continue reading ‘Focus on Health – The Benefits of a Peaceful Mind’ »
Tags: Add new tag, Breathing, Health, Meditation, Monkey mind, Peace, Pilates, stress reduction, stress relief, Tai Chi, Wellness, yoga, YouTube
Posted in Articles, Health, Stress Management by Aliesa George on March 4th, 2009.
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AHHHHH… The Great Outdoors!
I find that nothing helps adjust my mental attitude like time spent outside in Nature paired with some vigorous physical activity.
It might be a walk, skate around the park, jog, bike ride, or self-taught “circuit boot camp” (stopping at every park bench, bridge, and piece of playground equipment to do an exercise or stretch.)
Continue reading ‘Stress-Reduction Tip: Fun in the Great Outdoors!’ »
Tags: bicycle, boot-camp, circuit training, Exercise, fitness activities, Health, jog, lower stress, reducing stress, skate, Stress Management, stress reduction, stress relief, walk
Posted in Health, Stress Management by Aliesa George on February 9th, 2009.
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