Though we get incentivize to lose weight around fall (when everyone goes back to school) and winter (when the New Year roles around), spring is arguably the best time to try and get back on track. The weather is perfect, and in New England we’re likely to have decent weather through the fall.

It’s nice to be outside, and there is so much we can do (fitness wise) in the great outdoors. But getting healthy isn’t only about starting or re-energizing your workout routine. It’s also about food and lifestyle.

For this year’s spring cleaning, try to get rid of some of the stuff you don’t need or don’t want. Go through the cupboards. Are there foods you have no intention of eating? Or are there bags of foods you would rather not eat? Throw them out. It’s okay.

Are you a pack-rat? Is there clutter around your house that causes stress that you can finally trash? Simplify…Simplify…Simplify. Try to rid yourself of everything you don’t need and don’t want along with those extra pounds. It’s a lifestyle adjustment that all […]

The Pilates breath can be very challenging to practice. Sometimes we exhale when we feel like we should inhale. Sometimes we take deep exhales followed by a quick inhale when all we want to do is collapse on the floor and let our abs relax.

When learning Pilates it is important not to let the breath frustrate you. Always remember to breathe. Learn the intricacies of the exercises, learn to control your muscles, and then learn the breath pattern.

Pilates may be rolling over in his grave to watch me write those words, but once you learn to control you’re muscles, you’ll have an easier time learning to control the muscles that aid in respiration.

There are so many things to consider while doing the simplest exercises in Pilates. The exercises aren’t meant to frustrate. They are meant to provide you with control and strength. The breathing is important and helpful, but as long as you don’t hold your breath, you will eventually figure it out.

In class yesterday, one of my clients asked about the Pilates breath. She was concerned that it didn’t feel as deep as the belly breath, which really engages the diaphragm.

The two types of breathing are different, and one is not better than the other. I recommend practicing both. In Pilates, the reason we try and focus the breath into the back and sides of the ribcage is because breathing into the belly forces you to release the abdominal contraction. We are trying to remain connected to our core muscles throughout the duration of a class. When we inhale into our stomach, the stomach extends, and we can’t pull our belly button to the spine until we exhale (the easiest time to contract the core).

When you get really good at working with the accordion breath, you will feel your entire rib cage expand, not only out to the sides, but up your whole back. It feels wonderful. And I find just breathing will sometimes crack my back. In this type of breath, we incorporate the diaphragm and a number of muscles that amazingly rarely get used. For example, the intercostals (the muscles connecting all the ribs) and […]

Joseph Pilate wrote, “Correct breathing exercises under the dominance of mental control, would undoubtedly…accomplish more toward attaining and maintaining maximum health standards, than all other remedies combined.”

Pilates argued that if you did not know how to breath properly, you could do nothing to your fullest potential. While to some degree we have proven him wrong, his words are something to consider. Oxygen fuels our brains and our muscles. These are important tools we use every day. If we got more oxygen to the brain, perhaps we’d think better and with more ease. Solving problems might become simpler. Getting proper oxygen to the body is obviously important when exercising.

While I may not go to the extreme Pilates takes when it comes to breathing, there is no doubt humans take breathing for granted. Since this weeks exercise is a simple (and yet not so simple) breathing exercise, take a moment to focus on your breathe. Try to breath normally. Don’t attempt to change what you normally do during a given task or while working at the computer. No one is watching. Only you will learn something about yourself.

Ask yourself these questions: Where does your breath naturally […]

Try and move your body or take deep breaths. Focus on what’s really important instead of the typical little things that tend to get under our skin. Where ever you are, take a moment to re-align yourself. You’ll be better off for it, and probably have an easier time accomplishing the tasks that are stressing you out.

Even at work, it’s great to close the office door and take a few minutes to stretch. Slowly roll down and touch your toes. Do some trunk rotations–keep your hips pointing forward and twist from the waist. It should help wake you up and calm you down.

Or if you have five to ten minutes go through the Pilates warm-up. Elevate and Depress the shoulders. Protract and retract the shoulder blades. Get on all fours and do a cat stretch. Rest on one side with your legs pulled in toward your chest for spinal rotation. Move your body in every way possible. If it doesn’t make you feel any better, it won’t have done any harm. Give it a try.