The Body & Movement

Low Impact Cardio – Gentle Moves for a Healthy Heart

Cardio exercise is beneficial on many levels. Getting our heart rate up strengthens our heart, enhances our lung capacity, and helps reduce blood pressure and cholesterol. It can also boost our mood and may help with immunity. If cardio exercise came in a pill everyone would want that pill.

Running, HIIT, and swimming are all great forms of cardio, but if you don’t have access to a pool, hate high intensity, or are worried about your joints you still have options.

While cardio does require us to pick up the pace, you don’t need to work at warp speed.

To do cardio workouts you do need to move faster, but it isn’t all or nothing. You can build up incrementally. You want to challenge yourself (heavy breathing), but don’t feel a sense of misery while moving. You’ll want to be winded, but not feeling like you are going to be sick.

And while we should all set a goal of being able to maintain moderate cardio for 30-minutes, you can start with 5-minutes and build up from there.

To be gentler on your joints […]

Low Impact Cardio – Gentle Moves for a Healthy HeartMaggie Downie2024-07-18T09:56:46-04:00

Exercise Tips for Better Sleep!

Sleep is vital to a healthy life. But it can evade us. Hundreds of research studies clearly show exercise can help us sleep. We all know that somewhat intuitively. We see kids playing physically and comment: “They’ll sleep well tonight.”

But research is not definitive for what provides optimal sleep. When should we exercise, how intensely, and what type of movement is best are all up in the air. The research is unclear, in part, because the answer seems to vary based on age, sex, chronic illness, and possibly fitness level.

Not having a definitive answer can feel overwhelming. But it can also be empowering. It means that you have room to experiment and see what works for you.

For years the mainstream advise was to do moderate cardio exercise in the morning because if you worked out late in the day, it would keep you up. Recent studies have contradicted that. Later workouts help some people sleep better. Workouts do raise our body temperature, cortisol levels, and heart rate. None of those help us sleep so you do need 1-2 hours after a workout to wind […]

Exercise Tips for Better Sleep!Maggie Downie2024-05-30T11:48:49-04:00

You Have to See

Sometimes when I’m teaching I’ll cue people to look at a certain place. I may say “You should be looking at your knees, not your toes” or “Look over your shoulder.”

While watching some videos on the concepts of Pilates (as one does), an instructor used a similar cue (that’s not atypical). But she added: “It’s not enough to look. You have to see.”

I loved the concept.

It’s not enough to look. You have to see.

The concept instills the idea of intention and being present. And it doesn’t have to be limited to Pilates. Think of all the times we drive somewhere on autopilot. We’re looking, but probably not seeing. In the Pilates realm seeing vs looking can spark our attention and help us reconnect with the moves.

In playing with the concept in my own practice of Pilates focusing on what I actually see as I move helps me stay in tune with my body. It makes sense. Balance is easier with the eyes open. Vision helps us sense ourselves in space. It’s basically doubling up the senses and utilizing more of the tools in our body.

So whether you do Pilates or another […]

You Have to SeeMaggie Downie2024-03-31T12:49:28-04:00

Spring Cleaning Safety Tips

The days are longer. The sun fuels our soul. And for some reason, we feel motivated to clean. There are a few theories as to why we clean this time of year:

The Practical:

Historically when we heated with coal and whale oil through the winter, it made things messy and homes needed a good cleaning.

The Religious:

Many religious traditions have a concept of cleaning out around springtime. Passover involves purging, cleaning, and renewal. There are indications spring cleaning is linked to Zoroastrianism and a Persian relationship to the spring equinox.

The Physical:

The longer days and added sunlight of spring may motivate us to move more and cleaning is a good, productive outlet.

Whatever our motivation is to spring clean, it is a great form of physical activity. A good spring clean can serve as your workout for the day. But it’s also easy to get injured. Injuries are usually caused by repetitive movement that strains a part of the body, falls, and lifting heavy objects.

Here are some tips to help prevent injury while you get your house (inside and out) in order:

Warm-Up:

I know this is a hard sell. But if you are about to clean […]

Spring Cleaning Safety TipsMaggie Downie2024-03-21T23:04:35-04:00

Limber for Life

It is so easy to skip stretching. I skip it myself after many workouts. What gives? We all know stretching is beneficial. Why do we brush it aside so easily?

To encourage ourselves to stretch more we need to 1) enjoy it and 2) recognize it has value. Even if we don’t love exercise, many people make themselves do it because they know it’s good for them. Why isn’t it the same for stretching?

Why We Stretch:

Range of Motion

We don’t need to be the newest member of Cirque Du Soleil, but it’s beneficial to maintain our mobility. Ultimately that’s what stretching does. It helps you keep your full range of motion (ROM) at every joint.

When we lose range of motion and flexibility, it limits what we can do. Maybe you’ve noticed you can’t get up and down off the floor anymore, it’s hard to get your sock on, or you can’t scratch that itch on your back in a spot you used to be able to reach.

Reduce Pain

Also, limited ROM can lead to pain and discomfort. If joints are clamped down and restricted it can lead to injury or pain. This works at the other extreme too. People who are hypermobile often […]

Limber for LifeMaggie Downie2024-03-08T16:38:15-05:00